Publications

Authored books
  • Bond, Lucy, and Stef Craps. Trauma. New Critical Idiom. Under contract with Routledge.
  • Craps, Stef. Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma Out of Bounds. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013. ISBN: 978-0-230-23007-1. 170 pp. Paperback edition coming October 2015. Shortlisted for the 2014 ESSE Book Award. [flyer - 30% discount on hardback]

    Endorsements and reviews:
    In this beautifully and clearly written book, Stef Craps leads trauma theory away from its Eurocentric past and towards a decolonized future. Arguing that the traumas of non-Western populations should be acknowledged for their own sake and on their own terms, Postcolonial Witnessing demonstrates through its exemplary discussion of literary texts including the works of Anita Desai and Caryl Phillips how literary analysis can become a part of that process. Timely, provocative, and destined to be widely read, this book makes a path-breaking contribution to memory, trauma, and literary studies.Susannah Radstone, University of East London
    Bridging the gap between Jewish and postcolonial studies, Stef Craps's new postcolonial reading of the work of Sindiwe Magona, David Dabydeen, Fred D'Aguiar, Caryl Phillips, and Anita Desai covers exciting new ground in trauma theory. Challenging the hegemonic framings of the dominant 'trauma aesthetic,' Craps broadens our understanding of traumatic experience by examining literary works that depict life under South African apartheid, the Middle Passage, the links between histories of black and Jewish suffering, and those between the Holocaust and colonialism. This is a fine study and a welcome addition to the field of trauma studies.Victoria Burrows, University of Sydney
    Craps makes a compelling case for the need to expand the current event-based model to 'alternative conceptualizations of trauma' proposed by postcolonial critiques, such as 'insidious trauma,' 'continuous traumatic stress,' 'cumulative trauma,' or 'oppression-based trauma.' . . . His skillful analysis of these texts is particularly relevant for scholars of literature, but Craps also weaves into his readings insights gained from the theoretical literature . . . Craps' fine study . . .Björn Krondorfer, theologie.geschichte (10 (2015))
    Postcolonial Witnessing represents a major contribution to the field of trauma studies in that it calls for a conversation between the historically discrete, if not self-isolating, fields of trauma theory and postcolonial studies. . . . In conclusion, Stef Craps' Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma Out of Bounds is a text that has, without a doubt, pushed the field of trauma studies towards a more positive and critical direction of analysis and ethical engagement. Scholars of trauma and postcolonial theory alike have much to benefit from Craps' book. With that said, this text proves equally beneficial to many other fields of study, such as political science, international relations, human rights, history, anthropology and sociology, to name a few. Another strength of Postcolonial Witnessing is that it has the potential to influence spheres of policy and practice beyond the realm of the academy. . . . A fundamental leap in the right direction, Postcolonial Witnessing opens a path for new, more generative theorizations of trauma.Enmanuel Martínez, e-hemisférica (11.1 (2014))
    Stef Craps's Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma Out of Bounds attempts to adapt the rather recent advances of trauma theory to postcolonial theory and despite its flaws, it is one of the more important texts on trauma theory in recent time. . . . overall it is a very strong look at trauma studies.Henry James Morello, The Comparatist (38 (Oct. 2014): 345-47)
    Stef Craps' Postcolonial Witnessing: Trauma Out of Bounds is a timely and much needed corrective to the polarized debate - particularly in postcolonial studies - around the uses and abuses of trauma theory. . . . I strongly recommend Postcolonial Witnessing to anyone interested in future applications of trauma theory in various fields of study, especially postcolonial literature.Fred Ribkoff, Postcolonial Text (9.1 (2014))
    Stef Craps’s excellent study calls for the decolonizing of trauma theory and begins from the premise that its founding texts have failed to live up to the promise of cross-cultural ethical engagement. In a carefully argued thesis, he accuses trauma theory of Eurocentric bias in four crucial ways . . . Overall, this short book advances an eloquent plea to rethink trauma from a postcolonial perspective in order to listen to the suffering of Others beyond the western purview and, thereby, in Craps’s words, 'remain faithful to the ethical foundation of the field'.Sonya Andermahr, Journal of Postcolonial Writing (49.4 (2013): 494-96)
    Despite the seriousness of the topic, the clarity and flow of Craps’s writing makes Postcolonial Witnessing a joy. . . . This is a book that engages with current debates in a lively and interesting way and is sure to be of interest to scholars of trauma, postcolonialism, cultural memory studies and related fields. Its clear structure and thorough consideration of foundational and recent literature, including an excellent index and bibliography, will also make it a useful text to those who are new to the topic. In fact, the book’s strong argument, clear structure and engaging prose make Postcolonial Witnessing an example of what an academic text should be.Alison Atkinson-Phillips, Dialogues on Historical Justice and Memory (20 Nov. 2013)
    One of Times Higher Education's Books of 2013Robert Eaglestone, Times Higher Education (19 Dec. 2013)
  • Craps, Stef. Trauma and Ethics in the Novels of Graham Swift: No Short-Cuts to Salvation. Brighton/Portland: Sussex Academic Press, 2005. ISBN: 1-84519-004-1. 230 pp. Published with the support of the Belgian University Foundation. Shortlisted for the 2006 ESSE Book Award.

    Endorsements and reviews:
    This excellent book is a detailed, carefully balanced and well-informed study of this major contemporary writer. Most impressively, it has a strong grasp of both the complex currents of Swift’s fiction and of current debates in literary studies and theory over issues of trauma and ethics. Indeed, Stef Craps’ luminous and detailed study, while more than this, could be seen as a case study for the effectiveness of these ideas for understanding a major contemporary writer. Certainly, it will shape how Swift’s writing is understood.Robert Eaglestone, Royal Holloway, University of London
    This book not only offers brilliant analyses of Swift’s novels, it also makes a significant impact on trauma studies. Craps argues that traumatic histories are the central themes in Swift’s literary oeuvre. But more importantly, he demonstrates that Swift’s own medium - storytelling - is crucial in working through trauma.Ernst van Alphen, University of Leiden / University of California, Berkeley
    Working across the fields of ethical criticism and trauma theory, this volume offers a detailed and innovative study of the fiction of Graham Swift, providing perceptive readings of all his major novels. . . . overall, this is a clearly argued, intelligent and engaging study, which makes valuable contributions both to the field of trauma studies and to Swift criticism.Anne Whitehead, English Studies (88.6 (2007): 737-38)
    Understatements have certainly become Swift’s speciality, resounding throughout his fictions of ethical consequence illuminated by Stef Craps in this valuable new study. Craps’s approach is far from pedestrian. Within its single-author format, what makes this book distinctive is that it proceeds chronologically while working hard to focus its thematic coverage, distinguishing itself from a standard text-by-text exposition.David James, Textual Practice (20.2 (2006): 355-61)
    [This book] deserves to be widely known and discussed among those interested in Swift’s novels. . . . The virtues of Craps’s study are considerable. These include close and subtle argument, a consistent vision of what he wants to say, and a clarity of exposition. In addition, Craps puts Swift’s work in an interesting and complex European context. . . . In short, Trauma and Ethics in the Novels of Graham Swift is an excellent study that will play an important role in Swift studies for a long time.David Malcolm, The European English Messenger (14.2 (2005): 88-89)
Guest-edited special journal issues
Journal articles
Book chapters
Reviews
  • Craps, Stef. Rev. of Shadows of Ethics: Criticism and the Just Society, by Geoffrey Galt Harpham. English Studies: A Journal of English Language and Literature 82.6 (2001): 572-74.
  • Craps, Stef. "De dromenmeesteres." Rev. of The Dream Mistress, by Jenny Diski. Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift 14.2 (1997): 76-79.
  • Craps, Stef. "Engelse francofilie." Rev. of Cross Channel and Letters from London 1990-1995, by Julian Barnes. Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift 14.2 (1997): 66-67.
  • Craps, Stef. "Asbestemming." Rev. of Last Orders, by Graham Swift. Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift 13.5 (1996): 78-80.
Conference proceedings
General-audience articles
  • Craps, Stef. “Roger ‘The One’ Federer.” De adelaar van Benidorm: Over bijnamen in de sport. Ed. Arne De Winde, Steffy Merlevede, and Pieter Verstraeten. Antwerp: Houtekiet, 2015. 1,000 words. [forthcoming]
  • Craps, Stef. “The Grey Zone.” Encylopédie critique des mots du témoignage et de la mémoire. Ed. Philippe Mesnard et al. Web. 1,500 words. [forthcoming]
  • Craps, Stef. “The Grey Zone.” Woordenboek over getuigenis en herinnering / Words of Testimony and of Memory. Getuigen tussen geschiedenis en herinnering / Testimony between History and Memory 118 (Sept. 2014): 187-88.
  • Craps, Stef. “De ware roeping van de schrijver: Interview met Graham Swift.” rekto:verso 38 (Nov.-Dec. 2009). Shortened version published on Knack.be 14 Nov. 2009.
  • Craps, Stef. "No Short-Cuts to Salvation: Trauma and Ethics in the Novels of Graham Swift." Mededelingenblad van de Leuvense Germanistenvereniging 17.1 (2003-2004): 38-40.
  • Craps, Stef. "Getting Rid of 'Needless Painful Knowledge': The Flight from Trauma in Graham Swift's Shuttlecock." The Victorian Web. Website maintained by George P. Landow, Brown University. 7 May 2003.
  • Craps, Stef. "Woeste hoogten." Article on Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë. Muziek & Woord Apr. 1999: 17.
  • Craps, Stef. "De onversaagde Hemingway-held." Article on Ernest Hemingway. Muziek & Woord Feb. 1999: 15.
  • Craps, Stef. "Fatale ficties." Essay on Salman Rushdie. Nieuw Wereldtijdschrift 15.4 (1998): 40-46.
In preparation
  • Bond, Lucy, Stef Craps, and Pieter Vermeulen, eds. Memory Unbound: Tracing the Dynamics of Memory Studies.