Trauma interrupts the unity and linearity of temporality. Past trauma’s do not remainr relegated to the past, rather they reverberate and resonate in unexpected ways in thepresent. Trauma is the domain of tangled time, flashbacks, repetitions, blind-spots and déjà vu. When creating a narrative, one can either choose to use the past or the present tense, so how might one narrate a life in which the past is still so alive in the present?
I developed an methodology in response to trauma memoirists like Maggie Nelson, Sinéad Gleeson, Olivia Laing and Helen Mc Donald. These writers highlight the role of time in relation to trauma and self. I built on some of the ideas they introduced, and time became the organizing principle around which discussions of rupture, fragmentation, intergenerational, historical, personal and societal trauma could be framed.
In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time uses various expressions of the temporal: the ancient pre-Celtic wheel of the year, the liturgical and the Georgian calendars to illustrate how concepts of time and concepts of self both influence and inform each other.
Viewing the traumatic material of my life, shifted my role from victim to conscious observer, enabling me to see that the articulation of trauma is a first step on a journey of healing that may take years, or a lifetime or many lifetimes to complete.
","abstract_html":"<p>Trauma interrupts the unity and linearity of temporality. Past trauma’s do not remainr relegated to the past, rather they reverberate and resonate in unexpected ways in thepresent. Trauma is the domain of tangled time, flashbacks, repetitions, blind-spots and déjà vu. When creating a narrative, one can either choose to use the past or the present tense, so how might one narrate a life in which the past is still so alive in the present?</p> <p>I developed an methodology in response to trauma memoirists like Maggie Nelson, Sinéad Gleeson, Olivia Laing and Helen Mc Donald. These writers highlight the role of time in relation to trauma and self. I built on some of the ideas they introduced, and time became the organizing principle around which discussions of rupture, fragmentation, intergenerational, historical, personal and societal trauma could be framed.</p> <p>In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time uses various expressions of the temporal: the ancient pre-Celtic wheel of the year, the liturgical and the Georgian calendars to illustrate how concepts of time and concepts of self both influence and inform each other.</p> <p>Viewing the traumatic material of my life, shifted my role from victim to conscious observer, enabling me to see that the articulation of trauma is a first step on a journey of healing that may take years, or a lifetime or many lifetimes to complete.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mc Mahon, Carmel M"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Liberal Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Domna Stanton"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z","subjects":["Celtic Studies","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature","Nonfiction","Poetry","Psychology","Theory and Philosophy","Women's Studies","Intergenerational Trauma","Mothers and daughters","Emigration","Irish History","Celtic Mythology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3999","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Domna Stanton"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mc Mahon, Carmel M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Liberal Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Celtic Studies","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature","Nonfiction","Poetry","Psychology","Theory and Philosophy","Women's Studies","Intergenerational Trauma","Mothers and daughters","Emigration","Irish History","Celtic Mythology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3999"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Trauma interrupts the unity and linearity of temporality. Past trauma’s do not remainr relegated to the past, rather they reverberate and resonate in unexpected ways in thepresent. Trauma is the domain of tangled time, flashbacks, repetitions, blind-spots and déjà vu. When creating a narrative, one can either choose to use the past or the present tense, so how might one narrate a life in which the past is still so alive in the present?
I developed an methodology in response to trauma memoirists like Maggie Nelson, Sinéad Gleeson, Olivia Laing and Helen Mc Donald. These writers highlight the role of time in relation to trauma and self. I built on some of the ideas they introduced, and time became the organizing principle around which discussions of rupture, fragmentation, intergenerational, historical, personal and societal trauma could be framed.
In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time uses various expressions of the temporal: the ancient pre-Celtic wheel of the year, the liturgical and the Georgian calendars to illustrate how concepts of time and concepts of self both influence and inform each other.
Viewing the traumatic material of my life, shifted my role from victim to conscious observer, enabling me to see that the articulation of trauma is a first step on a journey of healing that may take years, or a lifetime or many lifetimes to complete.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Domna Stanton"],"dc:creator":["Mc Mahon, Carmel M"],"dc:date.available":["2026-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Trauma interrupts the unity and linearity of temporality. Past trauma’s do not remainr relegated to the past, rather they reverberate and resonate in unexpected ways in thepresent. Trauma is the domain of tangled time, flashbacks, repetitions, blind-spots and déjà vu. When creating a narrative, one can either choose to use the past or the present tense, so how might one narrate a life in which the past is still so alive in the present?
I developed an methodology in response to trauma memoirists like Maggie Nelson, Sinéad Gleeson, Olivia Laing and Helen Mc Donald. These writers highlight the role of time in relation to trauma and self. I built on some of the ideas they introduced, and time became the organizing principle around which discussions of rupture, fragmentation, intergenerational, historical, personal and societal trauma could be framed.
In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time uses various expressions of the temporal: the ancient pre-Celtic wheel of the year, the liturgical and the Georgian calendars to illustrate how concepts of time and concepts of self both influence and inform each other.
Viewing the traumatic material of my life, shifted my role from victim to conscious observer, enabling me to see that the articulation of trauma is a first step on a journey of healing that may take years, or a lifetime or many lifetimes to complete.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3999"],"dc:subject":["Celtic Studies","Creative Writing","English Language and Literature","Nonfiction","Poetry","Psychology","Theory and Philosophy","Women's Studies","Intergenerational Trauma","Mothers and daughters","Emigration","Irish History","Celtic Mythology"],"dc:title":["In Ordinary Trauma: Notes on Time"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Liberal Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z"}