Biography

Sofie de Smet holds a Master’s degree in Psychology (KU Leuven) and a Bachelor’s degree in Performance Studies and Film (Ghent University). In October 2014 she started her interdisciplinary doctoral research into post-narrative modes of trauma recovery in transcultural trauma psychology and theatre studies in the framework of a joint doctorate (Ghent University / KU Leuven). Sofie is affiliated with the Research Group S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts and Media, Ghent University) and the Research Group Education, Culture and Society (KU Leuven). Sofie has also worked for Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods and Sasha Waltz & Guests.

At the heart of her research, under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Christel Stalpaert, Prof. Dr. Stef Craps, and Prof. Dr. Lucia De Haene, lies the blurring of the clear linearity between narration and trauma recovery, which forms the topic of emerging theoretical developments in both transcultural trauma psychology and theatre studies. Both fields display emerging theoretical developments that question how this dominant western trauma paradigm is underpinned by the assumption of a linear relationship between trauma narration and recovery in which retelling traumatic experiences directly leads to healing. Sofie focuses on these debates that analogously develop within the fields of transcultural trauma psychology and theatre studies, raising questions about the validity of the dominant paradigm.

More specifically, her study aims at furthering the post-narrative paradigm shift in both fields through an empirical analysis of post-narrative modes of trauma recovery in applied theatre. By combining analytical approaches from both transcultural trauma psychology and theatre studies, the study aims to further the understanding of trauma recovery shaped by modes of coping beyond narration.

Contact

Department of Art, Music and Theatre Studies
Ghent University
Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41 B4
9000 Gent
Tel.: 09 264 41 81
Email: SofieD.deSmet@UGent.be