Terrorism and the Self: Gender, Violence, and Time in German Post-Terrorist Autobiography

Since the first 'wave' of modern terrorism, those labelled as terrorists have been publishing accounts of their lives in diverse contexts. How are we to understand this apparent will to write and publish autobiographical accounts of oneself, one's life, and political views on the part of these individuals? What can close analysis of these often controversial, popular texts illuminate? Focussing on the case study of West German leftist armed groups active in the 1970s, Terrorism and the Self is the first monograph to explore post-terrorist autobiography as literary genre. It makes the case that post-terrorist autobiography must be taken seriously as both cultural phenomenon and crucial source of knowledge as we seek to extend understandings of militant violence and those who engage in it. It proposes an interdisciplinary feminist approach for making sense of this material, while providing in-depth, gendered analysis of the West German case study. The book will appeal to a variety of disciplines and research fields including terrorism studies, perpetrator studies, women's and gender studies, narrative and cultural criminology, violence studies, history, literary and autobiographical studies and cultural studies.