Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026
07:05
Visualization Method for Proprioceptive Drift on a 2D Plane Using Support Vector Machine
Published on: October 27, 2016
The body in Martin Amis's Experience (2000)
1Department of English Literature, King's College London, London, UK.
Textual Practice
|January 30, 2018
Summary
This study analyzes Martin Amis's memoir, Experience, exploring the body's role in selfhood. It introduces a new framework integrating phenomenology and psychoanalysis to understand autobiographical self-representation.
Area of Science:
- Literary Criticism
- Autobiographical Theory
- Phenomenology
- Psychoanalytic Theory
Background:
- Martin Amis's memoir Experience (2000) offers a unique perspective on personal narrative.
- Existing scholarship often separates mind and body in autobiographical analysis.
- Phenomenological and psychoanalytic traditions provide rich theoretical frameworks for embodiment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the presentation of the body in Martin Amis's Experience.
- To compare Amis's embodied self-narrative with phenomenological and psychoanalytic concepts.
- To develop a novel conceptual framework for understanding the body's contribution to selfhood in autobiography.
Main Methods:
- Close reading of Martin Amis's Experience.
- Comparative analysis integrating theories of body schema, projective identification, and safety.
- Development of a new theoretical model for autobiographical embodiment.
Main Results:
- Amis's memoir vividly illustrates the interplay between physical experience and self-perception.
- The study identifies specific phenomenological and psychoanalytic concepts relevant to Amis's bodily self-representation.
- A new framework is proposed, highlighting the body's crucial role in constructing autobiographical selfhood.
Conclusions:
- The body is integral to the formation of selfhood in autobiography, not merely a vessel for the mind.
- Integrating phenomenological and psychoanalytic perspectives offers a more comprehensive understanding of embodied self-narratives.
- This research provides a valuable tool for analyzing the complex relationship between body, mind, and self in life writing.
Related Concept Videos
01:07Free-falling Bodies: Introduction
All objects, neglecting air resistance, fall with the same acceleration towards the Earth's center due to the force exerted by the Earth's gravity. This experimentally determined fact is unexpected because we are so accustomed to the effects of air resistance and friction that we expect light objects to fall slower than heavier ones. People believed that a heavier object had a greater acceleration when falling until Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) proved otherwise. We now know this is not the case.
01:05Free-falling Bodies: Example
An object falling without any air resistance under the influence of gravitational force is said to be in free-fall. For free-falling bodies, the acceleration due to gravity is constant, irrespective of their mass. Free-fall is experienced not only by objects falling downward, but also by all objects whose motion is influenced by gravitational force alone. The dynamics of free-fall motion can be calculated using kinematic equations of motion, since free-fall acceleration is constant.
The...
The...
00:55Composite Bodies
A composite body is a body made up of multiple parts, connected to form a larger, unified object. Each part has its own weight and center of gravity, which must be considered to determine the center of gravity of the composite body. In cases where the density or specific weight is constant, the center of gravity coincides with the centroid.
Composite bodies have widespread applications in mechanical engineering, from automobiles to aircraft to rockets. For example, an automobile wheel comprises...
Composite bodies have widespread applications in mechanical engineering, from automobiles to aircraft to rockets. For example, an automobile wheel comprises...
01:06Altered States of Awareness
Altered states of consciousness represent significant deviations from one's normal mental state. These deviations can range from subtle changes in awareness to profound transformations in perception, thought processes, and sensory experiences. Altered states of consciousness can be triggered by various factors, including drug use, meditation, hypnosis, illness, or even intense fatigue.
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain that...
The ingestion of substances like stimulants or hallucinogens leads to chemical alterations in the brain that...
01:13Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition marked by long-term memory loss, which impairs the ability to recall past events or create new memories.
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...
01:28The Looking Glass Self
The concept of the looking-glass self describes how an individual's self-concept is shaped by their perception of how others see them. This psychological theory, first introduced by sociologist Charles Horton Cooley in 1902, posits that self-identity emerges in a social context and is influenced by the judgments—real or imagined—of others.Research suggests that individuals frequently overestimate how positively others perceive them. This is particularly evident in physical self-perception,...