Should we change our painful memories? Talking with Kimberly Cunningham is like imagining that movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on an global scale where imperial power holds the memory zap machine. Kimberly’s work is a fascinating exploration of the implications of Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR), a treatment that helps individuals recover from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS). While EMDR has been quite successful in stopping PTSS symptoms, Kim questions what it means when citizens are encouraged to forget the trauma associated with war and other catastrophes.

Kimberly Cunningham is a Ph.D. Student in Sociology at The CUNY Graduate Center.