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Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity
Abstract
This chapter examines the relation between cultural trauma and collective identity. It explains that cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks on their group consciousness, and that the scientific concept of cultural trauma illuminates an emerging domain of social responsibility and political action. It discusses a middle-range theory of the complex causes propelling the trauma process in developed and less-developed societies. It argues that the theory of cultural trauma applies, without prejudice, to any and all instances when societies have, or have not, constructed and experienced cultural traumatic events, and to their efforts to draw, or not to draw, the moral lessons that can be said to emanate from them.
... She tells her granddaughters that "the more you laugh, the more you will eventually cry," (Daswani 16) indicating a belief that joy is often accompanied by sorrow, a sentiment likely rooted in her own painful memories. As Alexander (2004) posits, cultural trauma involves the collective memory of a group that feels subjected to a horrendous event, leaving indelible marks on their identity (Alexander 1). ...
... Cultural Trauma Theory, as articulated by Alexander (2004), emphasizes the importance of collective efforts in addressing and overcoming trauma (Alexander 4 ...
... Cultural Trauma Theory, as articulated by Alexander (2004), provides a framework for understanding how these cultural pressures contribute to the transmission of trauma. Alexander argues that cultural trauma must be represented and integrated into the collective memory through narratives, symbols, and rituals. ...
This research paper explores the theme of intergenerational trauma in Kavita Daswani’s Everything Happens for A Reason through Jeffrey C. Alexander’s Cultural Trauma Theory. Centering on the protagonist, Priya, the study examines her family dynamics and cultural expectations to understand how collective traumatic experiences are transmitted across generations. The analysis highlights the emotional and psychological impacts of inherited trauma on Priya’s identity and mental health, particularly how family secrets and unspoken histories perpetuate these struggles. The paper delves into the cultural and societal pressures that Priya faces, emphasizing the conflicts arising from traditional values and modern aspirations. Additionally, it investigates Priya’s journey toward healing and reconciliation, showcasing her efforts to address and overcome the cycle of trauma. By applying Cultural Trauma Theory, this study offers a nuanced perspective on how cultural and societal factors shape personal histories and resilience, contributing to literary scholarship, psychology, and cultural studies.
... This article delves into the exploration of Sebastian Barry's latest novel, Old God's Time (2023), employing a Trauma Studies framework (Caruth, 1995;Alexander, 2004;Balaev, 2014) and drawing on the concepts of Trauma Fiction articulated by Anne Whitehead (2004). It aims at examining the novel's portrayal of individual and collective cultural traumas, with a particular focus on the representation of the enduring consequences of clerical child abuse in Ireland. ...
... In his most recent novel, Old God's Time (2023), Sebastian Barry employs conventions of trauma fiction, as theorized by Anne Whitehead (2004) and others, such as a fragmented nonlinear narrative, the perspective of an unreliable narrator, emphasis on memory and forgetting, repetition of motifs and images and evocative use of symbolism and metaphor, which mirror, stylistically, the psychological disarray caused by trauma. This article situates the novel within contemporary Trauma Studies, drawing on theoretical frameworks by Cathy Caruth (1995), Jeffrey Alexander (2004), and Michele Balaev (2014), among others, to analyze the novel's representation of personal and collective traumas that bring to the fore the sensitive issue of clerical child abuse in Ireland for decades, as well as the societal complicity in silencing survivors. ...
... Barry's choice to set the novel in that era makes its depiction capture the tension between the personal and the collective, as individuals like Tom Kettle live with their private traumas within a society confronting its systemic failures. The novel transitions from individual to cultural trauma, as defined by Jeffrey Alexander (2004): "cultural trauma occurs when members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks upon their group consciousness, marking their memories forever and changing their future identity in fundamental and irrevocable ways" (Alexander 1). This group identification with traumatic experiences is fostered by literature. ...
Este artigo explora o romance de Sebastian Barry, Old God's Time (2023), utilizando uma abordagem dos Estudos sobre o Trauma (Caruth, 1995; Alexander, 2004; Balaev, 2014) e baseando-se nos conceitos de Ficção de Trauma articulados por Anne Whitehead (2004). O artigo tem por objetivo examinar a representação de traumas culturais individuais e coletivos no romance, com foco na representação das consequências duradouras do abuso infantil nas instituições religiosas da Irlanda. A narrativa é focalizada na perspectiva de um narrador não confiável, entrelaçando histórias pessoais com implicações sociais mais amplas, iluminando assim os efeitos profundos da violência e do abuso que reverberam ao longo dos anos e das gerações. Ao situar o romance dentro do quadro teórico dos Estudos sobre o Trauma, é possível analisar os mecanismos pelos quais o trauma é transmitido na ficção, enfatizando a interação entre memória, testemunho e estrutura narrativa. A análise se estende às características da ficção do trauma, mostrando como a obra de Barry se alinha e contribui para este gênero contemporâneo.
... 13 But, in such a painful scenario, "social groupings reject solidarity, abandoning others to struggle alone." 14 In Cultural Trauma and the Collective Identity, Jeffrey C. Alexander et al 14 . provide several facets to cultural trauma theory. ...
... 13 But, in such a painful scenario, "social groupings reject solidarity, abandoning others to struggle alone." 14 In Cultural Trauma and the Collective Identity, Jeffrey C. Alexander et al 14 . provide several facets to cultural trauma theory. ...
The physical and mental health of the general people was seriously endangered by the advent of coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological well-being of people during the pandemic using stressors related to COVID-19 that produce dread, obsessions, and anxiety, ultimately leading to a scenario of collective trauma. This study adopted a qualitative methodology that focuses on a thorough justification of the events. It made use of a focused ethnographic design, a kind of ethnography that gathers information about a particular social phenomenon in a specific cultural setting from a variety of sources. Statistics were gathered in the Pakistani province of Punjab city of Faisalabad. We used the purposive random selection strategy to pick our interlocutors. 321 in-depth interviews and three online focus groups were done by us (FGDs). Although qualitative data was sorted into themes for additional research analysis, quantitative data was run via Excel to produce frequency distribution. It was investigated how trauma stresses might cause emotional discomfort such as boredom, loneliness propensity, future anxiety, and financial instability. Social media's COVID-19-related impact on mental and psychological health was detrimental. Using the explorative study approach, all these trauma determinants are investigated.
... The theory of cultural trauma (Alexander, 2004;Eyerman, 2019) further elucidates how Oct 7 might be integrated into the collective memory of the Jewish community. This integration process can influence group identity and cohesion, potentially reinforcing existing narratives of threat and resilience. ...
... The long history of traumatization is also relevant when interpreting the events using the theory of cultural trauma (Alexander, 2004;Eyerman, 2019). The Holocaust, in its unprecedented cruelty, represented a collective trauma that, according to the theory of cultural trauma, was integrated into collective memory and has become a fundamental element of shared Jewish identity (Hirschberger, 2018 ...
The October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel marked a significant turning point for Jewish communities worldwide, including in Germany. This study explored the experiences, perceptions, and coping strategies of Jewish individuals in Germany in the aftermath of these events. Our research aimed to provide a preliminary but thorough understanding of how Jews in Germany, with or without Israeli migration background, navigated the complex emotional landscape of collective trauma and rising antisemitism.The primary objectives of this study were to: (1) Examine the immediate and ongoing impacts of the October 7 events on Jewish individuals in Germany; (2) Investigate changes in experiences of antisemitism and perceptions of societal responses; (3) Identify coping strategies and resilience mechanisms employed by Jewish individuals; (4) Explore the influence of these events on Jewish identity and community engagement; (5) and assess concerns and hopes for the future of Jewish life in Germany.We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 18 Jewish individuals living in Germany, including both Israeli and non-Israeli backgrounds. Participants ranged in age from 23 to 68 years old and represented diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and levels of religious observance. Interviews were conducted in German, English, or Hebrew, according to participant preference.Our analytical approach employed qualitative network analysis, utilizing network centrality measures such as weighted degree, PageRank, and clustering. This innovative method allowed us to identify both prominent themes and unique experiences, providing a comprehensive view of the data's structure and interconnections.Key findings: Profound Emotional Disruption and Trauma: The October 7 attacks precipitated a significant disruption in the lives of many interviewees. Participants reported intense and prolonged emotions, including shock, fear, anger, and sadness. Some experienced symptoms reminiscent of post-traumatic stress, such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and hypervigilance. This emotional distress was often exacerbated by obsessive news consumption and personal connections to Israel.Changes in Social Relationships: A concerning trend of social withdrawal emerged, with many participants distancing themselves from non-Jewish acquaintances due to perceived lack of support or understanding. This erosion of social bonds, particularly for those with Israeli backgrounds, reflects ongoing challenges in integrating Jewish and German identities. The loss of these support networks may increase vulnerability to the psychological impacts of antisemitism and collective trauma.Nevertheless, many participants reported a strengthening of their Jewish identity in response to the attacks and subsequent rise in antisemitism, aligning with the rejection-identification model. Accordingly, we observed a notable increase in community engagement and activism among Jewish individuals in Germany following the October 7 attacks. Many participants reported strengthening ties within Jewish and Israeli communities, often as a response to perceived lack of understanding from broader German society. This heightened community involvement manifested in various forms, including increased participation in Jewish cultural events, religious observances, and community support networks. Concurrently, we observed among some participants significant involvement in activism, with participants engaging in public demonstrations, social media campaigns, and educational initiatives to combat antisemitism and raise awareness about Jewish issues. This surge in identification, community involvement, and activism appeared to serve dual purposes: as a coping mechanism in the face of collective trauma and as a means of asserting Jewish identity in an increasingly challenging environment.Pervasive Sense of Insecurity and Vigilance: Participants reported a heightened sense of insecurity and increased caution in expressing their Jewish identity in public. Many felt unsafe, particularly in areas with large Muslim or Arab populations, leading to behavioral changes such as concealing Jewish identity markers or avoiding speaking Hebrew in public. This climate of fear raises concerns about the long-term viability of Jewish life in Germany and its impact on future generations.Practical ImplicationsOur findings suggest several key recommendations to address challenges faced by the Jewish community in Germany. We propose implementing targeted mental health support services to address trauma and anxiety, while also developing programs that strengthen both in-group networks and connections with broader German society. To enhance security, we recommend strengthening legal protections against antisemitism and improving education about Jewish history and contemporary issues. Supporting the safe expression of Jewish identity in public spaces and fostering interfaith understanding through community events could promote social cohesion. Lastly, we suggest developing long-term strategies to address the integration of Jewish and German identities, aiming to create a more inclusive society. These measures collectively seek to improve the environment for Jewish life in Germany while fostering greater societal understanding and cohesion.While our study focused on the German context, many of these implications likely resonate with Jewish communities in other countries facing similar challenges, highlighting the potential for international collaboration in addressing these complex issues.
... As noted by Jeffrey Alexander, a well-known researcher in the sociology of culture, "...trauma must be resolved not by arranging things in the world correctly, but by arranging things in self-consciousness correctly." (Alexander, 2004). According to Alexander, collective trauma occurs when members of a certain group (social, national...) believe that they have been beset by a terrible event that has been forever imprinted in their memory and changed their future identity. ...
Literary experts consider memoirs as a subvariety of documentary narrative genre, in which the stories of the past are narrated and the author himself is a participant or eyewitness of these stories (recently, such works are also considered as non-fiction literature). Unlike fictional literature, memoirs, to some extent, have a cognitive function, which is determined by the author’s preferences – whether he/she wants to describe personal, autobiographical occasions or narrate matters of public importance. Kati Dadeshkeliani (1890-1977) was a Georgian emigrant, representative of the ruling family of Svaneti, participant of the First World War, knight of the two crosses of St. George. With regards to her memoirs – "A Princess in Uniform" – it can be said that the ratio is maintained; the author, on the one hand, tells us about the important stages of her life and, on the other hand, she reminisces the past (the author collected her notes at the age of 44 and compiled them into one book) and, based on a certain conceptual vision, she gives us an analysis of the events that happened in a considerable period of time.
... In the aftermath of a weather disaster, neighborhood groups can act as hubs for preparation and management (Bird et al., 2012;Bortree and Seltzer, 2009;Chewning et al., 2013;Stephens et al., 2020). Disasters are traumatic, requiring the need for collective sensemaking through public discourse (Alexander, 2004;Eyerman, 2004;Rimé, 2020). Such community discourse is often riddled r/TheRedPill is a subreddit focused on men's rights. ...
Introduction
Semantic network analysis is an important tool researchers can use to untangle the knots of tension that arise as communities debate and discuss complex issues. Yet words connect not only to each other in community discourse but to larger themes or issues.
Methods
In this paper, we demonstrate the use of multilayer analysis for the study of semantic networks, helping to unravel connections within and between community tensions. In examining knotted tensions that arise in the wake of disaster, this study also spotlights how climate disasters exacerbate issues like housing equity, disproportionately affecting lower-income communities. We examine discourse across eight months of online neighborhood threads about community issues in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. We identify core tensions related to environmental sustainability, overdevelopment, neighborhood identity preservation, and economic vitality. Our within-tension analysis reveals the community's struggle with such dilemmas, while our between-tension analysis shows the interconnectedness of these issues. Our approach highlights which stakeholders are best positioned to address specific community problems.
Results
The findings challenge the conventional top-down disaster response narrative, proposing a theoretically informed method for employing semantic network analysis to examine community crises. Through this work, we extend organizational communication theories of knotted tensions, offering a nuanced lens to community discourse in the face of wicked problems.
... Based on Sigmund Freud's theory of Trauma, according to critics like Jeffrey C. Alexander (2004), has been oversimplified and discussed narrowly among scholars in the humanities; for a traumatic event to have a profound impact on someone, s/he must already be repressing and incubating an earlier (childhood) sexual Trauma (Morrisey, 2021). Moreover, Smelser (in Morrisey, 2021) considering the interpretation of Freud's theory limited and inadequate, developed two separate models of Trauma: ...
This paper attempts to discuss the ongoing Trauma of slavery as the collective Trauma for African American people in the US. It not only investigates the memory of Trauma experienced by the main character, Dana, in the novel Kindred but also describes how the author recalls the memory of the traumatic event and expresses it in the novel through a series of events the main character encountered. Although the traumatic event itself has long gone in the past, the memory of it still haunts the African American people through what Dana is going through. The narrative technique Butler uses in the novel is intriguing that she tells the story as some time machine where the main character can go back and forth from the setting of time, the 1970s, to the 19th-century slavery era. Furthermore, Dana experienced a physical injury that was incomprehensible for people in the 1970s to see as a result of the event that happened in the 19th-century slavery era. This can be seen as a reflection of the way African American people feel about slavery and the aftermath of it in the present. The traumatic event has passed, but the pain stays the same because ongoing racism against African American people remains.
... A memória da perseguição aos homens cisgêneros gays pelos nazistas também foi internacionalizada (não sem oposições), como vimos mais acima, sobretudo pela ação do moderno movimento LGBTQIA+, através da imprensa militante, da publicação de relatos de sobreviventes, de cerimônias fúnebres, de filmes e peças teatrais, da instauração de placas e monumentos em lugares públicos, e, também, de espaços em museus, como veremos a seguir. Desta maneira, constituiu-se como um trauma cultural (ALEXANDER, 2004) na memória e na história dos e das dissidentes da cisheteronormatividade 9 . ...
O artigo analisa o lugar dos homens cisgêneros gays perseguidos pelos nazistas, em geral identificados como “triângulos rosa”, nas exposições de longa duração de duas das mais importantes instituições do mundo dedicadas à preservação e difusão da memória do Holocausto: o Museu Americano do Holocausto (Washington D.C.) e o Yad Vashem (Jerusalém). Com base em discussões sobre trauma e internacionalização da memória do Holocausto, identifica alguns lugares ocupados por essas vítimas: o lugar “para não dizer que não falei deles”, o lugar de “outras vítimas”, o lugar “de anexo” ou o simplesmente o lugar de silêncio. De modo geral, mostra que esses sujeitos vêm ganhando espaço na paisagem memorial do Holocausto, mas ainda são apresentados de maneira escassa, pontual e elíptica, sem interferir na interpretação geral do fenômeno. Por fim, apresenta questionamentos para motivar o debate sobre uma representação mais complexa dos triângulos rosa nas narrativas museais do Holocausto.
... Радикалност овог историски генерисаног стања неравноправног натјецања између стварног са једне стране и имагинарног, интелигибилног, рационалног, естетског, поетичког са друге стране, иманентни је извор интелектуалне и уметничке трауме уз конкретне консеквенце на реалитет људског мишљења, деловања па и саме егзистенције. Чини се да се фундаментална траума друштва и културе (Sztompka, 1990(Sztompka, , 2004Smelser, 2004;Alexander, 2004Alexander, , 2012 суштински односи не само на суочавања са изазовима егзистенције или њених промена, односно са непознатим, насилним, рискантним (без обзира дали су та стања логичка и прогресивна или деструктивна) већ и у суочавању са траумом еманципације и разбијању укорењених епистемилошких дискурса и са хеуристичким сиромаштвом које није у стању да следи полисемичност социокултурних амбијената. Померење граница између науке и уметности, метајезик, митологизација, кокетерија са фантазмагоричним и футуристичким, намеће нам и контроверзу произишлу из носталгије за гранд-теоријама и утопијама, али нас и упућују ка феноменима савремености која генеришу "моралну панику" (Tompson, 2003) у оквирима "постмодерне етике" (Бауман, 2005). ...
Heuristic and epistemological paradigms in the social sciences and the humanities receive their input from the overall situation of the contemporary human universe that are incomparable to the ages that unfolded until the end of the 19th and the 20th century. The first necessary 'revolution' took place with the shaping of the idea that culture has a societal, in addition to the elite dimension, that cultural dynamics implies countercultural processes, and not just evolution and cultural resistance. Therefore, the thesis is encoded that the field of culture may be the subject of interest not just of the individual ‘classical’ academic and philosophical disciplines (sociology of culture, cultural psychology, ethnology, art and cultural history, cultural anthropology, philosophy of culture), but also develop scientific concepts that widely open the doors to inter-disciplinarily approach, the juxtaposition of cultural phenomena per se, involving technology, media practices and the academic and philosophical paradigms for the place, the role and the practices of the human world, in terms of creation, imagination and generally ‘shifting the limits’ of the knowledge and the design of the material and the spiritual in the very habitus of humans and their ‘possible worlds' (cultural studies, cultural sociology, intercultural studies, cultural geography, transhumanist studies, culture, media and social science, etc.). The new intellectual discourses incorporate the rationalism and analytical positivism of scientism, as well as the poetics, aesthetics, metaphysics and phantasmagoria of the humanistic cognitive and creative perspective. Of course, they do not meet these goals with the success that may be implied from their ambitions, but indicate the need of the contemporary age to synthesize, once again, the ideas on culture, the arts, technology and science.
... Bu tepkiler, kamusal yas, anma ve hafızalaştırma faaliyetleri veya bu tür olayların sonrasını ele almak için çeşitli sosyal ve siyasi eylemler de dahil olmak üzere birçok şekilde gerçekleşebilmektedir (Skilbeck, 2009;Fatton, 2011). 2 Ancak kolektif bilincin travmaya verdiği en önemli tepki biçimi belki de travma sonrası şokun bir kültür halini almasıdır (Sztompka, 2000). 3 Çünkü travmanın bir kültürel form halini alması grubun tüm yaşam biçimine etki eden olayın kalıntılarının toplumsal bilince yerleşmesi anlamına gelmektedir (Alexander, 2004). Bu aynı zamanda toplumun bellek bilgisini oluşturan değerlerinde, ritüellerinde ve normlarında değişimin izlerinin yeni oluşturulan kimliğin önemli bir birleşeni haline gelebileceği anlamını taşır (Danieli, 1998;Kirmayer vd., 2011). ...
On February 6, 2023, at 04:17 and 13:24, a devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.7 and 7.6, respectively, occurred with its epicenter in Kahramanmaraş. This disaster affected 11 provinces, resulting in the loss of over 55,000 lives and approximately 110,000 people being injured. The earthquake, destroying more than 36,000 buildings and businesses/workplaces, has been recorded as the largest catastrophe in the country's history. This earthquake, as expected, not only caused sudden destruction but also initiated significant changes in the lives of nearly 14 million people. This extensive devastation naturally left undeniable deep scars both in the social structure and the mental worlds of those affected by the earthquake. Examining the reflections of these effects in-depth will play a crucial role in the healthy continuation of the social structure. Therefore, a qualitative exploration/exploratory research was conducted using a phenomenological design as the research methodology. Interviews were conducted with a group of 23 individuals/affectees who had migrated from the provinces of Adıyaman, Hayat, and Kahramanmaraş to the district of Akşehir in Konya, using a semi-structured interview guide. The findings from this research aim to shed light on various insights into the mental worlds of those affected by the earthquake. Participants emphasized that they remembered the undeniable presence of death during and after the earthquake, and they were affected by psychologically traumatizing and distressing memories and interpreted the events as a divine sign leading them to introspect about their lives before the disaster. These striking revelations underscore the necessity of a comprehensive sociological analysis of large-scale events like earthquakes. Therefore, rather than limiting post-disaster studies to individual psychological trauma assessments, it is highly important to also address collective traumatic experiences, considering the potential long-term impacts on future generations.
... "Roughly speaking, it can be said that victors and elites tend to leave more traces than defeated and dominated groups", writes Bernardot (2011, p. 5). If cultural trauma is constructed and institutionalized through a long social process that includes the appropriation of trauma narratives by the media (Alexander, 2004), there is a risk that the devastation experienced by marginalized communities and dominated groups remains unseen, invisible to a larger audience such as the scientific community. Following the same logic, dominant groups can establish narratives that do not fit the reality of the lived experience of communities facing terminal situations. ...
Transitions – system changes through natural or sociopolitical forces – have the potential to significantly threaten one’s way of being in the world. In this paper we propose to acknowledge fully this “dark side” of transitions. We posit that transition studies would benefit from cross fertilization with existential risk studies. In order to start exploring such an hybridization, we propose avenues for identifying changes, within human communities’ trajectories, that may threaten their very way of existence. We identify the mourning of immaterial, pangenerational losses as potentially central to such situation of existential threat. We associate these immaterial pangenerational losses to the loss of place, to the loss of ontological security, and to cultural devastation. Finally, we argue that transitions that appear less extreme and dramatic could nevertheless threaten one’s way of being human in the world. As an illustration we use the example of Métabief (France), a ski resort that is currently transitioning to non-snow-based activities.
... As the well-known researcher of this issue, J. Alexander, writes: "Since the memories of the traumatic past exist in the collective memory only in the form of symbolic remnants of the initial events, they enter social life through the creation of literary works. Thus, the interpretation of cultural works, especially literature, is offered as a kind of academic equivalent of psychoanalytic intervention" (Alexander, 2012). The possibility of using the concept of cultural trauma here is applicable, firstly, to the sedentarization of the historical memory of the nomadic culture of the Kazakhs described below, which occurred in the twentieth century as a result of forced collectivization, famine and the events that followed, and secondly, to the long process of integration of the national intelligentsia into the Soviet a historical narrative that accepted the victimizing theses about the regressiveness of nomadic culture and opposed them with a creative search and reinvention of images of its historical subjectivity, as well as the reception of the cultural heritage of ancient and medieval urban culture, the problematic relationship of which with the heritage of an interrupted nomadic culture becomes one of the main features of historical narratives. ...
The article is devoted to the study of some signs and images of world culture in the work of the poet, researcher and public figure of the XX-XXI centuries. Olzhas Suleimenov. The article studies the intellectual genealogy of the poet's use of the images of the Sumerian, Egyptian and ancient cultures in a dialogue with the autochthonous systems of knowledge and signs of the Kazakh and Turkic culture. In the article, we have studied the intellectual tradition created by Olzhas Suleimenov in the XXth century: in his poetic and scientific works, he reconstructs ancient signs, plots and archetypes of both Turkic and world cultures, comparing and exploring their common origin, as well as the history of their dialogue in antiquity and the Middle Ages. The studied literary and historiosophical material makes it possible to comprehend the problem of the correlation of nomadic and settled in the historical memory of Kazakhstani society and the presence of a cultural trauma of “non-historicality” here, overcome in the second half of the 20th century. The factors that shaped this cultural trauma include: 1) the interruption of nomadic culture as a result of forced collectivization and the transfer of nomads to settled life in the 1920s–1930s; 2) sedentarist narratives of describing nomadic culture as regressive and their overcoming by the Kazakh national intelligentsia of the 1960s–1970s. (represented by Olzhas Suleimenov) through the dominant historical narrative. The way to overcome this trauma was the dialogical assimilation of the cultural heritage of the medieval urban culture of Central Asia, the active archaeological research of which begins in these years in the Kazakh SSR, and the inscription of the reformatted historical subjectivity in the world history of civilization.
... Bagaman subhetibo at kontekstuwal ang tákot, pinatotohanan ng mga naunang pag-aaral (Cotzee & Rau, 2009;Devji et al., 2016) na maaaring mabuo at/o nabuo ito mula sa paghihirap, anuman ang katangian at uri nito (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1995;Alexander, 2004) -kung ito man para sa iba ay naipahahawang tákot (vicarious) (Moulden & Firestone, 2007;Hirsch, 2012;Rauvola et al. 2019;Singer et al., 2019), tákot dulot ng mga disaster at/o kalamidad (Janoff-Bulman, 1992;Alexander et al., 2004;Neria et al. 2009;Boscarino, 2015); o henerasyonal na tákot (Erikson, 1994;Hirsch, 2012;Licata & Mercy 2015), malinaw na isa pa ring malawak na depinisyon at konteksto ang tákot para sa mga sinalanta ng bagyong Ondoy. ...
Layunin ng komemoratibong pag-aaral na ito, gamit ang isang naratibong pagsusuri, ang pagturol sa danas at alaala ng mga Marikeño sa panahon ng pananalasa at/o pagbahang idinulot ng Ondoy (Ketsana) noong 2009 at sa mga panahong pagkatapos nito. Habang sentro ng pag-aaral na ito ang apat na barangay ng lungsod o ang mga tinatawag na “tabing-ilog”—Nangka, Tumana, Malanday, at Concepcion Uno—gumamit ang pananaliksik ng dalawang pangunahing método, pakikipagpanayam at pakikipagkuwentuhan. Sa kinasapitan, nakapagluwal ang pananaliksik na ito ng dalawang pangunahing bahagi: una, mga naratibo ng danas at alaala sa panahon ng pananalasa ng Ondoy atikalawa, pagsisiyasat sa mga sumunod na panahon. Sa kabuoan, nakapaglatag ang pag-aaral na ito ng pitong dalumat ukol sa kahulugan, kabuluhan, at konteksto ng Ondoy sa pananaw ng mga Marikeño: (1) delubyo, (2) kaparusahan, (3) kaligtasan, (4) pagtulong, (5) palatandaan, (6) takot, at (7) kasanayan.
Hatid ng pag-aaral na ito ang isang implikasyong magpapahalaga sa dalawang bagay—(1) Araling at Kasaysayang Pangkapaligiran o isang subdisiplinang kakanlong sa pag-aaral ng kasaklawan ng kalikasan at kapaligirang Pilipino at (2) Kasaysayang Pampook o pagsasalaysay ng kasaysayan ukol sa isang partikular na pook. Samakatwid, ang kabuoang implikasyon ay magbibigay-linaw at ambag sa saysay ng Ondoy bílang bahagi ng kalikasan at kapaligirang Marikeño sa unang banda at ang saysay ng Marikina bílang pook sa kabilang banda.
... Unlike a sharp Marxist theory of conflict that associates with domination and power, on behalf of maximization of benefits 7 ; a merely remote and individual reading of a Jamesonian socio-political articulation of conflict constitutes the basis of discussion in this paper. Jameson, highlights that significantly the social conflict emerges as an apparatus of the governing powers in the institutional arenas of religion, aesthetics, legal structure, scientific realm and mass media, while interfering with the spatiotemporality of the public realm 8 . On the other hand, rather than ways and means of how conflict comes into being, but its penetration to public realm both in spatiotemporal and cognitive ways through an associating event, and the conveyance of the image of the conflicting event into milieu of memory space and visual cartography, are essential topics in the discussion of mediation. ...
Departing from the intermingling existential processes of mundane, conflict, trauma, event and reality, as well as the conditions of witnessing and their representations; this paper aims to reveal the mediation of photography in the reproduction of event-space – or so to say public space – within the inseparable duality of both the defeat of conflicting traumatic encounters and honesty of everydayness. Thus, dismantling intuitive and political roles of photograph(y) and the photographer in the processes of (re)creation of truth and the event-spaces of the conflict became the essential goal of this discussion. In achieving so, the visual narratives of legendary photographer Ara Güler that were reflecting both the chaotic turmoil moments and the everyday routine between 1950’s and 1980’s of Istanbul, are utilized to concretise the discussion. Yet, bridging them with the contemporary territorial conflicts on the site is also the challenge of these speculative readings on political capacities of image and mediation of conflict and trauma from a longer time- span. From a broader aspect, reflecting the fluid presence of two conflicting notions – honesty and violence of the citizens also emerges as the essential inquiry of this debate. In this way, witnessing camera eye of the photographer for the witnessed turns into the researcher’s searching eye that is mobile and dynamic in terms of grasping the scenes and contributing to the re-formation of the event-space; while re-historicizing the traumatic as well as resilient capacities of the urban realm.
... Therefore, when people choose to represent certain memories in the public realm, they are by default making a collective political statement. Second, remembering a unified collective past is essential for the reconstruction of a people's identity (Alexander, 2003;McAuley, 2016); sense of belonging (Ley & Cybriwsky, 1974;McAuley, 2016); and rights to occupy a city (David & Wilson, 2002;Lefebvre, 1991). Memory scholars have agreed that "people now look to this refashioned memory, especially in its collective forms, to give themselves a coherent identity, a national narrative, a place in the world" (Borer, 2010;Hoelscher & Alderman, 2004;Said, 2000, p. 179). ...
In 2002, the Israeli military performed one of its most extensive operations on occupied Palestine. One outcome of this war was the enforcement of an Israeli Segregation Wall that severs the sensitive Palestinian urban fabric and secludes Palestinians in isolated enclaves. Consequentially, the eight-meter high wall stands as a physical reminder of the spatial violence behind its existence, which targets the normality of Palestinian everyday life by restricting mobility and confirming invisibility. The imposed hegemonic wall became part of the public realm, converting the latter into a traumascape where memories of war are continuously emitted to the public. Since then, eager international and Palestinian artists have been utilizing the concrete panels as a medium for art expression. On the Segregation Wall, graffiti expresses the historic and ongoing struggle that embodies Palestinians’ collective memory and national identity. Through graffiti, Palestinians find moments to grieve losses and cognitively imagine a liberated future for their cities. This paper offers an in-depth reflection on the Palestinian graffiti on the Segregation Wall. Through ethnographic research, the study explores the role of Palestinian graffiti in transforming the Israeli-imposed traumascape into what we term a resistancescape. By provoking urban dialogues
around trauma sites, Palestinian graffiti offers an example of creative everyday resistance, empowering Palestinians to claim their right to the city. Challenging the oppressor’s hegemony by spreading graffiti on the imposed Segregation Wall helps Palestinians negotiate everyday life, keep their Sumud, and demand spatial
justice.
Leo Vardiashvili’s debut novel, Hard by a Great Forest (2024), explores the deep scars left by Georgia’s recent wars, including the Tbilisi Civil War, the Abkhazia War, and the August War. Blending genres and using an experimental narrative style, the novel follows characters who face the pain of loss, displacement, and the search for belonging. Through their struggles, Vardiashvili reflects on how both individuals and societies cope with trauma – whether by suppressing memories, denying the past, or finding symbolic ways to heal. The novel offers a poignant portrayal of the lasting human cost of war and the universal need for identity and home.
წარმოდგენილი მასალა ეხება მოლოდინის პროცესით განპირობებული ყოველდღიურობის ფორმირებას ზუგდიდის დევნილთა დასახლებაში, რომლებშიც კონფლიქტის მეხსიერება და იუძლებითი ადგილმონაცვლეობა ყოფის ემოციურ და სოციო-კულტურულ მდგენელს წარმოადგენს. ნაშრომი ეფუძნება ეთნოგრაფიულ კვლევას, რომელიც 2023 წლის გაზაფხულზე, ზუგდიდის დევნილთა დასახლებაში ჩატარდა.
აფხაზეთიდან ზუგდიდში იძულებით გადასახლებულ დევნილებს, წარსული გამოცდილებისა და ახალი შესაძლებლობების გააზრებისას, მოლოდინის რეჟიმში უწევთ ცხოვრება: ისინი განსაკუთრებით ელოდებიან აფხაზეთში/სახლში დაბრუნებას. იძულებით გადასახლებული პირისთვის, მოლოდინი მუდმივი მდგომარეობაა. დევნილთა ნაწილი ელოდება საზღვრის გახსნას, რომ მათ შეძლონ აფხაზეთში წასვლა, ნაწილი ელოდება უკეთეს სამსახურს, კონფლიქტის დასრულებას, რათა უკეთესი საცხოვრებელი პირობები შეიქმნას. დევნილებში წარსულისადმი ემოციური დამოკიდებულებები ამბივალენტურია, რადგან აფხაზეთთან დაკავშირებულ დადებით მოგონებებს თან ახლავს გადმოსახლების, დევნილად ქცევის ტრავმული გამოცდილება. ჩემს მიერ ჩატარებულმა ეთოგრაფიულმა კვლევამ აჩვენა, რომ დევნილებისთვის ცხოვრება, აფხაზეთში დაბრუნების სურვილითაა კონსტრუირებული, რითაც მომავლის აღქმა უკავშირდება მათი ცხოვრების წესის შეცვლის მოლოდინის პროცესს.
This paper explores the complex impacts of childhood abuse on survivors, emphasising how these experiences shape both individual and societal outcomes. It acknowledges the extensive and enduring effects of abuse, which extend beyond immediate physical and psychological harm to broader social and economic repercussions. The paper critically examines the difficulties of holding perpetrators accountable within the criminal justice system, where low reporting rates, high attrition, and re‐traumatization are significant challenges. Using a gendered lens, the analysis situates these issues within a broader social, cultural, and historical context, highlighting how abuse, particularly sexual abuse, is perceived and managed. A key focus is on the issue of disclosure, essential for survivors to access support and justice. However, disclosure is often hindered by fears of disbelief, stigma, and retaliation, which are exacerbated by socioeconomic factors. Even when support systems are available, low conviction rates and ongoing re‐victimisation significantly impede justice and healing, undermining the criminal justice system and support structures. The paper also discusses the wider implications of childhood abuse for public health, social services, and education. The trauma affects not only survivors' mental and physical health but also their ability to engage fully in society, impacting relationships, employment, and educational outcomes. These personal challenges lead to broader societal costs, including increased demand for healthcare and lost productivity. The paper advocates for an integrated approach that improves prevention, enhances safeguarding, and develops effective support systems, addressing both the immediate needs of survivors and systemic barriers to recovery and justice.
This chapter focuses on the dominant actors and criminal activities in Israel before and after 2003, which was a turning point in Israeli attitudes toward organized crime. The criminal dynamics, networks, criminal culture, conflicts, and, last but not the least, law enforcement responses are analyzed based on specific cases. Generational conflict and ethnic Jewish criminal identity play an important role in understanding the dynamics of organized crime in Israel. A major law enforcement operation, called Case 512, resulted in many arrests, but also led to the reorganization of Jewish criminal groups and the emergence of new crime bosses and criminal alliances.
We live in a world where natural and man-made disasters and political conflicts disrupt people’s lives, their sense of continuity, and potentially, their sense of identity. These events challenge the skill set of social workers working with people with complex histories of colonialism, violence, abuse and disruption. In this chapter, the author argues for a particular focus on cultural trauma theory in social work education. The author argues that expanding the scope of cultural trauma theory in social work education has decolonial potential as it provides social workers with analytical and reflective tools within which they can understand the historical footprint of trauma in communities that cannot be comprehensively addressed through westernised models of trauma work.
The relevance of the research is determined by the need to find ways for the consolidation and unification of the polycentric, multinational and multicultural Russian society under contemporary challenges. The author uses a complex theoretical-methodological approach combining the theory of social identity (H. Tajfel and J.C. Turner), the concepts of “self” (G. Mead) and “personality crisis” (E. Erikson), the phenomenological paradigm (A. Schutz) and the theory of cultural trauma (J. Alexander). The article presents a four- level structure of social identity, which includes individual, group, state and global (world) levels, and different types of social identity at each. Thus, the features of subjective and objective identities are shown at the individual level; regional, cultural, national, linguistic, professional and social-class identities — at the group level; state-civil, historical, territorial and political — at the state level; post-Soviet, Asian, European and cosmopolitan — at the global level. The author provides some empirical tools for identifying the affiliative component of social identity at the individual, group, state and global (world) levels and insists on the need to search for answers to research questions about the Russian identity in general, social- cultural differences between residents of Russia and other countries, territorial features of Russia as a state and its continent, the influence of the West and East on the Russian culture, and the impact of global openness and “liquid modernity” (Z. Bauman) on the Russian social identity. The article considers “triggers” for the transformation of social identity, which initially appear either at the individual or global level, depending on the context and social source. The author argues that the study of the social-cultural core of the heterogeneous Russian identity under the extremely dynamic and nonlinear social processes affecting the key areas of Russian life can contribute to the development of a strategy for improving social well-being in the Russian society and to the search for effective ways of its consolidation given its polycentricity and multiculturalism.
Статья посвящена проблеме выявления языковых маркеров культурной травмы, связанных с испанской конкистой, в нарративах социальных страданий представи- телей мексиканской лингвокультуры. Данная работа проведена в рамках теории культурной травмы, разрабатываемой американской социологической школой. Актуальность проблематики обусловлена: 1) чрезвычайной важностью испанской конкисты как травмирующего события; 2) самой научной концепцией культурной травматизации, позволяющей обнаруживать новые значимые и причинно-следственные отношения между ранее не связанными событиями, струк- турами, восприятиями и действиями. Цель исследования — описать связанный с испанским завоеванием и вербализованный в речи представителей мексиканской лингвокультуры процесс культурной травматизации и определить позволяющие детектировать данное травмирующее событие в речи языковые маркеры культурной травмы. Ведущим методом исследования яв- ляется нарративный анализ, реализуемый посредством рассмотрения четырех репрезентаций травмирующего события в речи: 1) природа боли; 2) природа жертвы; 3) связь жертвы травмы с широкой аудиторией; 4) возложение ответственности. В ходе анализа в рамках каждой из ре- презентаций культурной травмы выделены следующие группы ее языковых маркеров:1) лек- сико-тематическая группа «Преступления», лексико-тематическая группа «Дискриминация местного населения», лексико-тематическая группа оценочных отрицательных прилагатель- ных и существительных; 2) этнонимы, называющие коренные народы Латинской Америки; топонимы, именующие завоеванные территории; имена собственные убитых вождей майя и ацтеков; 3) замещающие наименования праздника «Día de Hispanidad» и травмирующего события «conquista»; 4) лексические и грамматические единицы, вербализующие призывы к извинению; имя главного испанского завоевателя — Эрнана Кортеса.
War has always been a central theme in literature as a whole, and particularly in the case of trauma related literature, which focuses on investigating the effects that trauma, and therefore war, have on the psychology and development of individuals. In this article, I propose two recent trauma novels of the Asian American literary tradition (The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee and On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong), which I use as case studies in order to explore the ripple effects of war (in particular loss, absence, and intergenerational trauma) on the lives of two characters, June Han and Little Dog, whose lives the novels depict from their childhood and into their adulthood. In this context I analyze post-war life both following direct exposure to war (June), and indirect exposure (Little Dog), uncovering thus how the trauma produced by wars haunts an individual all throughout their life, even after the danger of the war is seemingly over, and how the suffering produced during the war mutates and de- volves into different types of post-war suffering.
Numerous problems and tribulations people face around the world, might lead to stress or despair in their lives. Trauma is the outcome of an event, sequence of events, or collection of circumstances that an individual perceives as harmful to their physical or emotional well-being or as potentially fatal. It negatively impacts the individual’s as well as the community’s functioning and well-being persistently. Jeffrey C Alexander, an American Sociologist says when people collectively believe that they have experienced a horrific incident that permanently alters their memories and fundamentally alters their identity going forward, they are said to have experienced cultural trauma. Gloria Naylor’s novels, The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills deal with the issues of the African-American community that experiences sociological harm, racial and gender discrimination, poverty and urban struggles, intersectionality, community and isolation, social hierarchies and class division, community expectations, and many other societal issues. In both novels, the community collectively collapsed, abandoned, and misbegotten. The characters in the novels come to terms with socio-cultural traumatizing experiences in their social situations. This article critically analyses the dynamics of socio-cultural trauma in these novels.
Numerous problems and tribulations people face around the world, might lead to stress or despair in their lives. Trauma is the outcome of an event, sequence of events, or collection of circumstances that an individual perceives as harmful to their physical or emotional well-being or as potentially fatal. It negatively impacts the individual’s as well as the community’s functioning and well-being persistently. Jeffrey C Alexander, an American Sociologist says when people collectively believe that they have experienced a horrific incident that permanently alters their memories and fundamentally alters their identity going forward, they are said to have experienced cultural trauma. Gloria Naylor’s novels, The Women of Brewster Place and Linden Hills deal with the issues of the African-American community that experiences sociological harm, racial and gender discrimination, poverty and urban struggles, intersectionality, community and isolation, social hierarchies and class division, community expectations, and many other societal issues. In both novels, the community collectively collapsed, abandoned, and misbegotten. The characters in the novels come to terms with socio-cultural traumatizing experiences in their social situations. This article critically analyses the dynamics of socio-cultural trauma in these novels.
Historical trauma (HT) is intergenerational trauma defined as “a collective complex trauma inflicted on a group of peoples who share a specific group identity or affiliation” (Evans-Campbell, 2008, p. 320). HT was initially studied in survivors of the Holocaust from WWII (Fogelman & Savran, 1980). Intergenerational HT are forms of cultural and racist trauma when members of a race or ethnicity are subjected to unjustified traumatic intergenerational memories that adversely impact their identity. (Bowman & Estrin, 2023; Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998; Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998; Fogelman & Savran, 1980; Nassar, 2008, pp. 65e77) applied the concepts of intergenerational trauma and trauma transmission within native communities while studying the impacts of the HT of the massacres of Indigenous community members. The ethnic targeting of Japanese-Americans and Japanese residents after the attack on Pearl Harbor is also studied under historical intergenerational trauma. The African American HT is “the collective spiritual, psychological, emotional, and cognitive distress perpetuated intergenerationally deriving from multiple denigrating experiences originating with slavery and continuing with pattern forms of racism and discrimination to the present day” (Hampton & Gullotta, 2010, p. 32). Although slavery legally ended in 1863, its severity implanted a psychological and social shock in the minds of many African Americans (Akbar, 1996). Research has shown a direct link between HT and depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and indirect suicide ideation (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998; Carter, 2007; Coyhis & Simonelli, 2009; Nagata, 1991; Shikuma, 2019).
This research paper explores the therapeutic dimension of writing as a means of healing, with a specific focus on Phyllis Alesia Perry’s novel, Stigmata. Perry's work serves as a powerful example of how literature can be employed as a therapeutic tool for individuals navigating through trauma and adversity. The paper examines the novel's narrative structure, character development, and thematic elements, highlighting the healing potential embedded in the act of writing. By examining the protagonist's journey and the broader implications for readers, this research aims to contribute to the understanding of literature as a therapeutic medium. Although Stigmata contains various therapeutic dimensions, this paper tries to limit on the scope of scriptotherapy to reach the research end. First, the paper develops Suzette A. Henke's theory of “scriptotherapy” which is supported by Jennifer Lynne Bird’s “Narrative Writing,” and Sayantani Das Gupta and Marsha Hurst’s “Narrative Medicine” on the basis set by Jeffrey C. Alexander’s notion of the “agent of the carrier group,” Ron Eyerman’s notion of “collective representation,” and Dominick La Capra’s notion of “working through” since all these notions directly or indirectly contribute healing the traumatic wounds of people. In reading the novel, the employment of the theories helps discover how Stigmata proves to be therapeutic by analyzing and interpreting the essential and relevant textual evidence. Employment of the already produced literature by the scholars/critics will authenticate the central logic in meeting the research end.
This paper presents and discusses two sets of theories concerning trauma. The first involves a contemporary social theory of “cultural trauma” and the second refers to psychoanalytic theories on psychic trauma. We argue that these two groups of theories have some relevant elements in common, despite social theorists’ critique of psychoanalytic understanding on the matter. In our view, the most important meeting points between these groups of theories concern (a) the possibility to think that trauma is not welded to events but has a formation process, one of attribution of meaning, (b) that this process has a temporality of its own, and (c) that the environment (the objects, actors, and agents that compose it) has a fundamental and determinant role in trauma formation. Further, we suggest that trauma is still an open concept in psychoanalysis.
Kulturno pamćenje kolektiviteta izgrađeno je na važnim, često traumatskim, istorijskim momentima, koji se u svesti naroda rekonstruišu sakralizacijom, prenose usmenom tradicijom i održavaju kreiranjem narativa koji posledično postaju formativni, integrativni i mobilišući faktor kolektivnog identiteta. Uporišta sećanja i simboli kolektivnog identiteta pružaju permanentnost i stabilnost zajednice i na primeru Japana i na primeru Kosova*. Iako je kontekst proučavanja sećanja različit u dvema studijama slučaja, tačku spajanja dva naizgled nespojiva primera, Japana i Kosova, autorke pronalaze u sećanju na traumatske događaje i stradanja oba naroda kroz prizmu kulture sećanja kao referentnog teorijskog modela. Posmatrano sočivima socijalnog konstruktivizma, rad teži da odgovori na pitanje da li sećanje na nuklearni napad može da promeni i simplifikuje japanski identitet, i da istraži potencijal nastanka nacionalnog mita na motivima stradanja i žrtve, kao što je to slučaj sa Koso v-skim mitom. Takođe, istraživačka namera ogleda se u određivanju značaja, ali i (zlo)upotrebe Kosovskog mita za istorijsko pozicioniranje srpskog naroda i u izgradnji mi identiteta i u kreiranju distinkcije u odnosu na Druge. Ontološka bezbednost, kao naučen odnos sa Drugima kroz kulturu sećanja na zajedničke (ne)slavne momente, nadgrađuje postojeće nalaze opšte teorije kulture odgovorom na pitanje zašto je postojanje kolektivnih identiteta kroz kulturu pamćenja bezbednosno aktuelna tema.
Does time really heal everything? Time, of course, is not a healer, yet it is believed that a painful and difficult situation will seem less bad as time passes. How can we capture and explore the role of time in the experiences of the victims? How do relationships between the past, present, and future, inform, manifest in and shape the lives of those affected by terrorism? Is the memory of trauma suffered frozen in time and minds like a photograph and immune to the passing of time? This chapter will engage with questions of the temporality of victimhood within communities bound by memory as a shared experience. It will analyse time as a fluid, rather than static, multifocal rather than narrowly perceived category reflected in victims’ experiences.
El presente trabajo explora los modos en que la ópera prima de Yaa Gyasi, Volver a casa, imprime una memoria ejemplar de la historia de la esclavitud. La narrativa nos conduce desde el siglo XVIII al presente, a través de siete generaciones, nos presenta el devenir de familias cruzadas y traumatizadas por la esclavitud y sus consecuencias, y construye una memoria alternativa de la esclavitud. Gyasi revisa las categorías de víctimas y victimarios, pone en tensión la visibilización de la esclavitud en los Estados Unidos y en África, y la construcción de la memoria de este evento tan atroz en la historia de la humanidad. La novela puede leerse como un lugar de memoria (Nora) que instaura una memoria ejemplar (Todorov) para la diáspora africana en particular, y para el mundo occidental en general, al reescribir la historia de la esclavitud y completar los intersticios que la “historia oficial” ha vaciado.
This chapter is devoted to reflections on the consequences of colonization and the measures that should be taken to overcome them. In addition, the direct connection of many of the current problems of Kazakhstan with colonization and totalitarianism is explained.
This article reads Radwa Ashour's Granada (1995) as a novel that examines the cumulativeness of trauma in Arab/Muslim cultures. It is representative of postcolonial trauma novels' rethinking of the Eurocentric event-based model that lays the postcolonial question by the wayside. A barbed critique that links the colonial past to its postcolonial aftermath is thus leveled at the lasting aftereffects of a violent Western coloniality/modernity. By deploying the family trope, it recasts the undeterrable advance of Western globalism as the instigator of post-generational trauma. Ashour's angst-ridden narrative especially laments the foreclosure inflicted on potentialities by the Western discourse of salvation in that the latter submits the Arab/Muslim Other's attempt at conserving one's legacy to processes of incrimination and obliteration. In view of her full awareness of the looming death that triggers her existential dilemma as an intellectual, Ashour insists on excavating the archive as an act of survival against external forces that threaten to annihilate her cultural heritage. By mourning the loss of al-Andalus , she therefore exhibits unwavering determination to lay bare the dark underside of a long and single history of Western modernity.
The thesis of this contribution in the journal Zeitschrift für Psychodrama und Soziometrie is that the currently much invoked disruption or polarization within European societies does primarily not regard politics or organizational issues. It rather refers to the emotional and communicative sphere. The living conditions and hence the prevailing collective mood between the so-called generations of boomers and snowflakes has flipped from future-oriented hope to individual fear of failure and collective angst. From there result inter-generational tensions that do not only express but also cause disruptions, which are often perceived as political, social and cultural.
Even though literary works serve as excellent media for bearing witness to trauma, postcolonial and diasporic literary texts are often dismissed for their falsified accounts of traumatic life experiences. Recent studies on African American literature have stressed the need for a decolonized conceptualization of trauma that would not only disrupt the long-existing white Global Northern perspectives but also recognize feelings of empathy and solidarity among members of the community in these literary corpora. The present study adopts a hybrid analytical framework to examine the representations of trauma in the Nigerian American writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013). Specifically, we draw upon Gérard Genette’s narrative levels, Ron Eyerman’s collective memory, and Jeffrey Charles Alexander’s collective identity to argue that the novel defies conventional forms of narrative by depicting postcolonial and diasporic identities as volatile and dynamic constructs. The findings indicate the multiple ways in which the story presents diasporic Africans – that is, the female protagonist Ifemelu and her male lover Obinze – as capable of overcoming the adverse effects of traumatic memories by chronicling an authentic record of their experiences. The study also reveals that the leading female character, like the novelist Adichie, creates an empowering platform for migrants of various ethnicities to speak up about their traumatic experiences, and thereby establish what is called ‘cross-cultural solidarity’ in reconstructing a new community.
Dalit community has been suffered in every aspect due to the institutionalized discrimination of the Hindu caste system in Nepal which is also known as the output of the religious and political reasons. This unfair practice has left a clear mark of social division, exclusion and inequality severely ruining Dalits' life and identity. Sarad Paudel addresses this issue and offers a glimpse of being a Dalit or untouchable in his novel Likhe. He narrates episodes of verbal and physical violence; recurrent inter- and intra-caste discrimination, which depicts the traumatic existence of that oppressed community. Other dominations and discriminations are less traumatic in the comparison of the cultural trauma caused by untouchability, which is like an incurable disease. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the Dalit trauma as represented in this novel. To analyze the representation of traumatic experience in Dalits, the researcher has tried to apply the theoretical insights based on Jeffrey C. Alexander, Stuart Hall, Sigmund Freud and Cathy Caruth's exploration on trauma. This paper attempts to reveal how Dalit people have been living in the society bearing harsh torture, trauma and inhuman treatment in the context of Hindu Brahmin dominated society. This study adds new avenue for academic discussion in the field of academia so as to address the age-long discriminatory system in order to create a just and healthy society without any forms of discrimination in the name of race, class caste, color and gender. Therefore, this issue needs further exploration in academic discourse.
Активізація зацікавленості Голокостом та його впливом на цивілізаційний процес зумовлена, насамперед, спробою зрозуміти трансформацію та адаптацію колективного спогаду до викликів сьогодення. Трагедія містить у собі цілий спектр складних символічних міфологем, низку аксіологічних змістів. Саме переосмислення Голокосту є намаганням створити відкритий міжкультурний діалог з метою нівелювання складних історичних моментів. Але подія та практики її репрезентації все ж сприймаються соціумом з позиції дуальності підходів. З одного боку, Голокост існує у межах локальної етноісторії, апелюючи контекстуальним фактами еволюції антисемітизму в ідеології Третього Рейху. З іншого – це трагедія, яка з точки зору травматичної події створює глибинний колективних спогад, що потребує своєї візуалізації. Досить довгий час соціокультурний простір уникав теми катастрофи єврейського народу, етично обмежуючи розкриття фактів й чітко регламентуючи їх представлення. У статті порушується проблема репрезентації культурної травми Голокосту в українському кінематографі ХХ ХХІ століття, його соціальне призначення. Охарактеризовані особливості використання візуальної мови для зображення образу нарації трагедії єврейського народу. Методологія дослідження зорієнтована на використання системного підходу, що ґрунтується на історико-культурному, порівняльному, типологічному та аналітичному методах. Це дає змогу охарактеризувати трансформацію уявлень про Голокост та позбавити подію штучної лакунарності. Також застосований кількісний метод: зроблено спробу контент-аналізу ряду українських стрічок про Голокост, які містять яскраві засоби візуальної виразності у зображенні єврейства. Доведено, що кінематограф можна вважати формою комеморації, яка створює відкритий семіотико-культурний простір для дискурсу травми, проблематики репрезентації колективної пам’яті в добу постмодерну.
This paper explores the reappearance of the dissident in Russian contemporary literature followingPutin’s rise to power, focussing in particular on how the country’s formerly highbrow dissident counterculture is now moving closer to the realm of popular culture. Tracing the link between the intelligentsia, literature, and dissent all the way up to the supposed death of all three phenomena in the post-collapse years, this article argues that a dissident revival is not only ongoing but directly linked to Putin’s manipulation of historical consciousness and the nostalgia discourse in Russia. Using Boris Akunin, one of Russia’s most popular contemporary writers, as an example, this paper demonstrates how his activity as an author and a public figure has changed in reaction to Putin’s totalitarian turn in politics, resulting in an increasingly pointed counter-narrative to theKremlin’s hegemonic discourse on history. Through sketching Akunin’s artistic principles as a writer and addressing the importance of the nostalgia discourse for post-Soviet Russia’s identity struggles, this article discusses how Akunin’s exploration of the intersection between popular culture and highbrow literature may be indicative of a modernisation of the entire Russian intelligentsia tradition, pointing towards the future of literary dissent in Russia.
Memory studies as an interdisciplinary approach uses memory as a tool for remembering the traumatic experiences. Khaled Hosseini’s text A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) narrates the events of the past by combining history, culture and politics in the South Asian context and it also explains about the gender and religion in particular the lives of women under Islamic regime. The novel is set in the historical era of Afghanistan during soviet invasion and until the Taliban occupation. The theme revolves around the struggles and challenges of the people at times of war and invasion. Through the protagonists’ Mariam and Lalia’s struggle against the patriarchal clutches, Khaled Hosseini symbolizes Afghan people’s desire for independence. Mariam and Lalia undergo cultural trauma, the former traumatizes due to the internal displacement and by the vigorous imposition of religious practices, and the latter suffers from trauma through the forceful external migration and also by the memories of homeland. Khaled Hosseini as a diaspora writer describes the ancient history and cultural practices of Afghanistan. This shows his individual and cultural memory towards his native land. The research argument takes into account the intersection of trauma and memory in the interpretation of the literary text as it represents the interrelated and complimentary fields of study since 1990s. Trauma is considered as the act of remembering, thus this paper tends to highlight the traumatic histories embedded in the culture of oppression.
Objetivo:
Este artículo analiza el papel de La Casa de la Memoria y los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres (CMDHM) en el proceso de rememorar el trauma cultural del conflicto armado en la región del Magdalena Medio.
Metodología:
Esta investigación de carácter exploratorio descriptivo realiza un análisis cualitativo y utiliza como métodos de recolección de información las entrevistas semiestructuradas con creadoras, guardianas y visitantes del museo, así como un grupo focal con creadoras y observación participante mediante recorridos en el lugar.
Originalidad:
El artículo evidencia que el papel del museo en la producción del trauma cultural se activa con los sentidos de las creadoras, las guías y las audiencias. Entiende el lugar de memoria como un producto cultural donde dialogan diversas significaciones del conflicto armado como un trauma vivo en permanente construcción colectiva.
Conclusiones:
El papel que cumple el museo es la construcción de sentidos diversos sobre el trauma del conflicto armado, que por su magnitud histórica y geográfica marcó la historia individual y colectiva de la sociedad colombiana. La particularidad de exponer un sentido colectivo del trauma desde la perspectiva de las mujeres invita al diálogo con la experiencia de la visita, la asignación de significados a los objetos y la construcción de un sentido propio sobre el conflicto armado.
This article looks at the exhibition New Landscape (2018), which was the first full-scale attempt to reflect on the popularity of “deadpan” photography in Russia in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. The show was partly modeled on the American exhibition New Topographics (1975). I look at the reasons why the American model was adopted and the earlier late Soviet and Russian photographic projects that dealt with boredom, including the most non-conformist ones, were avoided. I conclude that the reasons for this should be analyzed in the complex postcolonial context, which includes the acting out of collective trauma. In my analysis, I focus on the link between trauma and repressed aggression, violence, and resentment. I also show how Russian deadpan photography has opposed Putin’s regime and developed a pioneer methodology for reflecting on the post-Soviet condition. The American model was used to bring together a diversity of viewpoints, which reveals more complex and integrated ways of dealing with collective affect.
During Yemenite Jews’ stay in Israeli transit camps during 1948–1950, many of their children disappeared in the so‐called “Yemenite Children Affair,” undermining the immigrants’ faith in the redemptive ethos of Zionism. To better understand this collective trauma, we return to the original Freudian conceptualization of melancholia as “failed mourning,” locating it within the ethnographic context of the Yemenite Children Affair and integrating its private/individual and public/collective aspects. Moreover, we provide a novel historical reading that integrates the individual loss of children and the collective lack of civic recognition. We use the term “civil melancholia” to reflect on the lingering, hurtful group experience of being overlooked (as refugees and parents) and the continuing collective predicament as “second‐rate citizens.” By conceptualizing this civil melancholia and its cultural nuances, the analysis enhances the discussion of cultural traumas and their intergenerational transmission among contemporary ethnic immigrant groups.
The study focuses on three narratives as they unfold within the academy and contextualize academic trauma. The first examines the manifestations of the classical social science structural-agency dilemma in the university setting. The second reveals the mechanisms of balancing between the objectivity demanded of the academicians and their inherent subjectivity, in the suppression of which trauma is highlighted. The third theme, built around R. Barthes’ model of idiorrhythmia, offers a theoretical understanding of the academy as a social aggregate that attempts to harmonize individual and collective experience. The lines of argument are combined into a single theoretical model, focusing on different aspects of the manifestation of the same phenomenon — trauma. Trauma reveals itself in various aspects of academic life: in informal practices that contradict formal rules, in the demands for objectivity imposed on the social researcher under the conditions of their inalienable subjectivity, in the individualization of academic life while simultaneously attempting to universalize the experience of it. At the same time, the multiple contradictions of academic life prevent critical reflection on them. The study notes the advantages and drawbacks of the autoethnographic approach to overcoming these dilemmas in the situation of the academic’s reflection on their academic experience.
Guerras moldam identidades, estados e regimes políticos. Este artigo tem por objetivo analisar as três fases da guerra na Ucrânia e o seu impacto nas sociedades russa e ucraniana, em particular seus efeitos humanitários, econômicos, políticos e identitários. Também aborda a situação política e social nos territórios ocupados e anexados pela Rússia. O estudo teve como referência dados oficiais da ONU, ONGs internacionais, centros de pesquisa de opinião pública da Rússia e da Ucrânia, bem como acadêmicos e canais midiáticos da Rússia, Ucrânia e outros países. Oito meses de guerra causaram enormes danos à Ucrânia: mais de seis mil civis foram mortos, milhões deixaram suas casas, o PIB caiu de 30% e o país perdeu 15% do território. Na Rússia, embora a economia tenha apresentado significativa resiliência frente às sanções ocidentais, o prolongamento da guerra já causa insatisfações. O conflito foi instrumentalizado por Vladimir Putin para endurecer ainda mais o seu regime autoritário. Ao contrário de seu projeto etnonacionalista, a resistência no Leste e Sul da Ucrânia evidencia que a proximidade linguístico-cultural não necessariamente se traduz em uma lealdade automática ao Estado russo. A própria guerra tem potencial de distanciar a identidade ucraniana da Rússia, estimulando animosidades de longo prazo.
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Palavras-chave: Guerra na Ucrânia (guerra russo-ucraniana); política da Ucrânia; política da Rússia; Vladimir Putin; guerra no Donbass.
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Wars shape identities, states and political regimes. In this article, I analyze the three phases of the war in Ukraine and its impact on Russian and Ukrainian societies, mainly their humanitarian, economic, political and identity effects. I also address the political and social situation in the territories occupied and annexed by Russia. The study draws on official data from the UN, international NGOs, Russian and Ukrainian public opinion research centers, as well as scholars and media outlets from Russia, Ukraine and the West. Eight months of war have heavily harmed Ukraine: more than six thousand civilians were killed, millions left their homes, the GDP fell by 30% and the country lost 15% of its territory. In Russia, although the economy has shown significant resilience in the face of Western sanctions, the prolongation of the war is already causing dissatisfaction. The conflict was instrumentalized by Vladimir Putin to further harden his authoritarian regime. Contrary to its ethnonationalist project, the resistance in eastern and southern Ukraine shows that linguistic-cultural proximity does not necessarily translate into automatic loyalty to the Russian state. The war itself has the potential to distance Ukrainian identity, boosting long-term animosities.
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Keywords: War in Ukraine; politics of Ukraine; politics of Russia; Vladimir Putin, war in Donbass
This chapter explores 3-D cinema’s potential to engage with the challenges trauma poses to memory and representation, through its dualism of illusionism and realism and the qualities of stereoscopic images. 3-D, by virtue of its technological poetics, can be used to visually illustrate the limits and plasticity of post-traumatic knowledge and memory. The dualities associated with 3-D cinema, such as belief and disbelief, realism and illusionism, hold particular importance in relation to the engagement of fifties’ 3-D cinema with questions of representation pertaining to the complex nature of the traumatic event and traumatic memory. Set within narratives that focus on traumatic, incredible encounters, 3-D cinema’s paradoxical images, both more real and more illusional, resonate the tension between the reality of the traumatic memory and its fantastical elements.
Запропонований аналіз теоретико-методологічних і конкретно-історичних аспектів психотравмуючого досвіду війни, реадаптації, відновлення, та акцентування на важливість засобів соціально-психологічної й
психологічної допомоги військовослужбовцям, що виконують свій обов’язок у зоні бойових дій, перебувають на лікуванні й реабілітації.
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