Miguel Alirangues López (Ph.D. candidate at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and currently visiting researcher at FMSP)
What does it mean to be traumatized by the past? On the limits of the concept of cultural trauma and the need for new lexicons
July 02, 4:00 pm CET
Abstract:
In the last three decades, the concept of trauma has been established as one of the key concepts both in research on political memory and in common usage by citizens referring to disruptive events of great intensity. However, some critical voices have recently warned about its abuse and the danger that its lack of specifity may entail.
After criticizing the neglect of experience that is recurrent in constructivist approaches, the paper intends to explore the limits of the validity of the concept of trauma when it refers to past historical experiences, and will propose a more adequate conceptual framework based on Adorno’s work and the concept of harm as developed by Carlos Thiebaut.
As preparatory readings, Miguel suggests:
Neil Smelser: “Psychological Trauma and Cultural Trauma” in Alexander, Jeffrey C., Eyerman, Ron, Giesen, Bernard, Smelser, Neil J. y Sztompka, Piotr. Cultural Trauma and Collective Identity. University of California Press, 2004, pp. 31-59.
Wulf Kansteiner: “Genealogy of a Category Mistake: A Critical Intellectual History of the Cultural Trauma Metaphor” in Rethinking History: The Journal of Theory and Practice, vol. 8 (2), 2004, pp. 193-221.
When: Jul 2, 2021 04:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
To register, send an e-mail to hiwi.erll@gmail.com.
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We will send you PDFs of the preparatory reading.