What is Trauma? From Ancient Greece to the Digital Age

James Dawes

Abstract:

We live in an age of collective trauma, from the acute shock of hyper-visible mass killings to the chronic dread of climate change and global pandemics. What are we supposed to do with it all? How do we, each time, balance the need to remember with the need to move forward? How do we construct narratives of trauma that acknowledge the pain of the past while also allowing hope for the future? In this talk, I will track the development of trauma as a concept, from its origins in the 19th century to contemporary modes of engaging with collective trauma, paying special attention to the moral risks and requirements of our efforts to turn unspeakable pain into coherent memory.

Speaker:

James Dawes is the DeWitt Wallace Professor of English at Macalester College. His areas of research expertise include human rights, narrative ethics, and artificial intelligence. He is the author of several books, including Evil Men, winner of the International Human Rights Book Award, and That the World May Know: Bearing Witness to Atrocity, Independent Publisher Book Award Finalist. His recent media work focuses on the existential threat posed by autonomous weapons. Dawes was a Junior Fellow at the Society of Fellows, Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and his M. Phil. from Cambridge University.