Call for Papers
The International Network for Interdisciplinary Research about the Impact of Traumatic Experience on the Life of Individuals and Society (Trauma Research Net) invites proposals for papers to be presented at its 3rd International Conference entitled: "Trauma - Stigma and Distinction: Social Ambivalences in the Face of Extreme Suffering," which will take place on 14 - 17 September 2006 in St. Moritz (Switzerland). Since 1995, the Hamburg Institute for Social Research has provided the basis of an informal network on trauma research that now reaches more than one thousand institutions and individuals. The goal and purpose of the Trauma Research Net is to foster an interdisciplinary discourse of those working in trauma research by linking the institutions and individuals working practically or theoretically in the relevant fields. Two previous conferences, organized by the Trauma Research Net in 1998 and 2002, have provided important venues for formulating or re-examining assumptions and questions that play a central role in this highly diverse area of research.
We are especially interested in papers that combine various levels of discourse on trauma in order to juxtapose or intertwine practical and theoretical points of view, developing dialogues between and across disciplines. Hence this call for papers is addressed both to professionals working with trauma victims on a practical, therapeutic level and to those researching, writing and teaching on trauma on a more theoretical level. We also encourage joint presentations that discuss topics from a number of disciplinary angles.
The conference on "Trauma - Stigma and Distinction: Social Ambivalences in the Face of Extreme Suffering" aims to elucidate how the dominant role of the trauma concept affects our thinking about violence and its aftermath. The aim of the conference is to scrutinize social aspects of trauma discourse and of the practice of trauma therapy – their ideology, politics, economy. We seek to examine what social aspects are emphasized when we speak of trauma – individual and collective – and what aspects fade into the background. Thus, we are interested in topics such as:
- Social Recognition and Denial of Trauma
- Hierarchies Between and Within Victim Groups
- Practical Work with Victim Groups and the Influence of Prejudice and Idealization
- Hostility and Reconciliation in Conflict Resolution after Extreme Suffering
- Validation and Subversion in Professional Discourses on Trauma
Social Recognition and Denial of Trauma: Holocaust studies have been and continue to be relevant, indeed essential to contemporary trauma studies. Obviously Holocaust research also deals with completely different issues but clarifying its relationship to investigations into trauma seems to be a fruitful perspective. The following questions appear useful for both Holocaust and trauma studies. What meaning do various social contexts attribute to victimhood? What suffering and which victims get social recognition and are highlighted as paradigmatic in certain social and professional discourses, and what suffering is ignored or denied? Which trauma victims experience their traumatization as a stigmatization, while others may regard themselves – and be regarded by their peers – as having gained some form of distinction (as heroes or survivors) by their suffering. What is the role of social factors such as culture, tradition, religion, gender, class and ethnicity in turning social affects against victims in some circumstances, while leading to the social validation of victimhood in others? What do all these issues have to do with specific political contexts?
Hierarchies Within and Between Victim Groups: Which social environments foster or inhibit tendencies toward group formation of trauma victims? What motivates some trauma victims to organize themselves with others who have suffered similar traumatization, and what factors impact on their inclusion in or exclusion from groups whose membership they seek? Alternatively, what pushes trauma victims to distinguish themselves from others who have been traumatized and under what conditions may trauma victims get involved in a competition of suffering? How can victims obtain not only recognition but justice after being wronged severely? How can civil society deal with lasting injustice against trauma victims?
Practical Work with Victim Groups and the Influence of Prejudice and Idealization: How can psychotherapeutic approaches deal adequately with the social and political aspects of trauma? What therapeutic approaches appeal to which types of patients by legitimizing and furthering articulations of their traumatic experiences and suffering, while marginalizing tabooing or silencing others? To what degree do therapeutic approaches reflect the social prejudices or idealizations of practitioners when faced with traumatized patients, as well as their suspicions of or identifications with large-scale social institutions and values? How are conflicts played out, for example, between different professionals who assess the psychological status of individuals applying for political asylum?
Hostility and Reconciliation in Conflict Resolution after Extreme Suffering: Should we overcome the dichotomy between victim and perpetrator and how can this be done? Can victims be prematurely forced down the road of reconciliation or even forgiveness? Under what circumstances do political activists and therapists advocate processes of reconciliation of victims and perpetrators? How do conceptualizations of trauma and trauma work relate to processes of peace building and conflict transformation? Are they in any way helpful, or might they also hinder the process of change? Is trauma a relevant issue for conflict transformation and peace building? Can the perspectives of those enhancing peace and those healing trauma be analyzed as conflicting interests? In which cases do therapeutic and other approaches to trauma resolution condone and further expressions of hostility against victims or perpetrators, supporting the stigmatization of both in different ways as social outcasts?
Validation and Subversion in Professional Discourses on Trauma: How do professional discourses on trauma deal with the issue of truth? In what way and in which cases do they validate the perspectives of trauma victims as containing a higher or special form of truth? Under what conditions do such discourses undermine the credibility of victims? How can we grapple with the tendency of the medical sciences, especially the neurosciences, to objectify mental states to an increasing extent when dealing with trauma? How do practitioners (psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, social workers, NGO activists and organizers of support groups) establish professional hierarchies among themselves, and how do they define and delineate their diverse professional jurisdictions? In what way do historical, sociological, political, ethical, legal, biological or literary perspectives reinforce or undermine the authority of practitioners? How do simplified conflict theories relate to approaches from the field of resilience research? To what extent may conceptualizing trauma itself be a reaction, indeed, a kind of defense mechanism to avert dealing with the narratives of extreme suffering? And if so, what are the consequences for discourse on trauma?
Papers should address one or some of the manifold social ambivalences evoked by extreme suffering.
The topics and research questions listed above are meant as suggestions only. They indicate in general terms some of the ways in which stigma and distinction may come into play with reference to trauma. Papers are sought that discuss themes and questions of this kind within specific social, political, historical, geographical, cultural, therapeutic and cultural contexts.
Deadline for proposals: March 31, 2006.
Proposals should include abstracts of 300-500 words. We are looking forward to receive proposals together with a short CV by March 31, 2006. We will acknowledge all proposals upon receipt by e-mail. Papers presented at the conference will be considered for publication.
The language of the conference will be English.
The conference is again generously sponsored by the Hamburg Foundation for the Advancement of Research and Culture.
Conference Conveners
David Becker (Berlin), Cornelia Berens (Hamburg), José Brunner (Tel Aviv), André Karger (Düsseldorf), Angela Kühner (München), Jan Philipp Reemtsma (Hamburg).
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