Victims of crime, survivors of abuse, refugees, war veterans, and survivors of natural disasters are among the many groups of people who might find themselves struggling with the emotional, psychological and physiological impact of trauma. For many such survivors, religious and cultural narratives can provide language and resources for making sense of traumatic events and negotiating their aftermath. At the same time, experiences of trauma and suffering can sometimes lead survivors to abandon or radically reshape previous commitments and beliefs.
This course will explore the complex intersections between religion, spirituality, trauma and suffering. In this course, we will explore some of the following questions:
• What is trauma? How does trauma differ from other forms of suffering?
• In what ways does traumatic stress impact the body, experiences of temporality, and language and cognition?
• How can trauma be experienced and held at collective and communal levels (even across multiple generations)?
• In what ways can religious communities and narratives either cause or exacerbate experiences of trauma and suffering?
• In what ways can some religious texts and narratives themselves be read and understood as responses to traumatic events?
• How can the lens of trauma assist with generating new readings and interpretations of religious and theological texts?
• How can acknowledging (rather than suppressing) trauma and suffering help to facilitate new forms of solidarity and political life?