Trauma And The Failure Of History

A theoretical and exegetical exploration of trauma in the Hebrew Bible David Janzen discusses the concepts of history and trauma and contrasts the ways historians and trauma survivors grapple with traumatic events, a contrast embodied in the very different ways the books of Kings and Lamentations react to the destruction of Jerusalem. Janzen’s study warns that explanations in histories will tend to silence the voices of trauma survivors, and it challenges traditional approaches that sometimes portray the explanations of traumatic events in biblical literature as therapeutic for victims. Features: Exploration of history as a narrative explanation that creates a past readers can recognize to be true Examination of how trauma results in a failure of victims to fully experience or remember traumatic events. A case for why the past is a construction of cultures and historians

Fragments of Trauma and the Social Production of Suffering: Trauma, History, and Memory offers a kaleidoscope of perspectives that highlight the problem of traumatic memory. Because trauma fragments memory, storytelling is impeded by what is unknowable and what is unspeakable. Each of the contributors tackles the problem of narrativizing memory that is constructed from fragments that have been passed along the generations. When trauma is cultural as well as personal, it becomes even more invisible, as each generation’s attempts at coping push the pain further below the surface. Consequently, that pain becomes increasingly ineffable, haunting succeeding generations. In each story the contributors offer, there emerges the theme of difference, a difference that turns back on itself and makes an accusation. Themes of knowing and unknowing show the terrible toll that trauma takes when there is no one with whom the trauma can be acknowledged and worked through. In the face of utter lack of recognition, what might be known together becomes hidden. Our failure to speak to these unaspirated truths becomes a betrayal of self and also of others. In the case of intergenerational and cultural trauma, we betray not only our ancestors but also the future generations to come. In the face of unacknowledged trauma, this book reveals that we are confronted with the perennial choice of speaking or becoming complicit in our silence.

Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.

Cult of Defeat in Mexico's Historical Fiction: Failure, Trauma, and Loss examines recent Mexican historical novels that highlight the mistakes of the nineteenth century for the purpose of responding to present crises.

Roth and Trauma: The Problem of History in the Later Works (1995-2010) moves beyond a critical reception of Philip Roth's recent fiction that has focused primarily on an interest in post WWII America. By contrast, Aimee Pozorski argues that these novels grapple more comprehensively with US history in their fascination with America's "traumatic beginnings" and the legacy of the American Revolution. Drawing on close readings and trauma theory, Roth and Trauma reveals the problem of history in Roth's later works to be the unexpected and repeated appearance of historical trauma that links the still-unfinished American dream with the nightmarish quality of our recent history.

Trauma, trauma-related disorders, substance use, and addictive disorders often co-occur, and frequently play a role in the problems and issues that social workers contend with in their practice with individuals, families, and communities. Research shows that there is a relationship between trauma-related symptoms and problematic use of substances and other addictive behaviors. Individuals who experience these co-occurring problems have better outcomes when their issues are addressed with integrated treatment approaches. Trauma-informed care and trauma-specific treatment are therefore important components of effective social work interventions. This book examines various types of trauma, such as intergenerational trauma, adverse childhood events, childhood sexual abuse, and minority stress, amongst various populations and settings, including Native Americans, homeless youth, drug court participants, and LGB adolescents. It also explores the challenges in delivering trauma services in outpatient addiction treatment settings. Furthermore, it provides practical information on how to implement trauma-informed approaches in addiction treatment, and offers insights into the experience of a trauma survivor who is also recovering from a substance use disorder. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

The essays in this book trace the origins of ongoing heated debates regarding trauma.

This book reads the Joseph novella alongside contemporary trauma novels to reveal a story written by people trying to reconstruct their assumptive world after the shattering of their old one. It also highlights the religious dimension in trauma theory.