RITUAL, TRAUMA AND SOCIAL CHANGE (LSRS-2000)

In many movements for social change, trauma plays an important, if unacknowledged, role.
Social, cultural, and personal trauma in particular can serve to motivate individual activism,
provide both tools and constraints for activism, and construct narratives and frames of injustice
or reconciliation that can sustain and shape activism on a large scale. What is more, those who
work for social change often experience trauma in the process of their work. This seminar
explores the connections between movements for social change and the dynamics of social and
personal trauma. We will consider the role that ritual can and does play in uncovering and
addressing trauma by drawing suffering into the process of reconstructing memory, giving
expression to that which has been silenced, offering frames for making meaning, and
embodying visions of transformation. Evaluation will be based on facilitation of discussions,
critical reflection paper, and ritual design.

Intersession 2024 Meeting Days:  
January 8 – 11 (Mon – Thur) 9:30AM – 12:30PM
January 16 – 19 (Tues – Fri) 9:30AM – 12:30PM