Trauma and its Afterlives (319-0-1)

Instructors

Peter Andrew Locke
1800 Sherman Ave, Suite 1-200, Evanston

Meeting Info

University Hall 112: Wed 2:00PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

This course draws on perspectives from anthropology, related social scientific fields, and the humanities to provide a critical introduction to psychological trauma and its increasingly significant place in contemporary global health discourses and agendas. We will explore the history of the concept and its applications in Western literature, science, and medicine; consider the relatively recent construction of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a diagnostic category and the clinical approaches developed to treat it; and examine the politics and effects of applying the concept abroad through humanitarian psychiatry and/or global mental health projects. Key questions of the course will include: how and why has trauma become one of the most important signifiers of our era—and a key criterion of "victimhood?" What politics and debates have shaped the development and application of the PTSD diagnosis in recent decades? And how have notions of trauma and their varied applications transformed politics, suffering, and care in diverse communities around the world?

Class Materials (Required)

All required materials will be available on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area
No Freshmen