Event Details

All faculty and staff are invited to join us for the first Humanities Faculty Colloquium of this academic year on Tuesday, September 17 for a talk by DeWitt Wallace Professor of English -James Dawes. The presentation will be held in the ArtCom 102 room of the Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Lunch, generously funded by the Provost's Office, is available at 11:45; talks begin promptly at noon. No RSVP needed. 

What is Trauma? From Ancient Greece to the Digital Age

We live in an age of collective trauma, from the acute shock of hyper-visible mass killings to the chronic dread of climate change. What are we supposed to do with it all? How do we construct narratives of trauma that acknowledge the pain of the past while also allowing hope for the future? In this talk I will track the historical evolution of trauma as a concept, from its ancient origins to our current moment, paying special attention to the moral risks and requirements of our efforts to turn unspeakable pain into coherent memory.