Smitson, McKayla Jean
(2022)
Conditioned Trauma: Theorizing a Revised Understanding of East Asian Trauma.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
As we come to know more about trauma, describing a single event—physical or psychological, as ‘traumatic’ often ignores its role as a historical-political-social phenomenon that pertains to much more than an individual’s experience. Perhaps it is the lack of appropriate language within the fields of trauma studies that has caused this disconnect as the stories of survivors are often tossed aside and regarded as anomalous. My thesis seeks to delve into the almost inconceivable and inaccessible territory of the Gwangju Uprising and the Tiananmen Massacre, whose histories have been created and defined by the state, through the creation and introduction of a new, conditioned trauma theory. Within the stories of survivors emerge heterotopias or countersites to the dominant, ‘acceptable’ renditions of these events and as such, I seek to reconstruct the theoretical framework by which we analyze the cultural nuances of trauma within East Asia that is particular to student-led democratization movements. While highlighting cultural and historical specificities, conditioned trauma theory works to bridge the gaps created by classical trauma theory’s ahistorical, clinical, and individualistic approach to analyzing trauma narratives.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
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| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
30 April 2022 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
5 April 2022 |
| Approval Date: |
25 October 2024 |
| Submission Date: |
8 April 2022 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
70 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > East Asian Studies |
| Degree: |
MA - Master of Arts |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
trauma theory, tiananmen, gwangju, may 18, june 4, conditioned trauma theory, east asia, literary trauma theory |
| Date Deposited: |
25 Oct 2024 19:12 |
| Last Modified: |
28 Oct 2024 12:13 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/42551 |
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