Conflict in all its guises is usually at the centre of news and whenever wars, natural disasters or divisions erupt, the media are there to report, record and commemorate. This collection of essays explores the complicated relationship between the messengers bringing news of catastrophic upheaval and the recipients of that message. It concentrates on the journalists, photographers and film-makers, reflecting not only the motivations behind their work, but also the psychological consequences of witnessing extreme suffering. The audience interpret the news according to their circumstance, be it with anger sympathy or with compassion-fatigued indifference. The book explores that reaction, which is always more nuanced than anticipated. Finally, the modern communication circle is completed by exploring the potential of the media to diminish conflict. This is demonstrated by the media bringing together communities that are either geographically or historically divided.
This volume describes a variety of public mental health and psychosocial programs in conflict and post-conflict situations in Africa and Asia. Each chapter details the psychosocial and mental health aspects of specific conflicts and examines them within their sociopolitical and historical contexts. This volume will be of great interest to psychologists, social workers, anthropologists, historians, human rights experts, and psychiatrists working or interested in the field of psychotrauma.
The role of journalists in covering trauma and tragedy isn't new. Witnessing acts of violence, destruction and terror has long been the professional responsibility of countless print and broadcast reporters and photographers. But what is new is a growing awareness of the emotional consequences of such coverage on the victims, their families and loved ones, their communities, and on the journalists whose job it is to tell these stories. Trauma Journalism personalizes this movement with in-depth profiles of reporters, researchers and trauma experts engaged in an international effort to transform how the media work under the most difficult of conditions. Through biographical sketches concerning several significant traumatic events (Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine school tragedy, 9/11, Iraq War, the South Asian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina), students and working reporters will gain insights into the critical components of contemporary journalism practices affecting news judgment, news gathering techniques, as well as legal and ethical issues. Trauma Journalism calls for the creation - through ongoing education - of a culture of caring among journalists worldwide.
Theorising Media and Conflict brings together anthropologists as well as media and communication scholars to collectively address the elusive and complex relationship between media and conflict. Through epistemological and methodological reflections and the analyses of various case studies from around the globe, this volume provides evidence for the co-constitutiveness of media and conflict and contributes to their consolidation as a distinct area of scholarship. Practitioners, policymakers, students and scholars who wish to understand the lived realities and dynamics of contemporary conflicts will find this book invaluable.
Throughout the past century, traumatic experiences have been re-enacted frequently by evolving media and art forms. Now there is a significant body of theory across academic disciplines focused on the representation of cataclysmic European and US historical events. However, less critical attention has been devoted to the representation of havoc outside the West, even though depictions of Third-World disasters saturate contemporary media and art around the globe. This book considers traumatic histories internationally in a broad range of creative arts and visual media representations. Deploying diverse applications of the conventional theories of trauma, it examines the theoretical limitations at the same time as considering alternative methodologies. Interrogating Trauma is concerned with the examination of the concept of trauma, and how it is (often unproblematically) used to theorise the cultural representation of disaster and atrocity. It offers a theorisation of trauma, in order to reappraise the relationship between cultural representation and the socio-historical processes which are marked by violence, conflict and suffering. This book was published as a special issue of Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies.
In Beyond the Trauma Vortex, Gina Ross proposes a collaboration between the media, trauma researchers, and helping officials in order to break the vicious cycle of trauma and violence. The media, Ross suggests, can use their tremendous influence to promote peace rather than violence and to heal wounded psyches, communities, and nations. Delving first into the destructive nature of the "trauma vortex" through a variety of individual and historical examples, Ross then offers her insight into an alternate, restorative "healing vortex." By focusing on the interrelatedness of personal and collective healing, the author makes a compelling case for why--and how--media professionals can play an influential role in effecting widespread healing for their viewers and for themselves.
In Transmitted Wounds, Amit Pinchevski explores the ways media technology and logic shape the social life of trauma both clinically and culturally. Bringing media theory to bear on trauma theory, Pinchevski reveals the technical operations that inform the conception and experience of traumatic impact and memory. He offers a bold thesis about the deep association of media and trauma: media bear witness to the human failure to bear witness, making the traumatic technologically transmissible and reproducible. Taking up a number of case studies--the radio broadcasts of the Eichmann trial; the videotaping of Holocaust testimonies; recent psychiatric debates about trauma through media following the 9/11 attacks; current controversy surrounding drone operators' post-trauma; and digital platforms of algorithmic-holographic witnessing and virtual reality exposure therapy for PTSD--Pinchevski demonstrates how the technological mediation of trauma feeds into the traumatic condition itself. The result is a novel understanding of media as constituting the material conditions for trauma to appear as something that cannot be fully approached and yet somehow must be. While drawing on contemporary materialist media theory, especially the work of Friedrich Kittler and his followers, Pinchevski goes beyond the anti-humanistic tendency characterizing the materialist approach, discovering media as bearing out the human vulnerability epitomized in trauma, and finding therein a basis for moral concern in the face of violence and atrocity. Transmitted Wounds unfolds the ethical and political stakes involved in the technological transmission of mental wounds across clinical, literary, and cultural contexts.
"As foreign assistance flows into post-conflict regions to rebuild economies, roads, and schools, it is important that development professionals retain a focus on the purely human element of rebuilding lives and societies. This book provides perspective on just how to begin that process so that the trauma people suffered is not passed on to future generations long after the violence has stopped." - Amy T. Wilson, Ph.D., Gallaudet University, Washington, DC "This ground-breaking text provides the reader with an excellent and comprehensive overview of the existing field of trauma rehabilitation. It also masterfully navigates the intricate relationships among theory, research, and practice leaving the reader with immense appreciation for its subject matter." - Hanoch Livneh, Hanoch Livneh, Ph.D., LPC, CRC, Portland State University Fear, terror, helplessness, rage: for soldier and civilian alike, the psychological costs of war are staggering. And for those traumatized by chronic armed conflict, healing, recovery, and closure can seem like impossible goals. Demonstrating wide-ranging knowledge of the vulnerabilities and resilience of war survivors, the collaborators on Trauma Rehabilitation after War and Conflict analyze successful rehabilitative processes and intervention programs in conflict-affected areas of the world. Its dual focus on individual and community healing builds on the concept of the protective "trauma membrane," a component crucial to coping and healing, to humanitarian efforts (though one which is often passed over in favor of rebuilding infrastructure), and to promoting and sustaining peace. The book’s multiple perspectives—including public health, community-based systems, and trauma-focused approaches—reflect the complex psychological, social, and emotional stresses faced by survivors, to provide authoritative information on salient topics such as: Psychological rehabilitation of U.S. veterans, non-Western ex-combatants, and civilians Forgiveness and social reconciliation after armed conflict Psychosocial adjustment in the post-war setting Helping individuals heal from war-related rape The psychological impact on prisoners of war Rehabilitating the child soldier Rehabilitation after War and Conflict lucidly sets out the terms for the next stage of humanitarian work, making it essential reading for researchers and professionals in psychology, social work, rehabilitation, counseling, and public health.
This book presents a decade of advances in the psychological, biological and social responses to disasters, helping medics and leaders prepare and react.
The Oklahoma City bombing, intentional crashing of airliners on September 11, 2001, and anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001 have made Americans acutely aware of the impacts of terrorism. These events and continued threats of terrorism have raised questions about the impact on the psychological health of the nation and how well the public health infrastructure is able to meet the psychological needs that will likely result. Preparing for the Psychological Consequences of Terrorism highlights some of the critical issues in responding to the psychological needs that result from terrorism and provides possible options for intervention. The committee offers an example for a public health strategy that may serve as a base from which plans to prevent and respond to the psychological consequences of a variety of terrorism events can be formulated. The report includes recommendations for the training and education of service providers, ensuring appropriate guidelines for the protection of service providers, and developing public health surveillance for preevent, event, and postevent factors related to psychological consequences.
