Transgenerational Trauma and the Body as an Archive of Violence
On 12.6.2025 from 2-6 pm at the Center for Research on Antisemitism and as a block from 7.-10.7.25 (full days) at the Ravensbrueck Memorial.
Historical violence persists in both the minds and bodies of those who experience it. Trauma shapes thoughts, actions, emotions, and physiological responses, often leaving lasting imprints. Psychological and medical research has shown that these embodied memories can be passed down through generations.
This seminar explores how racist and antisemitic violence affects individual and collective bodies and minds. We will critically examine the growing discourse on trauma and victimhood while considering its potential to advance or reinforce political agendas. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from psychology, medicine, neuroscience, sociology, philosophy, and history, we will analyze bodily memory as a lens for understanding violence. Our readings will cover key literature on (transgenerational) trauma following the Holocaust, slavery and anti-Black racism, the Rwandan genocide, Porajmos, and other instances of collective violence. Selected authors will join us for discussions via Zoom.
The seminar is structured as a workshop in two intensive blocks. A preparatory meeting will take place on June 12 at the Center for Research on Antisemitism. The main sessions will be held over four days at the Ravensbrueck Memorial site, where participants will stay in the on-site hostel. All costs are covered.
Open to Master's and Doctoral students from different disciplines, the seminar is embedded in the Master’s program in Antisemitism Studies. Participants must be able to read academic texts in both English and German. The language of the seminar will be decided in consultation with the participants on June 12, taking into account their preferences and language skills.
Enrollment is limited to 14 students. To increase your chances of participation, you are encouraged to submit a short (half-page) statement of interest to danilina@tu-berlin.de with the subject line "Seminar Transgenerational Trauma."
Literatur Auswahl:
· Brunner J. and Zajde, N. (Hg.), Holocaust und Trauma. Kritische Perspektiven zur Entstehung und Wirkung eines Paradigmas, Goettingen: Wallstein.
· Fassin, Didier/ Rechtmann, Richard: The Empire of Trauma. An Inquiry into the Condition of Victimhood, 2009.
· Graff, G. The Intergenerational Trauma of Slavery and Its Aftereffects: The Question of Reparations. Journal of Psychohistory 2017 (44 (4)): 256–268.
· Lehrner, A., und R. Yehuda. 2018. Cultural trauma and epigenetic inheritance. Development and psychopathology 30 (5): 1763–1777. doi: 10.1017/S0954579418001153.
· Meloni, M. 2016. Political biology. Science and social values in human heredity from eugenics to epigenetics. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
· Sullivan, S. 2015. The physiology of sexist and racist oppression. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Contact: danilina@tu-berlin.de Anna Danilina
Trauma und Körpergedächtnis. Zur Gegenwart der Gewaltgeschichte von Antisemitismus und Rassismus
Zentrum für Antisemitismusforschung (ZfA)
Do. 12.06.25 - Do. 12.06.25, wöchentlich, Do. 10.07.25 - Do. 10.07.25, wöchentlich, 16:00 - 17:30
Charlottenburg, KAI 1214
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