Trauma – A Western Concept?

 

Weekly Topic Overview: This week we will begin examining trauma and what it means across different cultural settings. We will ask the question: Is trauma only a "Western" concept? The aim of the assigned readings this week is to provide pertinent theoretical grounding for exploring childhood trauma across cultures.



Weekly Learning Objectives:
This week you will:
1. Explore how trauma is conceptualized and understood around the world.
2. Examine whether trauma is merely a "Western" concept or if it has relevancy in other cultures.
3. Analyze the potential relevancy of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) across the globe.











​                                                          Child Vulnerability and Resilience

Weekly Topic Overview: This week we will focus on examining psychological vulnerability and resiliency among children and adolescents generally speaking. The aim is to determine if it is possible to ascertain whether or not children and teens are more vulnerable to psychological trauma and whether or not it is possible to gauge their resiliency. We will focus on several articles written about childhood vulnerability and resiliency, as well as watch a documentary that compares child rearing across cultures.



Weekly Learning Objectives:
This Week You will...
1. Examine the concepts of child vulnerability and resiliency.
2. Explore some basic elements that may help determine a child's vulnerability or capacity for resiliency.
3. Compare children's experiences with psychological vulnerability and resiliency across various cultures.



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​                                                   Approaches to Studying Childhood Trauma

Weekly Topic Overview: This week we will focus on exploring approaches to studying childhood trauma across different cultures. We will pay particular attention to approaches used by psychologists and anthropologists who are interested in more fully understanding how traumatic events are experienced and understood by diverse groups of children and adolescents. In addition, we will analyze what constitutes childhood in different cultures. The aim this week is to broaden our understanding of childhood, trauma and how different approaches may be more effective in examining childhood trauma across diverse cultural contexts.



Weekly Learning Objectives:
This week you will…
1. Explore various psychological and anthropological approaches to examining children's

 experiences with traumatic events.

2. Examine what constitutes childhood in different cultural contexts and how various

understandings of childhood may affect how children experience trauma.
3. Analyze what type of approaches to studying childhood trauma may be most effective given

diverse cultural contexts and notions of childhood.