Traumas of belonging: Imagined communities of nation, religion, and gender in modernity

Abstract

What is the trauma of belonging? Arguing that the trauma of belonging is fruitfully explored in non-Western contexts, I argue that postcolonial nations such as India experienced originary trauma as the emergence of two nations followed a colonial framework for national identity based on religious and communitarian difference. Belonging to a postcolonial nation, however, continues the originary trauma. Thus, “independence” from the colonial master created different channels for continuing trauma, including the trauma of belonging as a minority in one or the other nation. This essay adds to the burgeoning literature that tracks historical trauma and its present emanations to critique contemporary Eurocentric trauma studies. The essay also advances a proposal for an interdisciplinary engagement for trauma studies and theology.