Description
Trauma and injury are two concepts that might be used interchangeably to refer to a wound but can also be distinguished in important ways. The purpose of this paper is to unpack the various intersections between injury and trauma and what is at stake for conceptions of agency, justice and healing, highlighting the complementarity of the two concepts. Because the word trauma has been so heavily psychologized since the beginning of the 20th century, it is difficult to understand its impact beyond the individual. Approaching the concept from a different angle, in relation to patterns of socio-political hurt and transgenerational entanglements arising from them, provides a an opening to a more complete picture of how an unresolved and unacknowledged past of injustice stands in the way of agency in moving forward toward a more sustainable future.
