History as Social Therapy and Trauma Recovery

Over the last few years, the question of the practical use of historical science, so called applied history, has received a great deal of attention in research and public debate. The aim of the course is to understand and explain the mechanisms behind phenomena such as conflicts between countries, civil war, and genocide. One of the basic assumptions is that difficult collective experiences tend to be repeated, perhaps several generations later, if they are denied, repressed, or cannot be expressed in public. An additional aim is to identify strategies that can be used to process traumatic experiences. The issue of moral implications for the history subject will be raised, but no final answers will be provided concerning right or wrong, good or evil. If repressed memories are brought into the light and examined systematically, will this facilitate liberation from the demons of the past? Or will perhaps too much of an emphasis on the wrongs of the past instead hamper the peaceful co-existence of for instance different ethnic groups? These issues are discussed in the course. More generally, the course treats shared narratives, memory production, and ideology. A number of examples are studied of how problematic historical conflicts of interpretation have or have not been dealt with, such as South Africa after apartheid, Spain after Franco, Eastern Europe after Communism, or military dictatorships in Latin America. The course also covers structural changes in Western society and consequences such as social marginalisation, populist tendencies, and changing gender roles. This interdisciplinary course draws upon history, social psychology, sociology, anthropology, and jurisprudence, and welcomes students and professionals in all these fields.