Social Paradigm of Violence and Trauma as Social Phenomena in Contemporary Ukrainian Literarute

Abstract

Contemporary Ukrainian literature continues to reflect, document, and interpret the fundamental shifts changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society over the past decade or so. This turning point has led to a need to re-examine the cultural frameworks upon which Ukrainian society is built, including the paradigm of violence, which has proven incapable of responding to contemporary societal demands. At the same time, the concept of trauma is becoming increasingly prevalent, as Ukrainian literary studies increasingly draw on international research in trauma studies, yet encounter a lack of coherence in theoretical developments. There is a need to clarify the importance of narrative for trauma as a term and to establish the connection between violence and trauma, which form the basis of this study.

The aim of this article is, firstly, to attempt to systematise the central concept of trauma studies – trauma – by emphasising its narrative aspect and giving it a social dimension, and secondly, to analyse the interconnection between the paradigms of violence and trauma as social phenomena in contemporary Ukrainian literature based on three novels: Artem Chapay’s ‘Erosion’, Yevheniia Babenko’s ‘All My Anxious Bells’ and Markiyan Kamysh’s ‘Boss’.

The article, comprised of seven sections including the conclusions, can be broadly divided into theoretical and practical parts. Within the theoretical section of the article, a new definition of trauma was proposed as a striking emotional component of the human ego-narrative. This definition emerges as an attempt to reconcile centripetal oppositions within the field of trauma studies, based on five fundamental theses: 1) shifting the focus from the traumatic event to the trauma bearer’s perception of it. 2) the emphasis is placed on the importance of memory in a person’s life. 3) the emotional factor is recognised and highlighted. 4) the traumatic event is stripped of its uniqueness, yet remains extraordinary. 5) the definition of trauma involves conceptualising it through the category of narrative. The researcher considers that narrativization is a key characteristic for the integration of trauma, which otherwise remains in a state defined as eternal retelling.

In the practical section of the article, an analysis was conducted of the relationship between the paradigm of violence and trauma, based on the above-mentioned novels. The researcher established that trauma is a consequence of the instrumentalisation of violence, which involves not just exercising power, but dominating the victim. The previous paradigm of violence not only affirms the right of force and social hierarchy, where the perpetrator is strong and the victim is weak. At the same time, the victim is deprived of their status as a victim, of equality, and of the right to receive support, and is also forced to remain silent about their own experience for the sake of conformity. Integration, however, is only possible through speaking out about the trauma, which means, first and foremost, transgressing existing social norms. Without at least some degree of social support, speaking out cannot become a narrative; consequently, overcoming the consequences of trauma requires social recognition of the victim as such and a certain restoration of justice. Ukrainian society currently finds itself in a transitional state, where the influence of the old paradigm persists, as the new paradigm of violence is still in the process of taking shape. Ukrainian society currently finds itself in a transitional state, where the influence of the old paradigm persists, as the new paradigm of violence is still in the process of taking shape. The analysed texts represent a state of liminality, where a paradigm shift – аnd consequently the integration of trauma – depends primarily on social circumstances and the circle of support.