Trauma and Objects

The readings for this week focused on the relationships between objects and trauma. While I had never actually considered this relationship, as soon as it was mentioned in the readings it made complete sense. Much of my method reflects on emotional attachment to objects or the way biases and structural issues effect object analysis, but until now I did not consider the relationship between trauma and objects. Trauma heightens emotional attachment and whether it is a mass trauma or an individual event, this fundamentally reshapes how one interacts with an object. Object methods and object study should integrate the study of trauma. Additionally, this made me consider the role of trigger warnings in object study and if they should be considered in material culture. This has made me reconsider my object in new ways. How does someone who experienced a traumatic event while wearing a D.A.R.E shirt respond differently? How does someone who experienced a traumatic event while making the shirt respond differently? What emotions can it illicit? Objects are intimately intertwined with violence and trauma and it needs to be considered in object study.

How can we integrate Trauma into object study?

Is there a way to translate that into public?

Do trigger warnings have value here?