Category Archives: Holocaust

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma assumes that the most successful trauma narratives are those that achieve maximum expansion of the circle of we, that convert particular suffering into universal moral reference points by elevating the event above history into … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma explains which testimonies succeed. What it implies but does not fully state is what the selection mechanism filters out. The apparatus rewards narratives that generate usable moral energy, that convert suffering into doctrine, that … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma explains how carrier groups transform suffering into collective moral identity. What it does not fully specify is the division of labor within the apparatus between voices that define the moral grammar of a trauma … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma is primarily a theory of construction, of how carrier groups build collective moral identity from historical suffering. It is less explicitly a theory of maintenance, of how a fully institutionalized trauma regime manages the … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma is commonly read as a theory of meaning, of how suffering is converted into shared moral identity through the work of carrier groups, narrative entrepreneurs, and receptive audiences. The Holocaust becomes a moral universal … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma begins with the claim that suffering does not automatically become collective trauma. It requires carrier groups, narrative entrepreneurs, and receptive audiences to construct it into a form that expands the circle of we and … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma identifies carrier groups, narrative entrepreneurs, and receptive audiences as the essential components of the process for the collective recognition of suffering. What the theory does not fully specify is the internal architecture of the … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma says suffering must be performed to become socially real. Carrier groups code events as evil, narrative entrepreneurs give them shape, and audiences expand the circle of we by identifying with victims. The framework is … Continue reading →

Jeffrey Alexander’s theory of cultural trauma is usually read as a theory of moral expansion. Carrier groups construct an event as traumatic, narrative entrepreneurs give it shape, audiences widen the circle of we, and suffering is converted into shared identity … Continue reading →