Traumatic Pasts in Asia

Reviews / Votes

"Ranging from the healing effects of singing and pen pals to propitiating ghosts and building memorials, this excellent book brims with insightful analysis that underscores the importance of understanding local approaches to coping with trauma." * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)



"[This book] presents a more than welcome and extremely successful attempt to ensure that yet unheard sufferers from Burma to Indonesia are given a voice." * Medicine, Conflict and Survival



"By globalising trauma studies, Micale and Pols break new ground and enrich our understanding of the complex ways in which humans respond to war, genocide and environmental catastrophes...This well-written, engaging, interdisciplinary volume moves the field forward by building a bridge between Western and Asian scholars. Traumatic Pasts in Asia is thus a crucial step in carving a path towards a more global approach to understanding traumatic injury. It identifies where Western-centric conceptions of trauma are problematic, while it also explores universal patterns and experiences, including tensions between state and individual conceptions of traumatic memory. This book should spark interest and ongoing discussions among scholars, policymakers, and members of the public whose lives have been shaped by the traumatic legacies of mass violence." * New Mandala



"A timely contribution to studies of trauma arising from state policies, drawing attention to the possible ethnocentrism of diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, to the efficacy of local methods of healing for survivors, and to the challenges of interpreting and memorializing events." * Janice Matsumura, Simon Fraser University



"This well-written, engaging, interdisciplinary volume moves the field forward by building a bridge between Western and Asian scholars. It is an important and valuable volume that will be a cornerstone in the ever-growing field of trauma studies." * Jason Crouthamel, Grand Valley State University