Trauma as a social diagnosis of Ukrainian society Scientific report at the Ukrainian scientific and practical conference “Ukrainian society: political and psychological dimension of generational change”

Abstract

The relevance of the research is determined by the lack of fundamental scientific developments devoted to the understanding of collective trauma as a long-term cumulative process that arose as a result of large-scale transformations: historical, social, political, cultural etc., which constitutes a special vector for the analysis of societal dynamics and forecasting scenarios for the development of the social situation.

The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical and methodological substantiation of theoretical positions that reveal the content and essence of trauma as a multidimensional phenomenon of mass consciousness and social life, as a “place” where the past, present and future intersect, as well as the societal dynamics of trauma, which is imprinted in the outlines of identity, social attitudes and values, institutional formations and practices and is assimilated by the community, which determines the meaning of its existence as a nation and a state.

Methodology and scientific approaches. The research is based on an interdisciplinary approach, which involves the use of a combination of theoretical concepts and methods from different fields of social sciences (political theory, sociology, social psychology) and the integration of results within a single methodology. To solve the problems, general scientific methods of theoretical research are used, as well as the methodological capabilities of the scientific interpretation of the conceptual justification of theoretical positions and research hypotheses.

Results. An initial generalization of modern theoretical ideas regarding the content, nature and essence of collective trauma, its influence on mass (collective) and individual consciousness has been carried out. A working interpretation of the concept of «collective trauma» has been made as a multidimensional phenomenon of mass consciousness and social life, as a «place» where the past (historical trauma), present (sociocultural trauma) and future (war trauma) intersect. A hypothetical methodological assumption has been made that understanding the broader context of collective trauma, as a long-term cumulative process that arose as a result of large-scale transformations: historical, social, political, cultural etc., constitutes a special vector for analyzing societal dynamics and forecasting scenarios for the development of the social situation. The author's methodology has been developed for assessing the effects of traumatic experiences that reach the societal - meta-level of functioning of society and affect its preservation, integrity, cohesion and reproducibility.

The practical significance of the results. Justification of the properties of trauma as a societal phenomenon is a necessary component of the development of theoretical and practical principles of psychological support for social forecasting, namely in terms of forecasting current and potential risks, challenges, barriers in the real context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the solution of which will require complex, including social and psychological technologies for mastering their multidirectional «effects» in the post-war period.