Jeremy A. Rinker - Böcker

Current neoliberal social and economic realities have had enormous impacts on the abilities of oppressed groups and marginalized communities to realize resistance and innate resiliencies. How does the ubiquity of neoliberal economic forces exacerbate traumatized populations’ helplessness, and, thereby, influence their inability to grapple with their oppressors and engage in fruitful change solutions? This edited volume asks how nonviolent conflict practitioners might intervene to ‘treat’ traumatized, and often marginalized, populations suspended in the predicament of ‘acting in’ and ‘acting out’ their collective traumas. Treating trauma is an integral aspect of successful peacebuilding work. This work aims to explore the role of trauma in peacebuilding and illuminate the ways that neoliberal marginalization impacts trauma-informed peace work.

For over a decade, Jeremy Rinker, Ph.D. has interacted, observed, and studied Dalit anti-caste social movements in India. In this critical comparative approach to India’s modern anti-caste resistance, Dr. Rinker emphasizes the complex interdependence between narrative practices and social transformation in understanding the centuries old caste basis of India’s most fundamental of social conflicts. Through the comparative case study of three modern social movement organizations, this book provides a fresh lens to both better understand and potentially transform caste marginalization and oppression. Through theoretical analysis, auto-ethnographic field notes, and narrative storytelling, Dr. Rinker brings the lived experience of modern Dalits to life for a Western reader unfamiliar with the entrenched nature of India’s complex caste dynamics. The book is also written for anti-caste activists in that it endeavors to develop reflective practice insights into activists’ own sense and use of narrative agency. A timely reappraisal of Indian anti-caste movement infighting and ideological discord, this book will be of interest to both students of South Asian caste and those that want to better understand injustice narration as an important means of structural change. With sharp analysis and insight Identity, Rights, and Awareness: Anticaste Activism in India and the Awakening of Justice through Discursive Practices will be of interest to scholars of South Asian studies as well as activists working for conflict transformation and peace.

Restoring social harmony requires both emotion and the difficult embrace of past felt traumas. Jeremy A. Rinker provides a clarion call for practitioners to bravely explore human emotions and past trauma. He interrogates current conflict intervention practice—moving past interest-based negotiation and needs-based conflict resolution—and provides a guide for more emotionally mindful and trauma-informed conflict intervention work. The Guide to Trauma-Informed and Emotionally Mindful Conflict Practice addresses the underattended aspects of emotions and foregrounds historical harms in the work of resolving social conflict. It critically investigates trauma and human emotions as an underexplored resource in addressing local and entrenched community violence and integrates the theory and practice of trauma-informed approaches using cultural framing, storytelling, resilience, and emotional human connection to chart new ways toward peace. This refocusing of peace work is critical for not only conflict resolution but also for overcoming the ossification of polarized social identity formations.

Restoring social harmony requires both emotion and the difficult embrace of past felt traumas. Jeremy A. Rinker provides a clarion call for practitioners to bravely explore human emotions and past trauma. He interrogates current conflict intervention practice—moving past interest-based negotiation and needs-based conflict resolution—and provides a guide for more emotionally mindful and trauma-informed conflict intervention work. The Guide to Trauma-Informed and Emotionally Mindful Conflict Practice addresses the underattended aspects of emotions and foregrounds historical harms in the work of resolving social conflict. It critically investigates trauma and human emotions as an underexplored resource in addressing local and entrenched community violence and integrates the theory and practice of trauma-informed approaches using cultural framing, storytelling, resilience, and emotional human connection to chart new ways toward peace. This refocusing of peace work is critical for not only conflict resolution but also for overcoming the ossification of polarized social identity formations.