Traumas without Bodies: A Reply to Emma Hutchison’s Affective Communities
| DOI | 10.1177/0305829818808384 |
| Author | Benjamin Meiches |
| Published date | 01 January 2019 |
| Date | 01 January 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Symposium: Debating Trauma and Emotion in World Politics |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0305829818808384
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2019, Vol. 47(2) 237 –248
© The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0305829818808384
journals.sagepub.com/home/mil
Traumas without Bodies: A
Reply to Emma Hutchison’s
Affective Communities
Benjamin Meiches
University of Washington Tacoma, USA
Keywords
trauma, bodies, embodiment, Emma Hutchison, representation
Traumas sin cuerpos: Una réplica a las Comunidades Afectivas de Emma
Hutchison
Palabras clave
trauma, cuerpos, materialización, Emma Hutchison, representación
Traumatismes sans corps : Réponse à l’ouvrage Affective Communities
d’Emma Hutchison
Mots-clés
traumatisme, corps, incarnation, Emma Hutchison, représentation
Fear, anxiety, shame, anger, and even love are terms that circulate throughout the litera-
ture of International Relations (IR), but, according to Emma Hutchison, not with the
critical attention that they merit. Indeed, IR theory frequently embraces emotional and
affective concepts, but without unpacking these terms or exploring the mechanisms that
make emotion, particularly trauma, significant in world politics. Rather, dominant forms
of IR theory tend to focus on rational political behaviour at the expense of an emotional
understanding of the subject and political activity. While a small cadre of scholars has
begun to explore how emotions supplement and challenge this traditional focus,
Hutchison’s book moves beyond this debate to discuss the mechanisms of trauma and
Corresponding author:
Benjamin Meiches, University of Washington Tacoma, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences,
1900 Commerce Street, Tacoma, WA 98402, USA.
Email: bmeiches@uw.edu
808384MIL0010.1177/0305829818808384Millennium: Journal of International StudiesMeiches
research-article2018
Symposium: Debating Trauma and Emotion in World Politics
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