Name: Who would say trauma-informed anthropology methodology could be this fun?
Start: 2026-05-30T10:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-05-30T13:00:00+01:00
Location: Chrystal Macmillan Building, The University of Edinburgh

Who would say trauma-informed anthropology methodology could be this fun?

Join this ASA People Fest Edinburgh event (please book to help us assess numbers). It will be held in Seminar Room 2, CMB. All are welcome.
About this Event

Who would say trauma-informed anthropology methodology could be this fun? Moving the body to learn and live well

The anthropological turn of trauma-informed research and teaching, considers epistemic injustice, inclusion and decolonisation (Tantam, 2024), following the steps of the US trauma-informed approach working with vulnerable populations with experience of childhood abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, discrimination or the carceral system (SAMHSA, 2014), and more recently trauma-informed mental health care in the UK (Sweeney et al., 2016, GOV UK 2022), to prevent re-traumatisation and vicarious trauma. Considering the risks of intellectualising, individualising, or becoming discursive, this collaborative workshop provides embodied tools for learning about what trauma is, ways of protecting and knowing with the body, and creating connection with others. This workshop proposes that for trauma-informed research and learning methodologies to have liberatory potential they must be practiced together in on-going basis among anthropologists’ communities. This workshop creates a community space for learning and practice. We will agree on ways of working together safely and joyfully. In preparation for co-producing an understanding of what trauma is for us, we will share a mindfulness breathing exercise and the five-senses exercise (Miguel-Lorenzo & Osborn, 2025). Trauma splits bodyminds (Levine 2005). In this workshop you will learn techniques for being present in your body and knowing through the body. A consideration of Butoh-inspired movement practice for GSVB research (Borda-Niño-Wildman, 2025), will introduce participants to movement techniques to ignite ethnographic enquiry. The workshop will be concluded by sharing simple body-affirming boundaries techniques (Levine 2005). You will have a chance to reflect throughout the workshop. Specialising in GSBV anthropology, Xandra, draws on lived experience, co-production and peer work methodologies to co-deliver this non-clinical workshop.