Peace and Social Reconstruction: A Study of the Paradoxal Dynamic between Individual and Collective Bereavement
Annual Call for Projects 2001
Summary
The capacity of the human mind to accommodate the process of bereavement seems to be a major force in human beings. The process of collective bereavement develops much more slowly than individual bereavement as the paralysing or "gelling" of the process, particularly in situations of survival, has the tendency to inhibit the unfolding of the individual bereavement process, thereby also paralysing social reconstruction. This last phenomenon has important consequences for the relationship between individual and collective memory, on one hand, and history and culture on the other, either for the cohesion of narrative individual and collective identities or for the trans-generational transmission, which constitutes these identities. It also draws attention to the major problem of the transition from a situation of war to one of peace, as well as the immediate risk of the birth of new major conflicts if collective bereavement is not dealt with appropriately.
The grant provided by the GIAN for this project totals SFr 65,000
Project Team
Dr. Jean-Claude Métraux , Coordinator, Association Belongings .
Ms Spomenka Alvir , Principal Member, Department of Training and Youth (DFJ) , Canton of Vaud , Swiss Confederation .
Ms Cimeta Hatibovic , Principal Member, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tuzla, Bosnia .
Ms Anica Kos , Principal Member, Together Foundation, Slovenia .
Mr Hamdija Kujundzic , Principal Member, Association Osmijeh (Bosnia) .
Prof. Juan Manzano , Principal Member, Faculty of Medicine , University of Geneva (Unige) .
Mr Pablo Mateu , Principal Member, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) .
Mr Terry Miranda , Principal Member, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) .
Mr Rolf Widmer , Principal Member, Swiss Foundation of the International Social Service (SFISS) , Swiss Confederation .
Research Output
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Individual and Collective Bereavement
(available in French only) > more |
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Theories and Techniques for the Development of Collective Mournings
(available in English and French) > more |