Postgraduate Course: Aftershock: Trauma and Recovery in an Unequal Society (Online) (EFIE11448)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh Futures Institute |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The aim of this course is to understand social pressures that impact trauma and resilience, recognising mental health and well-being as a spectrum which all of us move through. As we dive into the data around trauma on an individual and community level, we learn how inequality plays into trauma and trauma plays into inequality. Sharing cutting edge research in trauma recovery, and exclusive clips from two new cinema documentaries, Love & Trouble, and Undercover, this course allows intimate access to our evolving understanding of the role of trauma on the brain and body, and the paths to recovery. A better understanding of mental health can be integrated into data science and research into inequality, which are essential perspectives for potential future policy-makers and influencers/shapers. |
| Course description |
The teaching will draw on different pedagogical approaches from mini-lectures and Q&As to highly interactive team activities.
Week One:
Preparation - Key theories of trauma and its societal impact, models of resilience and recovery in social, political and individual contexts.
Weeks Two - Four:
Integration - Detailed application of theories in different circumstances including intergenerational and international; documentary film analysis; futures thinking. The two main contributors to one of the films will attend in person as external speakers, allowing the students to interrogate their lived and narrated experience. Artefacts are developed in small group seminars followed by individual verbal Formative Assessment.
Week Five:
Application - Support in small groups for production of final individual artefact.
Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) - Online Hybrid Course Delivery Information:
The Edinburgh Futures Institute will teach this course in a way that enables online and on-campus students to study together. To enable this, the course will use technologies to record and live-stream student and staff participation during their teaching and learning activities. Students should note that their interactions may be recorded and live-streamed. There will, however, be options to control whether or not your video and audio are enabled.
You will need access to a personal computing device for this course. Most activities will take place in a web browser, unless otherwise stated. We recommend using a device with a screen, physical keyboard, and internet access.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2026/27, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 0 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 10,
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
The course will be assessed by means of the following components:
1) Multimedia Board / Artefact [OR] Blog Post (100%)
Students will be given a choice to create either a multimedia board/artefact such as a storyboard, slide show or blog post (word count to 4,000 words) showing how they integrate trauma narratives to an understanding of societal resilience within a context of their choice, such as art, education, social policy. |
| Feedback |
Feedback on any formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The Course Organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.
Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.
Feedback on the summative assessment(s) will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Formative Feedback Opportunity:
Formative feedback is ongoing feedback which monitors learning and is intended to improve performance in the same course, in future courses, and also beyond study.
Students will be invited to make use of the asynchronous online discussion board which will be open for the duration of the course and monitored by academic staff, providing group and staff feedback on their intended submission. They will be invited to produce part of either their multi-media project or their blog post.
Formative feedback is prepared during week four by the academic staff, and further group feedback during peer review and discussion. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Critically appraise models of trauma in terms of societal and personal impact and consequences, and relevance to and utility in applied settings.
- Critically examine existing definitions and models of resilience and coping.
- Critically consider how individual adaptation to traumatic histories and events can facilitate a more constructive societal understanding of our psychological and cultural vulnerability and strength.
- Ability to apply their knowledge and understanding in a case study outlining an applied model of resilience within a social context of their choice, such as the arts, education, policy, etc.
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Reading List
Filmography:
The feature documentary Love & Trouble will be screened during the Intensive Week.
Two short films by FilmMedicine students will be discussed:
- Jiayi Zhang Last Piano Piece 2022 https://vimeo.com/802894447
- Matt Warlow It'll be Fine, Probably 2023 https://youtu.be/c5zZpwaGTWQ
Essential Reading:
Altmaier, E. M. (2019c) 'Resilience', in Promoting Positive Processes After Trauma. Elsevier, pp. 55-64. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-811975-4.00005-8.
Baba, R. El and Colucci, E. (2018) 'Post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, and anxiety in unaccompanied refugee minors exposed to war-related trauma: a systematic review', International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 11(2), pp. 194-207. doi: 10.1080/17542863.2017.1355929.
Backhans, M. C. and Hemmingsson, T. (2012) 'Unemployment and mental health-who is (not) affected?', European Journal of Public Health, 22(3), pp. 429-433. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckr059.
Recommended Reading:
Barter, C. and Stanley, N. (2016) 'Inter-personal violence and abuse in adolescent intimate relationships: mental health impact and implications for practice', International Review of Psychiatry, 28(5), pp. 485-503. doi: 10.1080/09540261.2016.1215295.
Bonanno, G. A. (2004) 'Loss, Trauma, and Human Resilience: Have We Underestimated the Human Capacity to Thrive After Extremely Aversive Events?', American Psychologist, 59(1), pp. 20-28. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.20.
Bryant, R. A. (2019) 'Post-traumatic stress disorder: a state-of-the-art review of evidence and challenges', World Psychiatry, 18(3), pp. 259-269. doi: 10.1002/wps.20656.
Elderton, A., Berry, A. and Chan, C. (2017) 'A Systematic Review of Posttraumatic Growth in Survivors of Interpersonal Violence in Adulthood', Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(2), pp. 223-236. doi: 10.1177/1524838015611672.
Further Reading:
Masiero, M. et al. (2020) 'From Individual To Social Trauma: Sources Of Everyday Trauma In Italy, The US And UK During The Covid-19 Pandemic', Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 21(5), pp. 513-519. doi: 10.1080/15299732.2020.1787296
McFARLANE, A. C. (2010) 'The long-term costs of traumatic stress: intertwined physical and psychological consequences', World Psychiatry, 9(1), pp. 3-10. doi: 10.1002/j.2051-5545.2010.tb00254.x.
McLaughlin, K. A. and Lambert, H. K. (2017) 'Child trauma exposure and psychopathology: mechanisms of risk and resilience', Current Opinion in Psychology, 14, pp. 29-34. doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2016.10.004.
Pitman, R. K. (2013) 'A Brief Nosological History of PTSD', Journal of Traumatic Stress Disorders & Treatment, 02(01). doi: 10.4172/2324-8947.1000101. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Trauma,Resilience,Combat Trauma,Child Sexual Abuse,PTSD,Mental Health |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Amy Hardie
Tel: (0131 6)51 5871
Email: a.hardie@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr David Murphy
Tel:
Email: dmurphy7@ed.ac.uk |
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