GEORGIA IN THE 1990S: MEMORY OF TRAUMA AND VICTORY

The course "Georgia in the 1990s: Memory of Trauma and Victory” discusses political and social processes in Georgia in the late 1980s and early 1990s that corresponds to the late Soviet period and the first years of independence. The collapse of the communist system in Georgia, as well as in the rest of the socialist domain, led to traumatic – rapid, comprehensive, fundamental, and unexpected – social changes. Restoration of independence in 1991 was something that people not only desired but also fought for. Nonetheless, coping with the changes that followed it proved to be extremely difficult for the Georgian society. The transitional period was marked by dramatic and painful facts and events: tragedy of April 9, 1989, the 1991-1992 Tbilisi War and civil confrontation across the country, conflicts in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region, natural disasters (landslides, earthquakes, floods), economic collapse, social hardships, and energy crisis. These events played a key role in the history of the country and determined its future development.

The aim of the course is to apply theories of cultural trauma, trauma of victory, and collective memory to the Georgian reality in the 1980-1990s. These theoretical models are closely interlinked: a painful event gains its meaning and transforms into a cultural trauma through the images existing in the collective memory which are named as cultural patterns by Aleida Assmann (Assmann 2015). These theoretical approaches allow us to understand abovementioned events and situations as cultural constructions defined within the framework of codified meanings specific to the Georgian culture.

The course will cover the following topics:

Georgia at the Turn of the 1990s: describes the processes which developed in Georgia in the late 1980s-early 1990s. In addition to the factual context, significant space is devoted to the memory of this period and its representation by Georgian and foreign scholars.

Theoretical Framework: Overview of the theories of collective memory and cultural trauma, social nature of memory (Maurice Halbwachs, Aleida and Jan Assmann), shaping of cultural trauma and its impact on different social groups (Jeffrey Alexander, Piotr Sztompka); Concept of Trauma of Victory (Piotr Sztompka).

Case Study 1. Natural Disaster as a Cultural Construct: The first case study analyses the natural disasters occurred in Georgia in 1989 and 1991. Study of the media materials covering natural disasters demonstrate how traumatic context influenced their perception and transformation into the cultural trauma; it also shows how the trauma-making mechanism shaped the narrative of these events: cultural patterns were “activated” to give meaning to traumatic experience, and these patterns “constructed” a traumatic narrative of natural disasters.

Case Study 2. “The Dark 90s”: The Trauma of Everyday Life: second case study examines everyday and individual dimensions of the political, economic, and social processes of the late 1980s and 1990s: the impact of the decisive changes on the lives of ordinary people, their (self)identification, attitudes, worldviews, and identities; how this period was imprinted in the memory of that generation and how they assess those years from today’s perspective. Based on specific empirical material, it shows how the traumatic ethos of the 90s was formed: how fear, despair, overwhelming feelings of loss and hopelessness engulfed people of all ages and professions who were suddenly confronted with collapsing state institutions, rising crime, and social hardship; how difficult it became for them to determine their place and role in an environment where their system of values and moral principles no longer belonged.