10.17192/meta.2018.11.7812 Matthies-Boon, Vivienne Vivienne Matthies-Boon Towards a Critical Trauma Studies: A Response to Felix Lang Middle East - Topics + Arguments : Vol 11 (2018) Philipps-Universität Marburg 2018 Critical Theory Politics Trauma Phenomenology Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS) 2018-11-14 2018-11-13 en JournalArticle https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2018/229/7812 urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-0003-2018-229-78123 https://journals.uni-marburg.de/0003/2018/229/7812/7812.png 2196-629X application/pdf https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 In this response, I agree with Felix Lang about the need to problematize trauma studies’ prevalent underlying assumptions. However, I suggest that we should go a step further, namely towards a phenomenological account of trauma rooted in Frankfurt School critical theory. Such an approach enables us to pay attention to the political power dynamics within which trauma studies is enmeshed, and argue against the reification and objectification of trauma. It also allows for an intersubjective (re)interpretation of trauma that explicitly grounds the experiences of trauma in social and political contexts. 2196-629X Middle East - Topics + Arguments Vol 11 (2018)