| abstract |
This dissertation examines the collective trauma of sexual trafficking experienced by
female and eunuch collectives within the book of Esther and by the African diasporic female
collective during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Both Jewish and African diasporic identities
emerge in contexts marked by colonialism, capture, sexual exploitation, displacement,
genocide, ethnic suppression, and the need for cultural persistence in such horrific and hostile
environments. My investigation assesses the conditions and processes by which each
collective is trafficked and the traumatic impact of trafficking on collective identity and
memory.
Methodologically, I employ Africana biblical criticism as a means to place the
particularities of Africana life, history, and culture at the center of the interpretative process.
I investigate and describe sexual trafficking in both literary and cultural/historical contexts to
illustrate that sexual trafficking is a collective, communal issue that disproportionately
impacts minority and minoritized groups in both contexts. Further, my project underscores
how gender and racism intersect with many other forms of oppression, including legal
oppression, which ultimately result in the sexual trafficking of minoritized groups. I argue
that sexual trafficking constitutes cultural trauma that marks the identity and memories of
each collective in often damaging and irrevocable ways. Thus, this project elucidates the
relationship between collective trauma, identity and memory.
As a dialogical cultural study, this project contributes to and expands Esther studies
by shedding light on the ancient community's struggle to deal with sexual violence and
exploitation. At the same time, it sensitizes contemporary audiences to the wider social and
global problem of sexual trafficking. Further, it illumines the complexity, fluidity, and
diversity of diasporic identity marked by contestation and negotiation in colonial contexts.
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