Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

In his book Everything in Its Path, Kai Erikson defines collective trauma as “…a blow to the basic tissues of social life that damages the bonds attaching people together and impairs the prevailing sense of communality.” This paper explores the correlation between collective trauma and identity, but more specifically, how sports can be used to help unite and rebuild a community following a traumatic event. Using the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings as a case study, I will examine how sports were used in the aftermath of the attack to strengthen cultural identity and ultimately, to help the community heal. To achieve this, I will look at the impact of these local specialized sports-based initiatives, as well as how the response of professional teams and consequent sporting events were experienced by the community. Ultimately, it is my aim to show that sport has the unique ability to transcend social and demographic boundaries, thus making its incorporation into collective healing efforts essential.