Date of Award
Spring 5-22-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Printmaking
First Advisor
Dr. Katerina Stefatos, PhD
Second Advisor
Mr. Andrew Raftery
Third Advisor
Ms. Tyanna Buie
Abstract
This thesis argues that silence surrounding trauma within domestic spaces is not merely an absence of speech or a condition of voicelessness, but it functions as an act of resistance. Focusing on domestic abuse within patriarchal structures, this research examines the ways trauma is embodied, negotiated, and concealed in everyday life. Central in this inquiry is the figure of the “sole witness” to abuse, those who live in close proximity to violence, endure its aftermath and negotiate survival through subtle and often unseen acts of resistance.
I am not attempting to define trauma, but the thesis explores the traces trauma leaves behind; its marks, absences, repetitions, and embodiment. It investigates how silence around abuse is sustained, while simultaneously attending to the fragmented and micro acts of resistance that emerge within domestic and private spaces. These acts, though frequently unseen and non-verbal, challenge the structure of patriarchy, imposed gender roles, normative expectations and responsibility, construction of subjectivity and what Veena Das terms "poisonous knowledge,” embedded within everyday life.
Through theoretical inquiry and artistic practice, this thesis prints to surface what remains veiled. Engaging with concepts like trauma, silence, embodiment, and resistance, it proposes the notion of a "third space” as a framework for understanding the tension between silence and agency. Drawing from theorists including Veena Das, Cathy Caruth, and Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, this thesis examines how spaces of resistance emerge within sites of violence and silence, thereby creating possibilities for negotiation, bargaining, and survival.
Ultimately, this research suggests that while experiences of trauma are culturally specific, there exists similarities in how trauma is embodied and negotiated across geographies. In tracing those shared conditions, the thesis argues the necessity of a third space, a space which holds contradiction, fragmented subjectivities, silence, and resistance.
Recommended Citation
Kumar, Priyanka, "RESISTANT SILENCE Engraved Trauma, Silence in Domestic Spaces, & Acts of Resistance" (2026). Masters Theses. 1699.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1699
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