Time Bound: The Timescape of Secondary Trauma of the Surviving Teachers of the Wenchuan Earthquake

This article introduces a timescape perspective to enrich our understanding of postdisaster secondary trauma and social capital. Drawing upon a 2-year ethnographic study in 20082010 of a high school most devastated by the Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan, China, this article discusses how the national future-oriented timescape of recovery produced the secondary trauma among the surviving teachers. In particular, this article elucidates the pervasiveness of the industrial linear and mechanical calendar and clock time in the state and societal response. This article proposes that human connectednessthe key component of social capital crucial to the restoration of self and community efficacy in postdisaster recoveryrequires a temporal frame that allows multiple levels and rhythms of grieving and reconnecting with existing social relations. This article also highlights the critical role of teachers in the collective healing of students and the community efficacy of the school.