Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Apr 2008 Open Access

Writing the Wrong: Choosing to Research and Teach the Trauma of Hurricane Katrina

Daisy Pignetti

Abstract

As I am a New Orleans native and doctoral candidate in the field of rhetoric and composition, Hurricane Katrina has forever impacted both my personal and academic lives. Relying upon the work of Sandra Gilbert and other trauma theorists, this essay presents a microcosm of my dissertation. It offers examples from New Orleans bloggers who chronicle their post-Katrina rebuilding efforts, and analyzes how writing in generative, on line spaces calls worldwide attention to a city still suffering. It also reflects upon my attempts to make Hurricane Katrina a teachable moment, and discusses the lessons I have learned when students react without empathy to assigned readings.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2008-04-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv7i1-2pp180-186
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Topics
rhetorical criticism graduate education
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References (5)

  1. Desalvo
    Wi-iting as a Way of Healing: How Te/ling Our Stories Transforms Our Lives
  2. Ellis (1995)
    Final Negotiations: A Sto,y of Love, Loss, and Chronic Jllness
  3. Gilbert (2006)
    Deaths Door: Modern Dying and the Ways We Grieve
  4. (2007)
    Why Must We Fight This Nightmare Every Day?
  5. "And Still They Rise: Confronting Katrina." Houston Chronicle. 29 August 2007. 19 November 2007. <http ://…
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