Abstract Higher education faces dramatic transformations in demographics, politics, culture, labor, and technology—all of which are compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Chaos theory offers perspectives for weathering these changes, though ultimately, as the future remains unpredictable, the best instructors can offer is doing their best in their jobs.

The authors argue that violence is the most important issue facing the profession of English now. Tracing their experiences with violence and trauma in and near their classrooms, they suggest that, while this problem seems intractable, practicing the arts of empathy and writing offers some hope for a different future.