| Current critiques of the field of trauma studies argue that trauma scholars need more nuanced views of trauma that acknowledge the impact of history and culture on traumatic experience. This project offers such nuance by demonstrating a methodology that includes close narrative analysis in addition to identifying the cultural and historical meaning embedded in narratives. My findings demonstrates the following: the usefulness of John Miles Foley’s immanent art theory and William Labov and Joshua Waletzky’s framework of oral personal experience narrative in broadening our understanding of trauma narratives, the importance of close analysis of vernacular trauma narratives, the impact of the United States’ history of reclaiming the West on a particular traumatic event, and the way cultural history affects the manner in which trauma survivors process an event. These findings are revealed through my analysis of the Teton Dam Oral History Collection, which recounts the experiences of those impacted by Idaho’s Teton Dam Flood in 1976. Chapter 2, “Narrative Structure, Register, and Performance Arena” elaborates on the connection between Foley and Labov and Waletzky’s theories and the Teton Dam Flood narratives, by looking at a specific narrative and demonstrating the recurrent story pattern of warning, escape, return, and evaluation. Chapter 3, “Disaster as Progress and Beliefs about Water in the West,” analyzes why many flood survivors saw the flood as a positive experience and supported immediately rebuilding the dam, reflecting cultural beliefs about the necessity and use of water in the West. Chapter 4, “Religious Words in the Teton Dam Flood Narratives,” analyzes the recurrence of Words with significant cultural meaning for members of the Church
v of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which included a majority of the survivors. Chapter V, “The Case for Trauma Informed Pedagogy,” explores recent movements in education to teach potentially traumatic texts and topics in effective and ethical ways. Key Words: Trauma Theory, Immanent Art, Framework of Oral Personal Experience, Vernacular Trauma Narratives, Disaster Narratives, Trauma Informed Pedagogy, Teton Dam Flood, Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints, |