Defining Trauma on Twitter: An Autoethnographic Sketch

ABSTRACT

In this paper, I use an autoethnographic sketch (Rambo, 2007) to offer a definition of trauma. This paper is broadly inspired by my research (Gloviczki, 2015) using case study methods (Yin, 2003) about online memorial groups. In pairing autoethnography and case study methods, I write to inspire a discussion about form, definition, and trauma. I also embrace the challenge of writing an entire scholarly paper within 140 characters, the standard length of a tweet on Twitter. I hope this approach opens fresh avenues for understanding research as well.

KEYWORDS:

• Media
• memory
• trauma
• virtual memorials

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Joseph Gloviczki

Peter Joseph Gloviczki, PhD, University of Minnesota, 2012, is a teacher, a communication researcher, and a poet. He works as an assistant professor of communication at Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina, where he also serves as coordinator of the communication program. His first scholarly book is Journalism and Memorialization in the Age of Social Media (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015).