Cultural Trauma, Memory, and Gendered Collective Action: The Case of Women of the Storm Following Hurricane Katrina
Chapter
Overview
abstract
This essay examines cultural trauma, memory, gender, and performance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, in-depth interviews, and documentary sources, this feminist analysis of cultural trauma and memory examines how an emergent, women-centered group, Women of the Storm, engaged in performative political practices aimed at increasing government support for Gulf Coast recovery efforts. The author argues that the group modified place-based practices related to ritual acts of mourning and remembrance, appropriated and transformed disaster-related symbol systems, and aimed to establish new forms of moral responsibility as part of its collective actions.
