Investigadora: Dra. Patria C. López de Victoria
Departamento: Inglés
Descripción: “After a climatological natural disaster of catastrophic proportions, such as Hurricane María, which struck the island on September 20, 2017, people tend to share their Hurricane stories and experiences as a means to cope with the experience and/or make meaning of their experience. Storytelling, in light of catastrophic events of this nature, provide a respire from lived experiences as well as promote as sense of meaning and resilience. Given the importance of this recent event in Puerto Rico, this study aims to (1) explore the linguistic narrative expression of natural disaster experiences, (2) understand speakers’ experiences post-hurricane María; (3) explore the underlying coping and recovery mechanisms and strategies expressed discursively and linguistically; (4) provide information on how speakers linguistically and discursively make meaning out of lived experience; and (5) describe and understand the relationship between resilience and narrating past traumatic experiences.