method – 1 – An overview of a method we can use to explore and process extreme experiences in history:

An overview of a method we can use to explore and process extreme experiences in history:

Early forms of narratives – In our research, we need to create systems that, on the one hand, keep us flexible and, on the other hand, allow us to identify or record something. The bulletin board is one of the container systems I use to maintain inner clarity and control, yet remain open to the process. Early forms of narration are lists, containers, slips of paper, notes, a word, a thought, which you then commit to paper.

I keep a workbook in which I jot down my thoughts—as my personal tools for self-reflection—and current events as my personal tools for navigating the sheer overwhelming mass of atrocities I perceive and that weigh heavily on me emotionally. I must create emotional structures within myself that enable me to endure the intensity and gravity of the violent events I uncover in my research—events I do not shy away from—so that I can see this difficult work through to completion and bring it to the public.

Even when terror and fear overwhelm you, and all your memories are swept away in a wave, or you want to forget everything right away, you stand the ground and you state!