Sociologist seeking narratives-- reactions to this historic election!! K&R folks!

[geekgrrl]

A colleague of mine (a sociologist) is collecting narrative reactions to the election of Obama. I think this is such a wonderful idea-- I've been hoping for some kind of compilation of the kinds of stories I've been reading here on the DU. You know, the ones that bring tears to all of our eyes.

Here's what she's looking for-- and contact info is at the end:

Hi all

I'm working on a project to collect "immediate narratives" of the incredibly diverse responses to this historic election. I am truly moved on many levels by these responses -- the ones coming from you all, from colleagues and friends, from folks in the grocery store. Many of these responses have been emotional, many of them have been doubtful, many of them have been intellectual, and a few have been angry. But I have rarely seen such an immediate and powerful response to an election, including 2004, when I think many of us were too depressed to feel anything else deeply. This is fascinating to me.

Given this, I write to ask you to send me your responses.I encourage you to write from a personal perspective, a political perspective, a sociological perspective, a feminist perspective, a race perspective -- whatever suits you. I suspect most people receiving this initial email are Obama supporters, but I know for a fact that not all are, and that's fine. This is not intended to be an Obama love-fest, it is intended to be honest, so please feel free to share your love, your hopes, your fears, whatever. I ask for no more than 1500 words, though as few as 1 word is fine. Please be honest in this moment -- or try to recall your response when the announcement was made. But I'm really looking for your immediate, right-now-this-is-what-I-think/feel response.

If you are willing to help me out, please send me your "response" (which can take any form, really -- I've already received an unsolicited poem from a friend in FL, who has agreed to be included) and the following information:

Your name (for my records)
Any affiliation you would like noted -- professional, political, activist, religious, whatever is important to you
Your city, state, province, etc.
a brief bio (please no more than 20 words, but please id yourself however YOU want).

I'd like to have a good collection before Thanksgiving -- the sooner the better, before we all begin to evolve away from the immediate moment. This should only take you a moment if you're willing to share, no research required!

Thanks for considering and let me know if you have questions or concerns!

Barb


Barbara Gurr
Sociology Department/Women's Studies Program
University of Connecticut, Storrs
860-486-2256
[e-mail]

[H2O Man]

1. Very interesting.

I just printed this OP. I will work on a response over the weekend. Who knows? It may be of some interest to your friend.

Thank you.

Nominated.