This Seeming Chaos: Finding Home in the Archives of Memory. A Work of Creative Nonfiction.

Author

Ann Walton Sieber

Date

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Liberal Studies

Department

Liberal Studies

Committee Chair

Jeremy Killian

Committee Member

Kimberly Patterson

Committee Member

Will Duffy

Abstract

“This Seeming Chaos: Finding Home in the Archives of Memory” is a family memoir in the form of creative nonfiction, exploring how personal and public histories intersect. Through the lens of her family history, the author explores how historical events continue to reverberate in contemporary life. The work moves between past and present, weaving together historical documentation, narrative scenes, and personal reflection. It examines how trauma and resilience pass through generations, and how understanding one’s ancestors can lead to self-understanding. The author employs multiple narrative techniques, including direct address to ancestors, present-tense historical scenes, and documentation of her own journey of discovery. The author’s research process itself becomes part of the narrative, as she learns to trust in what she calls “the natural order” rather than imposed structures. Drawing on archival materials, military records, and oral histories, the dissertation reconstructs not just what happened, but how events were experienced and remembered. The author develops what anthropologist Keith Basso calls an “experience-near” approach to history, combining factual documentation with imaginative reconstruction to create intimate portraits of historical figures and events. Moving fluidly between past and present, the narrative suggests that understanding and healing can occur across generations. Through this approach, the work challenges traditional boundaries between memoir, history, and creative nonfiction, demonstrating how personal narrative can illuminate larger historical patterns and cultural intersections.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Embargoed until 05-01-2026

Recommended Citation

Sieber, Ann Walton, "This Seeming Chaos: Finding Home in the Archives of Memory. A Work of Creative Nonfiction." (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3785.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/etd/3785