DISSERTATION

Archives of Trauma

ADVISOR

Professor Jeffrey Kripal

Working as an elected official for the City of Tampa on arts funding and education and for the University of South Florida on research administration, J. Tyler Odle’s professional career before starting his PhD has been oriented towards public service. After his MA, he published an ethnographic work on Possession and Exorcism titled "Ethnography of the Devil: The Aftermath of Possession, Exorcism, and the Demonic" where he wrote about the impact of trauma associated with anomalous experiences. He is currently working on his dissertation titled "Archives of Trauma,” which documents how abduction and contact experiences have shaped individuals’ mental health, their understanding of their relationship to community, and their sense of being called to do something.