Unthinkable, Indescribable, Unknowable: Thinking with Hannah Arendt About School Shootings Through Concepts of Unacknowledged Shame, Violence and Forgiveness

The figure of the rampage school shooter continues to present a challenge to educational thought and research. This dissertation examines discursive representations of unacknowledged shame, violence and forgiveness in young adult fiction written about rampage school shootings. I frame my thinking of concepts and analysis through Hannah Arendt's discussion of shame, violence, and forgiveness. To explore these concepts, I will engage with literary pedagogy, to examine the potential for fostering dialogue with students to think about the combined role of the emotional and social realms of the school shooter and finally how young adult fiction about rampage school shooting can be used to initiate classroom discussions.