Touching stories: Objects, writing, diffraction and the ethical hazard of self-reflexivity

Abstract

This article takes up Donna Haraway’s discussion of ‘diffraction’ as a remedial to the literal self-centredness of the figure of reflection, in order to propose an alternative learning objective for creative writing curricula. There, currently, ‘reflective learning’ is a common if implicit objective, often manifesting in the form of journal-keeping and some kinds of writing exercises, while a capacity for ‘reflection’ can be seen at least bureaucratically to validate the existence per se of university writing programs (Green & Williams 2018). In the educational literature, self-reflexive contemplation of one’s own experiences is said to be preliminary to the achievement of deep, life-long an..