Resilience: Talking, Resisting, and Imagining New Normalcies Into Being

Human resilience is the ability to “bounce back” or reintegrate after difficult life experiences. I argue that, rather than an individual phenomenon that someone either possesses or does not, resilience is developed, sustained, and grown through discourse, interaction, and material considerations. There are several communicative processes involved. These include: (a) crafting normalcy, (b) affirming identity anchors, (c) maintaining and using communication networks, (d) putting alternative logics to work, and (e) downplaying negative feelings while foregrounding positive emotions, such as hopefulness and self-efficacy. Commentary on how the field of communication as a whole and through specific disciplinary areas can contribute to scholarship on and practice in resilience concludes this Address, which serves as an initial exploration into human communication resilience processes.