Storytelling and Community Building

Course Title:
Storytelling and Community Building

“Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author

In this course we will explore the use of a storytelling as a tool for creating repair in individuals and communities. The course will examine the history of the practice of storytelling and how it has been activated in diverse cultural communities. We will explore approaches to collecting and presenting stories. Participants will examine a variety of methods to share stories to deepen the impact of building relationships in communities. We will explore the use of folktales, history and personal stories which will lead to a larger examination of fundamental questions of impactful and ethical storytelling:

• Who does a story belong to? How do we ask permission? How do we create safe space for the sharing and preservation of stories?
• What is the relationship between the storyteller and the organization, and the community?
• How do we address difficult questions of power, intimacy, vulnerability, shame, fear and transformation?
• Examine the relationship between storytellers and organizations.

The class will require that students research, analyze and perform stories as we examine how the work of storytelling can enhance community building.