We
have been challenged by philosophers, literary theorists, artists,
psychologists, film makers, historians, teachers, psychotherapists, nurses and
many others, into reflecting on the place that story plays in our lives and the
ways in which we consciously and unconsciously employ it. We have also been
engaged, entertained and challenged by traditional storytellers from various
countries, as well as by theatrical and musical performances, digital stories,
films and performance art.
Human life is conducted through story, because the telling of stories comes naturally to us. Almost every time we speak we engage in storytelling, and sharing stories is arguably the most important way we have of communicating with others about who we are and what we believe; about what we are doing and have done; about our hopes and fears; about what we value and what we don't. We make sense of our lives by telling the stories that we live; and we learn about other lives by listening to the stories told by others. Sometimes, under the influence of the culture in which we are immersed, we live our lives in ways that try to create the stories we want to be able to tell about them.
The importance of the stories we tell and the stories we hear is recognized in every culture. The work of many professions, including medicine, nursing, teaching, the law, psychotherapy and counselling, involves a great deal of time listening to and communicating through stories.
Story is a powerful tool for teachers, because by telling stories they can help students to integrate what they are learning with what they already know, by placing what they learn in a context that makes it easy to recall. Story also plays an important role in academic disciplines like philosophy, theology, anthropology, archaeology and history as well as literature. Narrative methods for the collection of data are increasingly used in research in the social sciences and humanities, where the value of getting to know people in a more intimate and less distant way - almost as if we are getting to know them from the inside, is increasingly valued, and academics in many disciplines have begun to realise the value of storytelling as a model for academic writing.
Most of us have lots of experience of relating to other lives through narrative forms, including the stories we encounter as children, the books we read and the TV programmes we watch - the dramas; the documentaries, and for those who will own up to viewing them, the 'reality' TV shows. When we are moved by a play, a movie or a novel, we are moved because we begin imaginatively to live the lives of the characters that inhabit them. If we are lucky we will encounter as we grow up, fictional stories that stay with us like old friends, that we will revisit again and again throughout our lives, as a way of coming to terms with and responding to the things we experience.
Human life is conducted through story, because the telling of stories comes naturally to us. Almost every time we speak we engage in storytelling, and sharing stories is arguably the most important way we have of communicating with others about who we are and what we believe; about what we are doing and have done; about our hopes and fears; about what we value and what we don't. We make sense of our lives by telling the stories that we live; and we learn about other lives by listening to the stories told by others. Sometimes, under the influence of the culture in which we are immersed, we live our lives in ways that try to create the stories we want to be able to tell about them.
The importance of the stories we tell and the stories we hear is recognized in every culture. The work of many professions, including medicine, nursing, teaching, the law, psychotherapy and counselling, involves a great deal of time listening to and communicating through stories.
Story is a powerful tool for teachers, because by telling stories they can help students to integrate what they are learning with what they already know, by placing what they learn in a context that makes it easy to recall. Story also plays an important role in academic disciplines like philosophy, theology, anthropology, archaeology and history as well as literature. Narrative methods for the collection of data are increasingly used in research in the social sciences and humanities, where the value of getting to know people in a more intimate and less distant way - almost as if we are getting to know them from the inside, is increasingly valued, and academics in many disciplines have begun to realise the value of storytelling as a model for academic writing.
Most of us have lots of experience of relating to other lives through narrative forms, including the stories we encounter as children, the books we read and the TV programmes we watch - the dramas; the documentaries, and for those who will own up to viewing them, the 'reality' TV shows. When we are moved by a play, a movie or a novel, we are moved because we begin imaginatively to live the lives of the characters that inhabit them. If we are lucky we will encounter as we grow up, fictional stories that stay with us like old friends, that we will revisit again and again throughout our lives, as a way of coming to terms with and responding to the things we experience.
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