Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative

Storytelling: Global Reflections on Narrative 9th Global Meeting Call for Participation 2016 Sunday 10th July – Tuesday 12th July 2016 Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom Earlier meetings of the Storytelling: global reflections on narrative project have brought together participants with both personal and professional interests in the unique role that storytelling plays throughout our lives. We have been challenged by philosophers, literary theorists, artists, psychologists, playwrights, storytellers, 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 Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, the Philippines, India and elsewhere as well as by theatrical and musical performances, digital stories, films and performance art. For our ninth global meeting we invite participants to continue to reflect on and celebrate story in challenging ways. 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 stories about them; and we learn about other people by listening to the stories they tell. 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. Abstracts are invited for contributions that address any aspect of story or narrative, including, for example: - Story as a pedagogical and research tool in academic disciplines such as history; anthropology, psychology, theology, cultural theory, medicine, law, philosophy, education, archaeology; the physical sciences and archaeology. - Narrative and the gathering of stories of lived experience, as a research approach in any area of professional and public life, including academic disciplines such as those listed above. - The place of story and storytelling in the practice of journalism; conflict resolution; architecture; religion; tourism, politics and the law, and in clinical contexts such as medicine, psychotherapy, nursing and counselling; personal relations and advertising.. - Story's place in culture, including theatre; cinema; music, including opera, folk music and popular music; literature, including poetry, short stories and graphic novels. - The place of storytelling in the digital age, including digital storytelling; forms of storytelling in social media; and computer gaming. We especially welcome abstracts from those who bring together reflections from both professional and personal perspectives. Abstracts that address the interdisciplinary potential of storytelling, both as an approach to a wide range of topics and as a means for communication between colleagues from different academic disciplines and professions, are also warmly welcomed. Further details and information can be found on the conference website: http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/probing-the-boundaries/storytelling-global-reflections-on-narrative/research-streams/storytelling-global-reflections-on-narrative/story-2-call-for-papers/ Call for Cross-Over Presentations The Storytelling project will be meeting at the same time as a project on Madness and another project on Persons and Sexualities. We welcome submissions which cross the divide between both project areas. If you would like to be considered for a cross project session, please mark your submission "Crossover Submission". What to Send 300 word abstracts, proposals and other forms of contribution should be submitted by Friday 26th February 2016. All submissions be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed. You will be notified of the panel's decision by Friday 11th March 2016. If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 3rd June 2016. Abstracts may be in Word, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order: a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords. E-mails should be entitled: Storytelling Abstract Submission Where to Send Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chairs with listed emails: Organising Chairs: Gavin Fairburn: gsstory@inter-disciplinary.net Rob Fisher: story9@inter-disciplinary.net This event is an inclusive interdisciplinary research and publishing project. It aims to bring together people from different areas and interests to share ideas and explore various discussions which are innovative and exciting. A number of eBooks and paperback volumes have already emerged and/or are in press from the work of this project. All papers accepted for and presented at the conference must be in English and will be eligible for publication in an ISBN eBook. Selected papers may be developed for publication in a themed hard copy volume(s). All publications from the conference will require editors, to be chosen from interested delegates from the conference. Ethos Inter-Disciplinary.Net believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract for presentation. Please note: Inter-Disciplinary.Net is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence.