Stories, Storytellers, and Storytelling

Description

This book advances social scientific interest in a field long dominated by the humanities: stories, and storytelling. Stories are a whole lot more than entertainment; oral narratives, novels, films and immersive video games all form part of the sociocultural discourses which we are enmeshed in, and use to co-construct our beliefs about the world around us. Young children use them to learn about the world beyond their immediate sensory experience and, even in an era of interactive electronic media, the bedtime story remains a cherished part of most children’s daily routine. Storytelling is thus the first abstract formal learning method we encounter as human beings. It is also probably transcultural; perhaps even an immanent part of the human condition. Narratives are, at heart, sequences of events and presuppose and reinforce particular cause-and-effect relationships. Inevitably, they also construct unconscious biases, prejudices, and discriminatory attitudes. Storying (a term we use in this book to encompass stories, storytellers and storytelling) is complex, and this book seeks to make sense of it.  Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1: Introduction Background Demarcating Our Unique Contribution to Knowledge Towards a ‘Science’ of Storying: A Triadic Rendering Storying and Ethics Storytelling-as-Method Appeals to Some Fields More So Than Others Storying Serves a Vital Role in the Construction of Collective Identity Storytelling as Revelation Storytelling as a Unique Pedagogical Device Chapter Synopses Storyteller—Storytelling—Story Storyteller—Storytelling—Story Storyteller—Storytelling—Story References 2: Narratives in (in)Authenticity: The Early Career Academic Prologue Autoethnography and Ethnographic Fiction Erudite An Emerging Academic Epilogue References 3: Women, Bullying, and the Construction Industry: A Story of Veiled Gender Dynamics What Is Workplace Bullying? Reviewing the Literature (1) Gender, Complexity, and Paradox (2) Women in the Construction Industry (3) Workplace Bullying Between Women Method Ethnography Diaries Data Analysis Case Context: Tina’s Preamble Tina’s Story Discussion Being Conciliatory Reconsidering Reducing Interference Redeveloping Balance Concluding Thoughts Tina’s Reflection References 4: Clinical Advance Through Ethnographic Storytelling: Towards an Enacted Organisational Role for the Hospital Visitor Auntie Halina Method and Ethics The Story 2 September 2017 9 September 2017 21 October 2017 22 October 2017 Discussion The Salience of the Social, Cultural and Emotional Aspects of Hospital Care The Visitor Has a Multifaceted Role: ‘Catalyst of Care’, ‘Proxy Carer’ and ‘Emotional Mediator’ So What Now? Concluding Thoughts References 5: Two-and-One: Discovering My Story in Participants’ Pregnancy Narratives Introduction Method Defining the Participant Defining the Researcher Defining the Space Between Participant and Researcher Concluding Thoughts References 6: Exploring Polyvocal Stories of Space, Place, Movement, and Migration Introduction Situating Ourselves Anna-Leah King Barbara McNeil Heather Phipps Kathryn Ricketts Situating Our Storytelling Storying the Site of Our Practices Diverse Voices in Response to Indigenous Literature—The âcimowin Circle Africa in Me: Anancy/Ananse/Anansi on the Canadian Plains Storying the Landscapes of Self and Other: Topographies of Body and Land Fact and Fiction LUG, Remington, and Rufus Vignette 1: I Moved Between Them—A Kinaesthetic Conduit from Him to Them Copenhagen, 1987 Vignette 2: The Hockey Stick—Disrupting the Habituated Vancouver, 2009 Vignette 3: The Letter—A Collective Voice Vancouver, 2008 Catalysts for Shared Storytelling Concluding Remarks References 7: Whose Story Is It Anyway? Hashtag Campaigns and Digital Abortion Storytelling Introduction Abortion Storytelling Digital Abortion Storytelling in the Twittersphere Campaigns The US: #ihadansbortion, #shoutyourabortion, #youknowme Ireland—#twowomentravel Brazil—#precisamosfalarsobreaborto Whose Story Is It Anyway? Celebrities, Essentialism, and Linguistic Perspectives Celebrities and Journalists Essentialism Hashtag Language Conclusions References 8: Storytime in the Craft Beer Bar: Narratives, Gobbets and Segments Introduction Background and Method Beer Stories Story One—Gobbets in Process Story Two—The (anti)Pragmatics of Craft Beer Storytelling Story 3—Authenticity and Pragmatics Implications for Storytime in the Craft Beer Bar Concluding Thoughts Appendix 1 Black Sheep Timothy Taylor’s Landlord References 9: Arbitrage and Autopoiesis in Police Sergeants’ Stories: More Than “Canteen Culture” Author’s Note Beyond Canteen Culture Methods The Sergeant’s Story Analysing the Sergeant’s Story Autopoietic Story References 10: Restorying Trauma: Child Sexual Abuse Storytelling and Trauma The Power of Storytelling Concluding Thoughts References 11: Personal and Ethnic Bildungen: Cross-cultural Storytelling in Singaporean-British Writer PP Wong’s The Life of a Banana Overview Storytelling: Breaking Silence and Restoring Ethnic Subjectivity Storytelling: Intergenerational and Intercultural Reconnection Concluding Thoughts References 12: Telling Stories, Building Bridges and Constructing Milton Keynes: Storytelling Practice and Research Working Together Storying Milton Keynes Telling Stories Building Bridges Constructing Place References 13: The Personal Statement: A Tool for Developing the Pedagogical Potential of Storytelling in Business Management Education? Staking a Small Claim for Story-based, Passion-inspired Learning in BME The STEP UP to Business Module What Did the Students Think? A New Idea: The Personal Statement Conclusion Reflective Postscript References