ANTH 122B — We Are All Ears: The Power, Politics, and Ethics of Storytelling

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What do we learn by listening to or reading about someone else? This course digs deep into the power of stories and storytelling in four overlapping ways. First, we will explore storytelling more broadly as a cultural activity that shapes who we are and how we interact with one another on ethical, political, and social terms. Next, we will focus on the violent, volatile, and/or oppressive conditions under which stories are told—or silenced. With an emphasis on the United States, we will look at the wide-ranging ways dominant narratives have the power to create, sustain, or remake reality. Third, we will consider the underbelly of these stories – the lives, experiences, and counternarratives of those at the margins. Here, we will learn to actively listen to multiple, diverse stories often hidden from view. Finally, inspired by Hannah Arendt’s contention that stories mediate the space between private and public realms, and that by enlarging our horizons of understanding storytelling helps reconcile singular and plural worlds, we will discuss how stories not only transport us but also transform us. In conversation with storytellers – inside and outside of academia – this course culminates in designing your own creative, public-facing storytelling project (ie: podcasts, exhibitions, performances) and sharing it in a public venue. Special one-time offering, spring 2023.

Emily Ibrahim

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