“But we do language.” The power of stories
Course Information
| Nr. | Name | Type | Time | Room | Lecturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 154672 | “But we do language.” The power of stories | 2 HS | Fr 10:15 - 11:45 | R. 0.406 | Klemm |
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives,” Toni Morrison said during her Nobel Prize acceptance speech in 1993. Starting with her speech, this course will explore some of the manifold meanings of storytelling for human experience and evolution. Deep in human history, some scholars (Gottschall and Gazzaniga) argue, storytelling provided a survival advantage by bringing humans together sharing information, skills and values. Maybe it was already then that storytelling served as a means to attract potential mates.
Brian Boyd concludes about the value of stories, “A work of art acts like a playground for the mind.” So let us investigate this playground: the fun, the fears, the conflicts, the cleansing, the comfort, and the restoration.
In addition to the analysis of fictional texts we will study how storytelling is applied these days in areas like conflict resolution, community building (https://storycorps.org), urban development or sustainability.
Readings will include texts by Joan Didion, Toni Morrison, Maria Popova, Natasha Trethewey and others.
Modules
| LABG | G | HRG/HRSGe | GyGe/BK | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 703, 704 | 602, 1001, 1002 | 602, 701, 702, 1002, 1003 | 703 |
| 2016 | 602, 703, 704 | 602, 1002, 1003 | 602, 701, 702, 1002, 1004 | 703 |
| PO | B.A.ALK | B.A.AS | M.A.ALK | M.A.AS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PO ab WS 16/17 | Kern: 6ac Komp: 3abd | Kern: 6bc Komp: 4a | 1ac, 3b | 2ab |
| PO ab WS 21/22 | Kern: 6ac Komp: 3abd | Kern: 6bc Komp: 4a | 1ac, 3b | 2ab |