Class # 15691, MoWe 3:00-4:15pm, Honors College Rm 165, Sarah Lausch
What do the Brothers Grimm, Oprah Winfrey, your trusted hairdresser, your grandparents and you, yourself, have in common? Stories. Margaret Atwood, author of the famous book, The Handmaid’s Tale, said “You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built in the human plan. We come with it.” Stories are not only an important and basic form of communication and transmitting information. Before the alphabets, and much later the bookpress, were developed, stories were the primary way to share information and our lives. Humans carved and painted their stories on cave walls. Later, stories spread from the great oral tradition to platforms represented in books, dance, music, theatre, etc. This course will offer students the opportunity to explore the interdisciplinary field of storytelling as it relates to history, culture, and society. The class will consider how this ancient art form can strengthen learning, communication, cultures, families, corporations, environmental education, and entertainment. An active and collaborative learning approach is utilized to provide students with an involved learning experience.