storytelling, in both cases
Two storytelling titles for various purposes....
Storytelling for Grantseekers by Cheryl A. Clarke
More than anything, this is an accurate and accessible book-length metaphor for what a grant can be: a gripping story of a need and a solution with a promise of another chapter to come. The chapter titles alone give a sense of how this metaphor works. A few examples are: "The Proposal Narrative: Introducing the Characters and the Place," "The Need or Problem: Building Tension and Conflict into Your Story," and "The Budget: Translating Your Story from Words to Numbers." This last chapter, chapter 8, is now in my email in .pdf form (thanks Alaine!) for future use in 506. The whole book might work, but I notice that the most frequent student mistake is to botch or, in rare cases, leave off the budget for their "facilitating change" projects. A whole reading on the how-to of the topic can't hurt.
On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction by Brian Boyd
Were there world enough and time, I'd just sit and devour this book for about three days. Instead, I've had to try it out in chunks, thanks to my colleage Karen Coates who suggested it and is using it as a major text for her storytelling course. The text is comprised of two sections, and the first explores the idea that narrative has some basis on our makeup at an evolutionary level. The second delves into particular stories, "from Zeus to Seuss," analyzing both The Odyssey and Horton Hears a Who, a juxtaposition that I find charming, engaging, and again with the if-I-had-three-days comment. Boyd's arguments bring together narrative analysis and selected neuroscience in really interesting ways. Maybe in summer, maybe after that other book chapter is due in June...
Storytelling for Grantseekers by Cheryl A. Clarke
More than anything, this is an accurate and accessible book-length metaphor for what a grant can be: a gripping story of a need and a solution with a promise of another chapter to come. The chapter titles alone give a sense of how this metaphor works. A few examples are: "The Proposal Narrative: Introducing the Characters and the Place," "The Need or Problem: Building Tension and Conflict into Your Story," and "The Budget: Translating Your Story from Words to Numbers." This last chapter, chapter 8, is now in my email in .pdf form (thanks Alaine!) for future use in 506. The whole book might work, but I notice that the most frequent student mistake is to botch or, in rare cases, leave off the budget for their "facilitating change" projects. A whole reading on the how-to of the topic can't hurt.
On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction by Brian Boyd
Were there world enough and time, I'd just sit and devour this book for about three days. Instead, I've had to try it out in chunks, thanks to my colleage Karen Coates who suggested it and is using it as a major text for her storytelling course. The text is comprised of two sections, and the first explores the idea that narrative has some basis on our makeup at an evolutionary level. The second delves into particular stories, "from Zeus to Seuss," analyzing both The Odyssey and Horton Hears a Who, a juxtaposition that I find charming, engaging, and again with the if-I-had-three-days comment. Boyd's arguments bring together narrative analysis and selected neuroscience in really interesting ways. Maybe in summer, maybe after that other book chapter is due in June...
