EDU/HUM292:  The Art of Storytelling
Course Policies

EDU/HUM292:  The Art of Storytelling                           Linda Evans
Fall 2002                                                                              Office:  P228 T/R 10:00 AM                                                                          654-7725
Office hours:  9:00-10:00 AM T/R and by appointment

Email:  levans@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
Website:  www.mc.maricopa.edu/~levans

Note:  This course satisfies Humanities and Cultural Diversity Awareness general education requirements.

EDU/HUM292:  The Art of Storytelling is both an exploration and a celebration of the natural human impulse to turn experiences into story and to share our stories with others.  It is a class in which you participate by telling stories and reacting to stories told by others.  In this course, you will:

• Define the practice and power of storytelling
• Explore the origins of storytelling and oral traditions around the world
• Listen to and analyze stories from many cultures
• Learn to use the storyteller's tools of the trade, including voice, gesture, movement, rhythm, timing, dialogue, audience involvement, memory devices, and props
• Select and tell stories from your own and other cultures
• Compile a journal of storytelling resources and ideas for future use
• Explore your personal experiences with and connections to storytelling

This course will cover many facets of storytelling, including:

I. What storytelling is and what it does for us
    A. Function
    B. History
    C. Power and value
II. Elements of stories
    A. Beginning, middle, and end
    B. Setting
    C. Character
    D. Plot (problem and resolution)
    E. Dialogue
    F. Theme, lesson, or moral
    G. Conclusion
I. Types of stories
    A. Personal and family
    B. Cultural
    C. Historical
    D. Literary
    E. Genres
        1. Folk tales
        2. Fairy tales
        3. Myth
        4. Legends
        5. Parables
        6. Fables
III. Selecting and preparing stories to tell
    A. Sources of stories
    B. Methods of preparation
        1. Imaging
        2. Memory devices
    C. Tools of the storytelling trade
        1. Voice
        2. Movement and space
        3. Direct dialogue
        4. Eye contact
        5. Audience participation
        6. Props
IV. Practice and performance
    A. Small group practice and critique
    B. Whole group performance
    C. Showcase performance

Materials

The textbooks for this course are:

• Tell Me a Tale by Joseph Bruchak
• Telling Your Own Stories by Donald Davis

Course work

The work you do for this course will include the following:

Story journal in which you will collect:

1. Personal connections to storytelling (14 entries)
2. Reviews of books and online resources related to storytelling (6 entries)
3. Class notes
4. Reviews of storytelling events and guest speakers (at least 2 entries)

1. A personal or family story
2.  A personal story collected from a family member, friend, or other acquaintance
3. A folk or literary story from your own ethnic or cultural heritage
4. A folk or literary story from another ethnic or cultural heritage of your choice

Your grade in this course will be determined by your effort and participation.  You will choose your grade in this course by deciding how much of the coursework you will complete.  There will be a total of 400 points available as follows:

Story journal                                           200 points
Storytelling                                              200 points

If your story journal contains the minimum number of required entries, you will earn the full 200 points for the assignment.  You will lose 10 points for each missing entry in the journal.  Journal topics will be given out each Tuesday, and entries will be due the following Tuesday.  The entire journal will be collected near the end of the semester.

For storytelling, you will earn 50 points each time you tell a story to the class, assuming that your story is appropriate for the class and well-prepared.  I reserve the right to deduct points for stories that are inappropriate or inadequately prepared.

I will calculate final grades on a standard 10% scale as follows:

360 – 400 points          A
320 – 359 points          B
280 – 319 points          C
240 – 279 points          D
Less than 240 points     F

Appropriateness of Stories and Sensitivity to Others

This class is a safe environment in which we can all teach and learn from each other through our stories.  Each of us must be sensitive to the feelings of everyone in the class. When you select stories to tell, make sure they are appropriate for a diverse group of people with different backgrounds, values, and emotional boundaries.  Avoid stories with graphic sexual content, racist or sexist elements, and/or offensive language; they are not appropriate for a college classroom setting.  If you're not sure whether a particular story is appropriate for the class, talk to me before you tell it to the class.

Attendance

You are expected to attend class regularly and to participate in scheduled activities, including the final exercise.  If you miss more than three classes or if you fail to complete more than two consecutive assignments, you may be withdrawn from the class with or without notice.  If your fourth absence occurs after the deadline for withdrawal, you may receive a failing grade for the course.

If you are more than ten minutes late for class or if you leave early without speaking to me in advance, you will be counted absent for the day.

Officially excused absences for participating in MCC-sponsored activities or religious observations will not be counted against you.

Beepers, Cell Phones, and Other Necessary Evils

Let’s face it:  beepers and cell phones are rude when they interrupt something valuable such as a great telling of a great story.

You have made a commitment to yourself, to your classmates, and to me to be present and participate in class activities.  This means that during classtime, you are offline.  Do not bring beepers, cell phones, etc., to class with you because they are disruptive and annoying.  If there is an urgent situation that requires you to carry a beeper or cell phone, please speak with me before you bring the equipment to class.

Course Schedule

I will try to provide a weekly schedule of class activities and assignments.  Because there are so many variables in a course of this nature, it is impossible to plan class activities too far in advance.  I’ll announce storytelling events in the community as early as I can so that you can plan to attend.

Special Student Population Policy

If you have any physical or other disability that might hamper your progress in this course, please let me know at the beginning of the semester so that I can make reasonable accommodations for you.  There are many resources available on campus for students with special needs, and I will be happy to help you identify and locate them.

Academic Integrity

You are expected to uphold the principles of academic integrity in all the work you do for this course.  This means that all of the work you turn in must be entirely your own.  If you borrow any material from external sources and use it in your writing, you must follow the MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines for giving credit to the authors and publishers of the borrowed information.

Students who plagiarize (either intentionally or unintentionally) or engage in other forms of academic dishonesty such as cheating will be withdrawn from the course or receive a failing grade for the course at the instructor’s discretion.

Return to the HUM292 materials page

Return to Linda Evans' home page