2025 Roundtable

Application Dates:

Opens: August 16, 2024
Deadline: January 7, 2025

Gathering 

May 19 – 22, 2025

Atlanta, GA

Leadership Team

Participants

TBD

Description

This roundtable will explore the intersection of storytelling and pedagogy. Teachers have been sharing stories throughout the ages. African griots preserve oral histories of entire communities through storytelling. Indigenous storytellers connect the past, present and future tightening familial and tribal bonds. Culturally, storytelling is important for passing on oral tradition, knowledge, history, and moral lessons. Pedagogically, storytelling serves as a tool to educate, increase knowledge, create meaning and improve society. Stories serve multiple purposes in the classroom. This storytelling immersion invites participants to engage the following pedagogical purposes for the classroom:

• Storytelling for creative expression
• Storytelling for empathy
• Storytelling for influence
• Storytelling for coming to voice
• Storytelling for collective communal wisdom sharing

Questions

Our work together will be guided by questions such as:

• What is the role of storytelling in course design?
• How do you define storytelling?
  • What is the purpose of storytelling (in general and in the classroom)?
  • What are the ways that storytelling and narrative can positively transform course design and classroom engagement
• How do we develop the skills to tell stories and invite storytelling in our classrooms, as opposed to only critically dissecting/reflecting on/analyzing stories?
• How do we cultivate new storytelling skills/practices in our teaching, scholarship and service?
• What is the value of curating a list of resources on storytelling and pedagogy? What items are on your list? What resources would you recommend to the roundtable?
• Of the storytelling purposes mentioned above, which ones resonate with you? Which ones present an area for growth?
• How are learning activities or assignments that use storytelling or narrative approaches developed or implemented?

Eligibility

• Tenured, tenure track, continuing term, and/or full-time contingency.
• Doctoral degree awarded by the time of application
• Teaching religion, religious studies, or theology in an accredited college or university in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada
• Institutional support and personal commitment to participate fully in all roundtable sessions.

Application Materials

• Application Contact Information form
• Cover letter
  • An introductory letter that describes your teaching context and addresses why you want to be part of this collaborative community, including what you hope to get out of it and what you might contribute to it. (Up to 500 words)
• Brief essay
  • Tell us a story about your most memorable teaching and learning moment. This can be written from the perspective of you as a teacher or as a learner. You can choose to tell the story in first person or third person. It can draw from experiences across the full spectrum of your life and from formal or informal educational settings. We welcome your creativity and imagination in how you tell this story. (Up to 500 words) 
• Academic CV (4-page limit)
• A letter of institutional support for your full participation in this workshop from your Department Chair, Academic Dean, Provost, Vice President, or President. Please have this recommendation uploaded directly to your application according to the online application instructions.