Storytelling is a powerful tool for the documentation of voices, memories and histories. It can also be a catalyst for activism and social change. In this workshop we will explore the ethics and techniques of oral history, ethnography, and storytelling as activist research methodologies. Attendees will be introduced to these three merging methodologies through a combination of short media pieces and discussions, and will learn the basics of corresponding skills such as interviewing, story circle facilitation, and ethnographic observation. We will also cover the technical aspects of Storytelling for social change, providing an introduction to minimal resource audio recording tools.

This workshop is intended for anyone interested in developing collaborative documentary or storytelling skills, including students, community members, and staff members of organizations doing cultural, community and social-service work. In addition to developing attendees’ collaborative research abilities, the workshop seeks to expand participants’ listening skills—and by extension, interviewing skills—while also encouraging attendees to consider the challenges, possibilities, and ethics of representation. The workshop will conclude with a discussion of participants’ project ideas.

Storytelling for Social Change is a part of the Vermont Folklife Center’s Cultural Sustainability Institute workshop series. Cultural Sustainability provides a framework for examining human experience in the present with an awareness of the past and a view toward the future.

The tuition for this workshop is $95. The deadline for registration is Friday March 16. Register by calling (802) 388-4964.

This workshop will be held at the Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond Street, in Stowe.

The Vermont Folklife Center’s mission is to broaden, strengthen, and deepen our understanding of Vermont; to assure a repository for our collective cultural memory; and to build connections among the diverse peoples of Vermont.