World Wide Narratives
Sometimes you happen upon a project that has the potential to impact far more people than those enrolled in a particular class. With Harrisburg’s World Wide Narratives – and the connected Mobile Media Pilot – I think I’ve found just that.
Friday afternoon and early evening, I found myself in one of the most diverse classroom settings I’ve ever been in, both as a professional and as a student. Individuals from differing genders, races, religions, nationalities, sexual orientations, socio-economic backgrounds, ages and more came together as one team in the Olmsted Building for the purpose of documenting the stories of others different from themselves for these categorical reasons – and the same as them in one key respect: that they are human beings with important experiences to share with the community.
Shivaani Selvaraj, Jo Tyler and Martha Strickland offered a vibrant presentation on the project goals, the critical incidence story listening techniques to be employed and the research campus climate opportunities inherent in World Wide Narratives’ success. They also invited me along to give an overview of how the iPod touch could be best deployed as a story gathering tool and to give technical advice and guidance to participants.
To say I was honored would be an understatement.