After meeting a friend and discussing the highs and lows of PhD life and academia recently, I then went to see the Enduring Eye exhibition at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. The exhibition is a stunning display of photographs of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ‘Endurance Expedition’ of 1914-1917. Being in Read more…
My PhD had changed alot since the very beginning when I had what seems like a really vague idea now about storytelling and mental health. I then became interested in how stories teach people about their culture, including emotional language and understanding. I have clarified my thesis statement to: The civilisation Read more…
‘what we are born with is what worked best for the last 50,000 human generations’ (Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, p5) In Emotional Intelligence Goleman discusses what happens when ‘passions overwhelm reason.’ Our reactions to the world around us have evolved over time. These ‘automatic reactions’ are extremely important in Read more…
What is an inner library? ‘We carry with us every story we have ever heard and every story we have ever lived, filed away at some deep place in our memory. We carry most of those stories unread, as it were, until we have grown the capacity or the readiness Read more…
Red and Ralph Red’s story There were certain words that Red’s mother repeated ad nauseam, ‘Don’t eat on the path. Don’t leave the path. Don’t forget your bow and arrows.’ As if any self-respecting young woman on her way to visit a sick relative would prance about picking flowers in Read more…
Socio-narratology: what is it? ‘People’s access to narrative resources depends on their social location: what stories are told where they live and work, which stories do they take seriously or not, and especially what stories they exchange’ (Frank, 3). I had been looking at socio-psychology as a form of analysis Read more…
Great news, The Society for Storytelling is interested in my research and my research aims. Which is to see storytelling in schools throughout the UK. “I’m pleased to confirm that the trustees agreed at last week’s meeting that supporting your research would be a worthwhile cause.” (Chip Colquhoun, Chair). They Read more…
‘some methods are more useful for the questions they offer’(Arthur W. Frank, Letting Stories Breathe, p.72) My question is how can traditional storytelling be used to support emotional health? It’s a tough one. The term narrative therapy was coined as a result of the work of two men, Michael White Read more…