DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCES
STORYTELLING FOR INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS

THREE PAGE SYLLABUS
© 2011 Elizabeth Figa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor University of North Texas

NOTE: This course has been taught since 2000. It has been taught 100% online three times per year
since 2004, and won the University of North Texas Outstanding Course Award in 2006.

Official SLIS Course Description:
Storytelling ethnography, history, theory, methods, and bibliographic resources. Story research, analysis, selection, adaptation, and preparation. Oral performance development and audience dynamics. Program planning, implementation, evaluation, and grant writing for schools, libraries or other information settings.

Course Learning Objectives:

  • The course design will attempt to strike a balance between training in the art of storytelling in practice (this component will have an emphasis on technique, performance, and audience dynamics);
  • Cognitive development in the foundations of history, theory, methods, and bibliographic resources related to storytelling;
  • Assist students with the development of story selection, preparation, and telling skills;
  • Program planning and projects in schools, libraries, and other settings; and
  • Development of a deeper understanding of the nature of story and its applications in research, the student's work, or personal endeavors.

Module Learning Goals
Goals Unit One

  • To enlighten you about the history of the modern day storytelling revival and the oral tradition.
  • To help familiarize you with bibliographic resources for storytelling.
  • To guide you in the use of indexes for story research, particularly tale type and motif indexes.
  • To stimulate your thinking about the value of stories and storytelling.
  • To develop skills in doing a storytelling performance warm-up and the use of creative dramatics.
  • To explain the praise and appreciation process and how we give feedback to one another about storytelling performances.
  • To inform you about some organizations and listserv/discussion groups related to storytelling.
  • To enlighten you about the history of the modern day storytelling revival and the oral tradition.
  • To help familiarize you with bibliographic resources for storytelling.
  • To guide you in the use of indexes for story research, particularly tale type and motif indexes.
  • To help you learn the components of a narrative (story). To enhance your knowledge of theory and trends in narrative research.
    To help you learn to analyze the components of stories to enhance learning and for analytic techniques related to story research.

Goals Unit Two

  • To heighten awareness of the issues pertaining to storytelling ethics
    To present essential information about copyright and storytelling.
  • To help you consider the needs of audiences in developing age-appropriate storytelling events.
  • To give you some ideas and resources about how storytelling can become part of a classroom or library curriculum.
  • To help you understand the basics of planning a storytelling program and how you might evaluate it.
  • To help create awareness of a repertoire of resources and activities that may be useful in storytelling programming.
  • To understand the history of the transformation of the oral tradition to the literary tale.
  • To create awareness regarding stories of the folk and the universality and forms of folktales.
  • To begin examining some theoretical and analytic interpretations of folk and fairy tales.
  • To consider how plots, themes, tale types, and motifs from folktale emerge in retellings within movies.
  • To explore some analysis about the value of movies as a storytelling form.

Goals Unit Three

  • To more fully appreciate how music and poetry can tell stories.
    To consider how musical and poetic forms can be used in programming and/or added to a storytelling program to enhance it.
    To learn how life and family stories shape us and become a mode of communication.
    To learn some techniques to collect and preserve our family stories.
    To understand the nature and phenomenon of urban legends
    to understand how and why stories about work evolve, to consider how collecting stories about work is a valuable contribution to a profession, and to learn a few ideas how we might use stories at work professionally.
  • To explore the nature and features of multicultural storytelling.
  • To more fully appreciate the nature of story culture and the concept, "Who owns the stories?"
  • To explore the nature and function of mythology.
  • To understand some analytic and interpretive frameworks pertaining to mythology.
  • To contemplate the future of storytelling.
  • To create awareness of some new trends in digital storytelling.

Required Text:

  1. Super Simple Storytelling: A Can Do Guide for Every Classroom, Every Day. Kendall Haven. Libraries Unlimited. 2000.
  2. Current APA Citation Manual.

Assignments and Class Participation: Full participation in all class activities, exercises, forum discussions, rehearsal exchanges, coaching feedback, and the storytelling concert planning, implementation and evaluation.

  • Storytelling #1: Preparation and submission of one folk, fairy or contemporary tale and story #1 composite briefing. (audio + text).
  • Storytelling #2: Preparation and submission of one poem, song, ballad, rap, finger play, puppet performance, rhythm piece, participation story, etc. and story #2 composite briefing. (audio + text).
  • Storytelling #3: Preparation and submission of your selected concert performance piece as a "rehearsal" for your final submission as Storytelling #4. Also, related composite briefing. (audio + text).
  • Storytelling #4: Preparation and submission of concert storytelling performance piece (audio).
  • Personal Storyteller Biography.

Required Course Technology: Reliable Internet access is required. Blackboard is the course management software used at UNT; please see the Blackboard Vista Browser and Computer page at https://ecampussupport.unt.edu/index.cfm?M=Student_Resources&PF=../Support/browser_plugins for information on currently supported browsers, to configure your computer system to work with Blackboard Vista, and to check your Java.

This course requires that students have computing technology and equipment specifications as follows:
1. Hardware. See the Blackboard Vista Technology Requirements page re: hardware.
2. Streaming Media Player. To view the storytelling videos of guest artists, you will need to have a streaming video player with speakers to hear the audio. The free utility RealPlayer may be downloaded by going to and looking at the lower right hand frame for an icon that says, "Real One Player, Free Player Download" or go to Free RealOne Player. If for some reason, it does not work, you can try to download an older version of RealPlayer from: . Windows Media Player is the default for streaming video that comes with Windows and is NOT recommended.
3. Microphone. You will need a microphone to record digital audio files.
4. Web camera. You will need a Web camera in order to participate in Live Classroom. An integrated Web camera is sufficient.
4. Required Technology and Software. Other software (e.g., voice board, Live Classroom) is provided through the course. Please also see the Technology Requirements and Support page located in the introduction folder.

Grading Criteria:

1. Participation Policy: This course requires weekly engagement and participation in discussion assignments and participation is one grading criteria.
2. Late Work Policy: Assignments that are submitted via "assignment tools" are due as stated on the course calendar at 12:00 midnight. The assignment tool "dropbox" is set to close at 1 a.m. as a buffer. Unsubmitted assignments will receive 0 points. Students are advised that it is better to submit partial work for some credit rather than submitting nothing. Please plan accordingly.
SLIS 5611 requires the following kinds of intellectual and communication competencies:

  • Applying analytical thinking and problem-solving skills for information synthesis and response
  • Professional writing style
  • Literature searching using library catalogs and indexes and Web search engines
  • Following specific assignment instructions
  • Working cooperatively as a group to prepare and product an online storytelling concert/festival
  • Meeting assignment deadlines

Effort Expected: This is a three-credit-hour course. Students can expect to work 3 - 4 hours per week for each credit hour. This means students may spend about 9 - 12 hours a week on readings, assignments, discussions, and story preparation.
Policy on Academic Misconduct: Plagiarism and cheating
* Read Carefully -- This Policy will be Enforced *
I support and will enforce the University of North Texas policies concerning academic misconduct.

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