Storytelling

The Storytelling GAC is a 100% online program.

Life is, truly, the grand narrative. Stories are an integral and basic form of communication and information sharing. Before we developed alphabets, we were sharing information and our lives through story. We carved and painted our stories on cave walls. Later, elder storytellers would pass on important history to citizens through story. Story has spread from the grand oral tradition to "modern day" platforms represented in books, dance, music, theatre, movies, etc. The oral storytelling tradition is a powerful method for teaching and learning, management, leadership, information transfer, persuasion, and communication. Story preserves, perpetuates, and transforms culture. This ancient device remains an emerging frontier with compelling possibilities.

The Graduate Academic Certificate program is intended for two audiences:

• Master's degreed library and information science professionals who want to develop expertise in Storytelling and receive a Graduate Academic Certificate.
• Bachelor's or Master's degreed individuals in any field who want to develop or enhance their knowledge of Storytelling by taking Master's level courses and receiving a Graduate Academic Certificate.

Required Courses for the Storytelling Certificate

• Four courses are required for a total of 12 Hours:

  Required Courses:

• INFO 5440 - Storytelling for Information Professionals (3 hours)
  • 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.
• INFO 5441 - Advanced Storytelling for Information Professionals (3 hours)
  • Personal storytelling performance development -- psycho-social development; voice and vocal dynamics; movement and gesture; facial expression, posture and performance dress; characterization; dialect and linguistic factors; musical effects; nonverbal behaviors and silence/pause. Training for public storytelling performances in libraries, schools, and community information settings. Advanced program planning, including development, implementation and evaluation of an individual or group storytelling concert. Advanced study of the current trends in storytelling.

• Elective Courses; choose two of the following:

  • INFO 5442- Digital Storytelling (3 hours)
    • Digital storytelling is a method of combining images, text, music, and the spoken word to create a story presentation that supports teaching, learning, self-expression, marketing, and other communication and community-building objectives. In this course, students will study storytelling tenets and will apply the developmental and technical aspects of creating a digital storytelling presentation. Students will explore theoretical and empirical literature supporting digital storytelling projects and strategies for information seeking and sharing, and they will demonstrate practical approaches for creating digital storytelling projects, for using digital storytelling for classroom projects, and for leading digital storytelling workshops for community-building events.  
  • INFO 5443- Storytelling Knowledge Transfer (3 hours)
    • Storytelling is an inherent form of communicating and of learning. This makes it a powerful tool for knowledge management strategies, particularly that of knowledge transfer. The two overarching learning goals for students of this course are to 1. Construct an approach for using storytelling as a knowledge management (KM) process for sharing/capturing tacit knowledge and 2. Develop best practices for using storytelling to implement a KM program. Students will explore how theoretical and practical tenets of storytelling are used to realize KM goals of creating, capturing, and sharing tacit organizational knowledge. In addition to theoretical research and practical discussion, students will: 1) Develop and perform stories to support key aspects of a knowledge management infrastructure and 2) Apply interviewing and coaching methods to elicit stories from others.
  • INFO 5445 - History and Culture of Youth Information Services (3 hours)
    • History of youth services librarianship. Theory and methods of ethnographic evaluation. Community assessment and interviews. Users and designers of youth information services and systems. Current trends.
  • Another course as negotiated with the Coordinator

All 12 hours of coursework taken for this Graduate Academic Certificate can also be applied toward the Master's of Science with majors in Library Science or Information Science program.

Once You Are Admitted

Once admitted, you will be assigned an advisor who will assist you in getting enrolled for classes and beginning the Graduate Academic Certificate Program.

Note: If you are a current IS Master's student and you are applying for a GAC, please complete the Application for Concurrent Graduate Academic Certificate Programs (EUID and UNT password login required) so that your academic certificate program will show up on your transcript. If you do not complete the form before your graduating semester, the Toulouse Graduate School will not accept your request for the certificate.
 

Contact Information

*Students admitted to the Storytelling Graduate Academic Certificate program, prior to the fall 2018 term can discuss the certificate requirements with their academic advisor.