LIS 402/510 - Storytelling

Course Outline

Fall 

Calendar Description:

To examine the past and present forms of storytelling: the oral tradition, the function of the storyteller, the selection of materials and the techniques of telling and listening to stories.

Objectives:

1. To develop an appreciation of storytelling as a communication art and the role of traditional literature in popular culture.
2. To explore the place and function of storytelling in the library, the classroom and the community at large.
3. To develop knowledge of the literature suitable for storytelling and of the professional literature of the field.
4. To provide experience in selection, preparation, and presentation of stories and storytelling programmes.
5. To learn to tell stories in an effective manner. In order to fulfil this objective, some class time will be used to practice the qualities of oral language arts in an informal and safe setting.

Content:

1. Resources for the storyteller.
2. The literature of storytelling.
3. Methods of selection and preparation of stories.
4. Traditional literature.
5. Storytelling practice.

Methods:

Lectures, background readings, oral and written assignments, storytelling demonstrations, class presentations, audio visual aids.

Assignments

Both oral and written work are assigned. Oral work provides the essential practice in preparing and presenting stories to an audience. Written work provides experience in selecting and evaluating storytelling materials and resources. ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TYPED AND HANDED IN DURING CLASS TIME ON THEIR DUE DATES. A 10% PENALTY FOR LATENESS PER DAY WILL BE ENFORCED.

Course Relationships:

LIS 501 (prereq for 510 students only)

Evaluation:N/A

Evaluation will be based on a total of 100 raw score points.

Raw Score	Letter Grade	Description
96-100	A+	Outstanding achievement. Demonstrates full command of the course materials and evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course expectations.
93-95	A	Excellent achievement. Exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior manner.
87-92	A-	Excellent. Demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials.
83-86	B+	Very Good work. Above average comprehension of course materials.
78-82	B	Meets designated course expectations and demonstrates strong understanding of course materials.
73-77	B-	Good understanding of course materials.
69-72	C+	Satisfactory.
64-68	C	Satisfactory.
59-63	C-	Marginal work. Student performance demonstrates an incomplete understanding of course materials.
55-59	D+	Unsatisfactory work. Demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of course materials.
50-54	D	Minimal pass.
less than 50	F	Fail.

Assignments and Evaluation

Both oral and written work are assigned. Oral work provides the essential practice in preparing and presenting stories to an audience. Written work provides experience in selecting and evaluating storytelling materials and resources.

ALL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS MUST BE TYPED AND HANDED IN DURING CLASS TIME ON THEIR DUE DATES. A 10% PENALTY FOR LATENESS PER DAY WILL BE ENFORCED.

Note: Students enrolled in LIS 510 should see the instructor as soon as possible in regards to their assignments.

1. Telling of a Fable - 20%
2. Reflections on the Fable - 10%
3. Group Project - 20%
4. Folklore and Popular Culture - 20%
5. Folktale Telling - 30%

All students need to be active participants in class discussions and group activities as well as active listeners. Attending every class is expected, particularly those involving listening to stories. Students are also expected to arrive on time and actively participate in class.

Tentative Timetable

Date	Topic
Sept. 9	Introduction to course objectives and assignments. Storytelling resources.
Sept. 14	Introduction to storytelling: history, values and role of the storyteller.
Sept. 16	What makes a tellable story? Motif and tale type indexes. Types of stories: fables.
Sept. 21	Story structure and Mapping. Types of stories: formula folktales.
Sept. 23	Story delivery: openings and closings, beginnings and endings. Setting. Characterization.
Sept. 28	Story delivery: Body language, voice control and storytelling techniques.
Sept. 30	More techniques for effective storytelling delivery. Elite, popular and folk culture (in regards to Assignment IV).
Oct. 5	ASSIGNMENT I: TELLING OF A FABLE
Oct. 7	ASSIGNMENT I: TELLING OF A FABLE.
Oct. 12	ASSIGNMENT II: REFLECTIONS ON THE FABLE . Types of Stories: Myths, Legends and folktales.
Oct. 14	Story adaptations
Oct. 19	Source notes and authority of retellers and collectors.
Oct. 21	Shaping Personal anecdotes, family stories and local history stories.
Oct. 26	Types of stories: Nursery Rhymes
Oct. 28	Types of stories: Urban legends and ghost stories.
Nov. 2	Four streams of storytelling.
Nov. 4	ASSIGNMENT III: GROUP PROJECTS  Ethics in Storytelling. Copyright Issues.
Nov. 9	Current trends and applications of storytelling
Nov. 11	Remembrance Day, no classes
Nov. 16	Censorship and Intellectual Freedom. Guest: Merle Harris
Nov. 18	ASSIGNMENT IV: FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE Storytelling Techniques Review
Nov. 23	FOLKTALE TELLING (ASSIGNMENT V)
Nov. 25	FOLKTALE TELLING (ASSIGNMENT V)
Nov. 30	FOLKTALE TELLING (ASSIGNMENT V)
Dec. 2	FOLKTALE TELLING (ASSIGNMENT V)
Dec. 7	FOLKTALE TELLING (ASSIGNMENT V) /510 FINAL PROJECTS DUE

Readings and Resources

Required Text:

de Vos, Gail, Merle Harris and Celia Barker Lottridge (2003). Telling Tales: Storytelling in the Family. 2nd edition. Edmonton: University of Alberta Press.

Recommended Readings:

de Vos, Gail. Storytelling for Young Adults: Techniques and Treasury. Littleton, Co.: Libraries Unlimited, 1991.

de Vos, Gail. Tales, Rumors and Gossip: Exploring Contemporary Folk Literature in Grades 7-12. Littleton, Co.: Libraries Unlimited, 1996.

de Vos, Gail and Anna Altmann. New Tales for Old: Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults. Littleton, Co.: Libraries Unlimited, 1999.

de Vos, Gail and Anna Altmann. Tales Then and Now: More Folktales as Literary Fictions for Young Adults. Littleton, Co.: Libraries Unlimited, 2001.

Hallett, Martin and Barbara Karasek. Folk & Fairy Tales. 2nd ed. Peterborough, Ont: Broadview, 1996.

Yolen, Jane. Touch Magic. August House, 2000.

In addition to the above readings, students will be required to use a variety of books and other materials in the preparation of assignments for this course.

Additional Recommended Readings:

Barton, Bob. Tell Me Another. Pembroke, 1986.

Barton, Bob and David Booth. Stories in the Classroom: Storytelling, Reading Aloud and Role Playing with Children. Pembroke, 1991.

Blatt, Gloria T., Ed. Once Upon a Folktale: Capturing the Folklore Process with Children. Teachers College Press, 1993.

Bosma, Bette. Fairy Tales, Fables, Legends, and Myths: Using Folk Literature in your Classroom. 2nd ed. Teachers College Press, 1992.

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton, 1968.

Cook, Elizabeth. The Ordinary and the Fabulous: An Introduction to Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales. 2nd ed. Cambridge, 1978.

Dailey, Sheila. Putting the World in a Nutshell: The Art of the Formula Tale. H.W. Wilson, 1994.

Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique. 3rd ed. Bowker, 1996.

Jurich, Marilyn. Scheherazades’s Sisters: Trickster Heroines and Their Stories in World Literature. (Contributions in Women’s Studies, Number 167.) Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1998.

MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Storyteller's Start-Up Book. August House, 1993.

Maguire, Jack. Creative Storytelling: Choosing, Inventing and Sharing Tales for Children. Yellow Moon, 1985.

National Storytelling Association. Tales as Tools: The Power of Story in the Classroom. National Storytelling Press, 1994.

Pellowski, Anne. The World of Storytelling. Rev. ed. W.H.Wilson, 1990.

Rosen, Betty. And None of it was Nonsense: The Power of Storytelling in School. Scholastic, 1988.

Sawyer, Ruth. The Way of the Storyteller. Penguin, 1970.

Shedlock, Marie L. The Art of the Story-Teller. Dover, 1951.

Sherman, Josepha. Once Upon a Galaxy. August House, 1994.

Stone, Kay. Burning Brightly: New Light on Old Tales Told Today. Broadview, 1998.

Stotter, Ruth. About Story: Writings on Stories and Storytelling 1980-1994. Stotter Press, 1994.

Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairytales and their Tellers. Chatto & Windus, 1994.

Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tale as Myth, Myth as Fairy Tale. University Press of Kentucky, 1994.