CSCA presidential reflection: Our stories... our legacy

Abstract

IMPORTANCE OF STORIES We are the stories we tell. As Walter Fisher (1989) suggests, we humans are storytellers. We make sense of others and ourselves through story. A key concept in Fisher's narrative approach is the concept of narrative itself. Often we think of narrative as simply a story. This is a mistake, for as Fisher indicates, When I use the term 'narration,' I do not mean a fictive composition whose propositions may be true or false and have no necessary relationship to the message of that composition. By 'narration,' I mean symbolic actions--words and/or deeds--that have sequence and meaning for those who live, create, or interpret (1987, 58). Or put another way, there is no genre, including technical communication, that is not an episode in the story of life (1985, 347). Thus, for Fisher, all communication is narrative. Narrative is not a specific genre (for example, stories as opposed to poems), but rather, a mode of influence. Thus, listening to a class lecture, talking with your friends, listening to a political speech or the evening news, reading a book--all consist of your hearing and shaping narratives. In Fisher's thinking, story is imbued in all human communication endeavors, even those involving logic. All arguments include that cannot be verified or proved in any absolute way. Such ideas arise in metaphor, values, gestures, and so (1987, p.19). In short, Fisher attempts to bridge the divide we often have between logos (rational argument) and mythos (story, or narration). Because of my belief in the power of story, I chose the theme, Our Stories ... Our Legacy for the 2002 CSCA convention in Milwaukee. Stories are inevitable. What are the stories we tell? Some of us tell generally positive stories; others, somewhat negative ones. Whichever type we tell, these stories shape our perceptions of our lives. So too, our professional organizations. The quality of our professional organizations is influenced by the nature of the stories we tell. How was the convention? my colleagues ask when I return to campus. For the convention, I created a timeline on which I placed stories of CSCA members. In this reflection, I want to share with you those stories, and then suggest the legacy I believe they create for CSCA. The stories are just as I received them. I have done no editing-after all, these are not my stories, but those of others. We each tell our own story in our own way. The stories follow, as close as possible, a timeline from the beginning of CSCA to the present day. THE STORIES At the 1937 convention in Wisconsin those present were so discouraged that they almost decided to abandon what we now call CSCA. I had not gone to Madison as I expected it to be knocked in the head and did not especially want to attend the funeral. Then came a telegram asking if I would serve as Executive Secretary. I thought the honor was less than overwhelming, but agreed to serve. The association was dead broke. I called a meeting of all the speech teachers in Columbia, elementary, high school, college, university, totaling 30, and we decided to hold a bang-up convention right here in Columbia, Missouri. We had no funds but told everybody to spend what was needed and present the bill in April. The printing bill was enormous, nearly $200 for the 8-page programs. We planned the program and invited top people. Most of them did not even know where Columbia was. Little airline service those days, everybody came by car or train. 80 people participated in the program. 300 people were present, each paying a $1.25 convention fee, which was enough to meet our bills. We ended the year as we began, with a zero-based budget. But the Association was now in full health, meeting in 1939 in Minneapolis with 390 delegates. That was my first CSCA convention. Names? Andrew Weaver, Ralph Dennis, Alan Monroe, C.T. Simon, Bower Aly, Wilber Gilman, A. Craig Baird, Gladys Borchers, W. …