Introduction to the Special Issue: Global Storytelling

Abstract

Storytelling, Self, Society, 8:135-137, 2012 Copyright©Taylor &Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1550-5340 print /1932-0280 online DOI: 10.1080/15505340.2012.704814 Routledge Taylor &Francis Group Introduction to the Special Issue: Global Storytelling MargaretRead MacDonald and HannahB. Harvey Inanage oftransmigration andborder-crossings, many academicsandprofessional storytellers havelookedtostorytelling as a waytobroaden anddeepenourparticipation ina globalcommunity . "Globalstorytelling" hasemerged as a term toidentify individuals andprojects that engage theactofstorytelling tocreate culturally responsible interaction acrossborders. Border-crossing involves vulnerability, trust, mutual listening, bodily investment, anethical imperative ofrespect, anda desire tolearn - allofwhich areinherent tostorytelling. Intheacademic world, globalstorytelling scholarship helpsustoquestion theroleofpower in international story arenasandtheconstructed nature ofcultural storytelling. Itprovides us with ethical modelsfor cross-cultural engagement, as wellas cautionary talesofthosewho"crossed theline"intheir border hopping. Thebestofthis scholarship livesboth inthetrenches andonthe page - engaging inrelationships withothers andpromoting dialoguesthat provoke, incite, and moveustoward a greater understanding ofhowcultures story themselves andhowthey narrate their ownlocales,folklore, andfamily histories. In thefestival world, tellers andaudiencesareconnecting acrosstheglobeinexciting patterns . Madrid'sfestival in2010brought tellers from Venezuela, Chile,Cuba,theUnited States, andMexico.Festivals inColumbia, Cuba,Argentina, andMexicogather tellers from throughoutLatinAmerica .Penang'schildren's storytelling festival 2010 brought tellers from India, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, andtheUnited States. TheBeyond theBorder festival inWalesbrings inepicperformers from around theworld eachyear. Thefestival in2012features a Kazakhepic singer anda group ofIranian poetsandmusicians. Partially becauseofU.S. visabarricades and partially becauseofourreliance onEnglish language audiences, theUnited States islessinvolved inthis international movement oftellers than much oftheworld. However, North American tellers aretraveling abroadinever-increasing numbers, andinternational tellers arecoming tovisitthe United States andCanada. The international websiteRed International de Cuentacuentos (www.cuentacuentos.eu) is takingthelead in connecting storytellers worldwide. The NationalStorytelling Network's Storytelling Magazinehas recently addedthesection"International News."The blog http:// historiasparacambiarelmundo.blogspot.com is promoting an international storytelling day: Historias paraCambiar el Mundo/ Stories toChangetheWorld. In2012there wereparticipants from Australia, theUnited States, Spain,UnitedKingdom, Brasil,Switzerland, theDominican Address correspondence toHannah B.Harvey, Storytelling Master's Program, East Tennessee State University, P.O. Box 70684, Johnson City, TN37614. E-mail: sssjournal@yahoo.com 136 MACDONALD AND HARVEY Republic, France, India,Mexico,Argentina, Canada,Venezuela, Cuba,El Salvador, Colombia, Uruguay, Peru, Chile,Ecuador, Mozambique, Honduras, CostaRica,andPanama. Because thepractitioners ofglobalstorytelling find their homesintheacademyandinthe field(andsometimes both),thisspecialissueofStorytelling , Self,Society brings together perspectives from scholar-artists, researchers, andprofessional storytellers. MarieGarlock'shighly collaborative, highly interactive, storytelling-based ethnography performance traces thepolitics andpoeticsofTanzanian menandwomenlivingwithAIDS. In thetelling, sheinvokes international audiences toquestion health rights bothathomeandabroad.Grappling with issuesof globalization, identity, international development, andthebody, Garlock'sarticle andaccompanying script ofherinternationally-toured performance invite ustoconsider "[m]ore than touring with, or"telling" others intobeing, globalstorytelling - as traced byperformance ethnography andoralhistory - hasthepotential tomobilize peopleacrosscultures inrelationship ." Non Arkaraprasertkul looksat the"moralexperience" ofglobalstorytelling inquestioning howShanghai is alwaysalready storied intheimagination. Privileging thevoicesoflocalresidentsina Shanghai neighborhood, Arkaraprasertkul' s fieldnotes on theconstructed nature of storytelling offer "anintimately grounded wayofunderstanding theeffects ofglobalization, the "heritage industry" intheeraofcapitalism with Chinesecharacteristics, andtheir impact onthe livesofordinary peopleinurban Shanghai." HannahB. Harveyand KarenRobinsoncollaborated withuniversities in Americaand Moroccoto generate collaboratively crafted cross-cultural storytelling installations as a part ofthefledgling Ben M'sik Community Museum,thefirst ofitskindintheArabworld. Their papertraces theexperiences oftheir students (many ofwhomwereshockingly honest abouttheir preconceived stories ofMoroccanculture) during a week-long storytelling-based oralhistory workshop they ledinCasablanca. Wefollow theseanalytical paperswith a separate section written byprofessional storytellers working "inthefield," whoprovide practical perspectives from their experiences incross-cultural engagement. Due tothespecialnature ofthisfield andthis journal, we acknowledge that there arestorytellers who,whilenotacademics, nonetheless serveas publicintellectuals. As such, they maynotuse thejargonoftheacademy. Thisis thenature ofthelarger worldofstorytelling practice. Thisis a sectionthatwe do notopento peerreviewbecausetheseworksrepresent notthehightheory butrather whatD. SoyiniMadisoncalls"theories oftheflesh," knowledges grounded inhuman experience that maynotfit intotheacademy. Wecarveouta placeforthem here.Thesearticles werechosentoreflect international perspectives onglobalstorytelling, and professional storytellers' methods as they engagecross-culturally on theground, intheir own communities andabroad. Inthefield, LauraSimms lyrically outlines thechallenges ofHaiti'scontinuing recovery inthe wakeofHurricane Katrina andwhatstorytelling as a communicative practice cando togenerate dialogueandmutual understanding. Alsointhefield andinthefaceofoutlawed regional dialects and an increasingly digitized youth culture, WajuppaTossa describes a 17-year effort to preserveherIsanfolkheritage through international storytelling exchanges. Tossaraisestheissue ofhowa regional stylesubstitutes foran international style, without fully exploring thisconcern .Herexperiences invite us toconsider howsuchsubstitutions areinvoked atfestivals here in theUnitedStates - and,resonating withArkaraprasertkul, Garlock, andHarvey /Robinson, toquestion how"multicultural" styles andcontent arealwaysalready influenced byaudiences' INTRODUCTION137 preconceived notions ofhowa "foreign" teller shouldlook/act/speak atfestivals. Thisis a discussionthat liesbeyond thescopeofherarticle andthisissuetoconsider indetail, butonethat bearsconsideration infuture issues. Margaret Read MacDonaldtravels theworldsharing stories...