https://blog.richmond.edu/storytelling2023/

Today’s class began with a focus on reviewing our prep notes, emphasizing the significance of reflection and self-improvement. One student shared an effective method for daily mood reflection, involving self-assessment through a series of questions and ratings on a scale of one to ten. Professor Dolson then underscored the importance of maintaining self-notes and recommended creating Google documents for this purpose. These private notes serve as objective observations rather than judgment. “the act of writing is an act of thinking,” as Professor Dolson aptly stated.

After this initial reflection, our attention shifted to the Memory article. We embarked on an exploration into its origins and purpose. We searched the meaning of “Chronicle Higher Education” and discerned that Britt Peterson authored the article driven by his personal interests and expertise in the field. The content of the article draws from psychological scientific research.

This led to a broader discussion on how our memories play a pivotal role in shaping our identities, as Professor Dolson highlighted, “we become partly who we think of ourselves, influenced by how we’ve learned to integrate those memories.” During this discussion, a student shared their earliest memory—an endearing recollection of his dog protecting him by catching a bee when he were three years old. Professor Dolson contributed her own early memory, recounting an incident involving the police visiting due to a chemical spill. These anecdotes brought to the forefront the role of fear in enhancing memory formation. Professor Dolson aptly summarized the essence of memory, emphasizing that it possesses context and is not merely a collection of facts but rather a collection of narratives.

The class then delved into an exploration of long-term and short-term memory. One student posited that the duration of memory storage depends on various parts of the brain, while another student, drawing on psychological knowledge from high school, noted that long-term memory can retain information permanently, whereas short-term memory people can only remember for a period of time.

Then, we were introduced to the work of Polly Wiessner, an anthropology professor at the University of Utah, through the article “Firelight.” The article illuminates how the absence of light around a fire can serve as a catalyst for storytelling. It liberates storytellers from the constraints of judgment because listeners can’t easily notice facial expressions. This sparks our curiosity about the intricate role stories play in connecting individuals across distances. Stories, we learned, are not just narratives; they are a means of cultural transmission, allowing us to understand our societal roles.