The Storytelling Project
The Purpose of the Storytelling Project
In 1999 the National Communication Association formed a partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Association for Higher Education, and Campus Compact. The purpose of the partnership was to educate people to the contributions of diversity to a strong democracy, to foster engagement between higher education and P-12 education and between schools and communities, to promote service-learning as an effective method for enhancing student learning and civic responsibility, and to promote research that identifies ways to reduce prejudice and the problems it presents to a democracy. The partnership created a movement known as Communicating Common Ground. To date, over 60 communication departments across America are engaged in this movement.
Under the direction of Kim Cuny, UNC Greensboro's Department of Communication Studies established a community partnership with the Greensboro Public Library to provide faculty and students with the opportunity to apply communication concepts, techniques, and methods as a means to engender respect for diversity and develop tolerance between diverse communities of peoples. The Communication Studies Department's faculty and students, drawing on communication research, will work with the organization through the medium of storytelling to develop relevant multicultural learning activities.
Information about the natioinal movement is availalbe at :
http://www.natcom.org/nca/Template2.asp
Information about service-learning at UNC Greensboro is available at:
http://www.uncg.edu/saf/