By P Atay, Ahmed
This article says what I want to say.Please have a read,you will not regret.
Empathetic literacy refers to knowledge and information-based skills that help global citizens respond to and manage intercultural encounters caringly and competently (Calloway-Thomas, 2010). This goal, challenging though it may be, should help students confront a fundamental issue in human affairs: How to deal with difference that divides us? By fostering empathic listening and by viewing special populations through new lenses on the level of everyday life and practices can go a long way in removing negative and degrading responses to such groups. New models, approaches, and arguments constructed out of compelling narratives should serve as vital links between how special populations are treated and their common humanity.
In this regard, storytelling has the capacity to “narrate” special populations into the human family, a necessary condition of the good life. Special populations’ human flourishing relies heavily upon other individuals forging new modes of intercultural relations, transforming characteristic patterns of perceptions, language, values, and beliefs. In a word, storytelling can humanize special populations! It is questionable whether special populations can be viewed differently without employing universalistic empathic knowledge, skills, and arguments, which are powerful tools of cultural change.
The Discourse of Special Populations [electronic resource] : Critical Intercultural Communication P Atay, Ahmet, author.London : Taylor and Francis, 2017.
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Stories help people see the bigger picture. Stories help the listener understand what’s going on in society or culture (past and present). Through narrative, improvisation, or a little bit of “theatre”, stories preserve history, share insight into the human psyche, help individuals develop social and emotional skills, and provide a bit of cautionary advice.
And while there is always value in reading a book (to oneself or aloud), our current method of receiving stories through television and movies while fun does not allow a person to experience the story in quite the same way as through the oral tradition of a storyteller. A storyteller, who through voice, tone, language, vocabulary and gestures relay the information in a much more intimate
fashion even when addressing a large group (or in our case a podcast, even though you can’t see our gestures or facial expressions).
Listening to a person narrate a story invites the mind to create images and characters based on what they are hearing, allowing the imagination to take the information and visualize or experience the scene in a more personal way.
The earliest civilizations told stories through “oral tradition.” Before cuniform, runic alphabets or other forms of writing were developed, people told stories to one another as a means of passing down important information about their spiritual beliefs, family or tribal histories, and what they needed for survival. Stories were not simple entertainment but lessons for all members of a community (young and old) to learn and pass on.
Storytelling: The Value Of Sharing Remains
Today, we have the benefit of written languages. However, the importance of storytelling should not be dismissed in favor of the written word. The oral tradition of sharing stories, history, et al., should not be considered “ancient”, “old-fashioned” or out of step with modern society. Rather, the act of storytelling remains an important part of human development.
Why?
The oral tradition of storytelling has value because the listener must create characters and visuals in their own mind while listening to the story. There are no other stimuli other than through the hearing of the tale.
Therefore, telling stories to children (known or created fairy tales, family stories, even recounting the day’s
activities or adventures) is essential for cognitive development. Listening to stories stimulates the auditory system and helps children develop a language which they need to communicate their own narrative to others.
Gwyn is one of the hosts of 3 Pagans and a Cat, a podcast about the questions and discussions between three pagan family members, each exploring different pagan paths and how their various traditions can intersect.
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