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Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change pp 1–22Cite as

Transformative Storywork: Creative Pathways for Social Change

Abstract

There is no one way that oppression is experienced in people’s lives, and there are also many pathways to undoing exclusion. Understanding the relationships between the lived experiences of exclusion and the possibilities for change requires careful attention. In response, this chapter sets out the case for transformative storywork as an approach that can contribute to social change. Transformative storywork is a complex and multimodal process which operates on an emotional, creative level. It uses storytelling as a form of inquiry, including the exploration of the self and of daily experiences in connection with life history and social context. Through personal and collective creative expression, transformative storywork builds opportunities to challenge unequal relations of power in our own lives and the lives of others. Creative storytelling can both humanize and politicize learning processes by building new and collective possibilities for social change. This chapter sets out the principles, elements, and practices of transformative storywork. We argue that creative expression through crafting personal stories, within a group-based process, enables a deeper understanding of our lives and, importantly, ourselves in relation to others. This relational learning enables reflection on our own stories and experiences. Building from these story processes, further deconstruction of the power relations within different life stories builds an understanding of the structural injustices that affect people’s shared realities. Our analysis is that this relational understanding of structural inequality, built through multimodal creative methods founded in the personal narrative, can support transformative learning and solidarity in shared struggles for social change. This change was not only witnessed but was also experienced both personally and politically by the authors, and the paper will outline reflexive learnings within these processes to communicate for social change. The chapter draws on examples of previous and ongoing work, including in South Africa.

Keywords

  • Creative methods; Storytelling; Intersectionality; Social justice; Emancipatory; Visual; Listening; Transformative storywork

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

    Joanna Wheeler

  2. Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations at Coventry University, Coventry, UK

    Thea Shahrokh

  3. Cape Town, South Africa

    Nava Derakhshani

Authors
  1. Joanna Wheeler
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  2. Thea Shahrokh
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  3. Nava Derakhshani
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Joanna Wheeler or Thea Shahrokh .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Media and Communication, City University of Hong Kong Department of Media and Communication, Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Jan Servaes

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Wheeler, J., Shahrokh, T., Derakhshani, N. (2018). Transformative Storywork: Creative Pathways for Social Change. In: Servaes, J. (eds) Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7035-8_54-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7035-8_54-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-10-7035-8

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