Why do we need diverse and inclusive storytelling?
Introduction
We all know the power of a good story. Artists serve as compelling storytellers when their work captures our attention, sparks our imagination, and helps us connect with the experiences of other people.
Some stories are passed down from generation to generation. Over time and through countless retellings, these stories can shape our perspective and our understanding of ourselves, each other, and the world around us.
As young children we learn from the stories we’re told. But whose stories were we exposed to? Whose contributions and achievements were acknowledged and celebrated? Whose stories were missing? Whose histories and experiences were reflected in our classrooms and textbooks? As educators, whom do we represent in our curricula?
It’s natural to default to what we’re most familiar or comfortable with. Sometimes we may not realize perspectives are missing until someone points it out to us. But when we don’t look beyond traditional classroom curricula, the art historical canon, or our own comfort zones, we end up celebrating the experiences of some communities and misrepresenting or excluding so many others. In this way, we validate the identities and cultural backgrounds of some of our students but not others. As writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said, “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.” When we limit our sources of storytellers, we also limit our sources of truth.
Video: Say What
Video Discussion
What are your main takeaways from Bao Phi’s spoken word performance “Say WHAT?"
What do you think Bao Phi means when he says that Vietnamese people have always been spoken word poets? What aspects of the video support your interpretation?
Bao Phi says “How you say it is as important to the life of the word as the word itself.” What do you think he means by this? In the context of storytelling, why does this matter?
Video: Safar: Journeys of Our Lives
From choreographer and founder of Ananya Dance Theatre, Ananya Chatterjea: Abstract choreography does not typically “mean” something in a direct way, but offers imagery that evokes stories, as in this case. This work is inspired by various stories of Asian American life in the US. Throughout, there is a notion of the AAPI community exiting in relationship to other BIPOC communities. Beginning with a sense of showing up as “subjects”, where we present ourselves to the gaze of the onlooker in our own terms, we weave through a wide emotional palette emphasizing journeys. In some journeys, there is death or at least deep loss (as in rolling down the hill), sometimes there is the vibrancy of fully lived lives (as in the stuff on top the stairs), sometimes there is rage at the circumstances of marginalization, where we still resist, insist on telling our stories and supporting each other (as in the big ensemble section in the courtyard ending in the quartet). In the midst of all of this, we rise (Kea’s solo), we find intimacy (Julia and Lizzette), and build community through softness (the trio). The last section is about a celebration of community, where AAPI stories exist in a mosaic of stories from many BIPOC and other communities.
Video Discussion
To begin, watch this performance without thinking too much about Ananya Chatterjea's words. What are you feeling as you watch the different sections of the dance? What do you experience? What words would you use to describe the different parts of the dance? What do you notice most? What do you wonder about? What connections do you make between the different segments of the performance?
Then, watch the performance again and look for the specific moments described by Ananya Chatterjea who says that all of these together offer a glimpse into the lives of people. How does layering on Ananya’s insights impact your understanding of the stories being performed?
As you watch the dance performance, make note of aesthetic particularities, such as rhythmic footwork, use of hand gestures, use of gaze, ritualistic choreography, which Ananya describes as emerging from an "Asian" movement base. How do the references to ritual and traditional vocabulary intersect with the urban scape, both in the movement language and in the score as well? The everyday costuming suggests daily life stories, but these are filtered through long-standing cultural practices.
Teaching and Learning Strategies
Take some time to examine and reflect on your classroom curriculum as it exists now. Whose identities and perspectives are represented and reflected? Who is missing? This exercise can be done regardless of subject area. Whether you are teaching or learning about history, literature, the arts, the sciences, or mathematics, you can reflect on whose voices and contributions are acknowledged in the classroom and consider whose are excluded. After reflecting on your current curriculum, consider the ways you can bring in more diverse points of view for your students.
Make sure that some if not most of the sources you incorporate into your curriculum are authored by individuals who belong to the community they are writing about. Being inclusive means incorporating diverse voices as well as diverse perspectives.
In addition to integrating artworks from Mia’s Asian art collection into your curriculum, look for ways that you can incorporate Asian voices and stories into your classroom. Consider introducing a range of cultural media, including music, film, theater, literature in the form of poetry and prose, and comics and graphic novels (not just manga/anime!).
Heritage months celebrate the contributions of ethnic minority communities in the United States. While this is valuable in generating nationwide recognition of the histories and achievements of different marginalized communities, it is necessary and far more valuable to integrate diverse identities and voices into the entire curriculum throughout the academic year, rather than limiting a community’s contributions to a single month.
There are numerous online recommendations for multicultural books for young readers. Here are a few lists to get you started:
- Social Justice Books has compiled a selection of multicultural and social justice books for children, young adults, and educators with categories including Asian Americans, Chinese Americans, South Asians, Muslims, Japanese Americans, and Teaching about Immigration.
- Diverse Book Finder has collected and analyzed thousands of picture books featuring BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) Americans and offers a curated collection of Asian/Pacific Islander/Asian American books.