Litmus 2020: Storytelling, Orality, and Narrativisation
“You’re never going to kill storytelling, because it’s built in the human plan. We come with it.” – Margaret Atwood.
“So I sing inside the mountain of my flesh, and my voice is as slender as a reed and my voice has no lard in it. When I sing the dogs sit quiet and people who pass in the night stop their jabbering and discontent and think of other times, when they were happy.” – Jeannette Winterson.
Whether we seek to understand the development of shared identities, cultural beliefs and practices throughout history, or grapple with pressing contemporary concerns like climate change and accelerating globalisation, the centrality of stories and narratives to our lives —and to the issues themselves—is undeniable. Stories matter, and thus it also matters how we tell them. Literature and the academic world today also emphasise attention to alternative stories - perspectives that challenge established canons and hegemonic discourses. By gradually destabilising the common notion of one “central”, linear narrative, we create space for narratives which thrive in complexity, multiplicity, and non-linearity. We embrace the power of storytelling. At the same time, contemporary artistic practices and emerging media platforms produce new kinds of texts, thereby giving rise to new forms of storytelling.
Stories bring forth diverse experiences and the process of storytelling goes beyond the simple notion of creative entertainment. Complex concepts of history, truth, morality, emotions, law and norms are embedded within the creation of narratives. Storytelling thus goes beyond the boundaries of cultures and singular ideologies, instead recreating itself according to the demands of the times.
The Indian Experience: Traditions of Storytelling in the Indian Subcontinent
Given the diversity and cultural impact of age-old Indian storytelling traditions, it is impossible to condense this experience to the sole domain of the textual. Folk traditions of art, dance, music and drama all work to produce rich narratives and stories rooted in the myths and histories of our land. We live in a country where every region has its own rendition of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and other fables. From Pandavani to Dastangoi, Jatras to Singhi Chamms and even the Satyanarayana Kathas recited at home – each style of storytelling infuses the past with the present, creating a kaleidoscope of oral traditions. The use of graphic illustrations for storytelling which emerged in Indian art from Madhubanis and the Patachitra tradition to the Kalighat paintings has now evolved into contemporary graphic novels used to highlight political, social and cultural issues, initiated by Orijit Sen’s 1994 graphic novel River of Stories. Looking at these developing traditions makes it evident that storytelling is never static, but a movement that is constantly transient, mirroring the society which produces it.
Voices and Silences: Stories from the Margins
History is constructed through familiar oppositions: between facts and interpretation, objective science and artistic creativity, reality and fiction. Storytelling is therefore, central to the writing of history as narratives become ways by which human experience is made meaningful. Yet not all histories are the same, and certain stories are often prioritised over others in the quest for the transmission of information or the consolidation of collective identity. The politics of the archives determines which stories are allowed to monopolize history and which are suppressed. These suppressed stories, recovered, become the voices of the silenced and forgotten pasts, rewriting collective amnesias. Storytelling explores what Urvashi Butalia calls “the other side of silence” because it allows for the existence of multiple, coexisting perspectives. African slave songs, Dalit folk tales, Partition narratives and Holocaust memoirs are only a few examples of the power of storytelling traditions in uncovering and recovering histories.
Modern Talking: Storytelling in the 21st Century
In the twenty first century frenzy of news, media and constant notifications, storytelling becomes an important tool of resistance, means of self-expression, as well as a vehicle for self affirmation. With the advent, reach, and accessibility of the internet and social media in our times, storytelling has undergone a tectonic shift that has transformed what was once the passive audience into active participants of the storytelling process. Adaptations, retellings, spin-offs, fanfiction all allow access into the creation process of the narrative itself. Local stories are lent a universal flavour by adopting new forms - of which a few instances are the Panchatantra published in comic books, televised adaptations of the Mahabharata and the tales of 1947 Partition brought to life in graphic novels. The monochromatic idea of a narrative being words on a page has evolved from oral traditions to comic books to even interactive video games. Storytelling in films, TV series, and video games combine the best of writers, designers, animators, artists, actors, singers and creators and the amalgamation of this creates a sum larger than its parts. The modern idiom of storytelling no longer creates a barrier between the teller and the audience, but allows space for the synthesis between the self and society.
Stories are the common currency of all humanity because the human experience involves the process of understanding the self and others. Storytelling, orality, and narrativisation enable communication across cultures, languages, and time, and we wish to explore this further through our annual conference.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
1. All submissions must be mailed to [email protected]
2. The document should be named in the format 'Name_Abstract'.
3. All abstracts must be written within 350 words.
4. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 11:59 pm, 7 February 2020.
5. All work submitted should be original. Plagiarism will not be entertained.
6. Students from all departments and colleges are welcome to submit abstracts.
“So I sing inside the mountain of my flesh, and my voice is as slender as a reed and my voice has no lard in it. When I sing the dogs sit quiet and people who pass in the night stop their jabbering and discontent and think of other times, when they were happy.” – Jeannette Winterson.
Whether we seek to understand the development of shared identities, cultural beliefs and practices throughout history, or grapple with pressing contemporary concerns like climate change and accelerating globalisation, the centrality of stories and narratives to our lives —and to the issues themselves—is undeniable. Stories matter, and thus it also matters how we tell them. Literature and the academic world today also emphasise attention to alternative stories - perspectives that challenge established canons and hegemonic discourses. By gradually destabilising the common notion of one “central”, linear narrative, we create space for narratives which thrive in complexity, multiplicity, and non-linearity. We embrace the power of storytelling. At the same time, contemporary artistic practices and emerging media platforms produce new kinds of texts, thereby giving rise to new forms of storytelling.
Stories bring forth diverse experiences and the process of storytelling goes beyond the simple notion of creative entertainment. Complex concepts of history, truth, morality, emotions, law and norms are embedded within the creation of narratives. Storytelling thus goes beyond the boundaries of cultures and singular ideologies, instead recreating itself according to the demands of the times.
The Indian Experience: Traditions of Storytelling in the Indian Subcontinent
Given the diversity and cultural impact of age-old Indian storytelling traditions, it is impossible to condense this experience to the sole domain of the textual. Folk traditions of art, dance, music and drama all work to produce rich narratives and stories rooted in the myths and histories of our land. We live in a country where every region has its own rendition of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and other fables. From Pandavani to Dastangoi, Jatras to Singhi Chamms and even the Satyanarayana Kathas recited at home – each style of storytelling infuses the past with the present, creating a kaleidoscope of oral traditions. The use of graphic illustrations for storytelling which emerged in Indian art from Madhubanis and the Patachitra tradition to the Kalighat paintings has now evolved into contemporary graphic novels used to highlight political, social and cultural issues, initiated by Orijit Sen’s 1994 graphic novel River of Stories. Looking at these developing traditions makes it evident that storytelling is never static, but a movement that is constantly transient, mirroring the society which produces it.
Voices and Silences: Stories from the Margins
History is constructed through familiar oppositions: between facts and interpretation, objective science and artistic creativity, reality and fiction. Storytelling is therefore, central to the writing of history as narratives become ways by which human experience is made meaningful. Yet not all histories are the same, and certain stories are often prioritised over others in the quest for the transmission of information or the consolidation of collective identity. The politics of the archives determines which stories are allowed to monopolize history and which are suppressed. These suppressed stories, recovered, become the voices of the silenced and forgotten pasts, rewriting collective amnesias. Storytelling explores what Urvashi Butalia calls “the other side of silence” because it allows for the existence of multiple, coexisting perspectives. African slave songs, Dalit folk tales, Partition narratives and Holocaust memoirs are only a few examples of the power of storytelling traditions in uncovering and recovering histories.
Modern Talking: Storytelling in the 21st Century
In the twenty first century frenzy of news, media and constant notifications, storytelling becomes an important tool of resistance, means of self-expression, as well as a vehicle for self affirmation. With the advent, reach, and accessibility of the internet and social media in our times, storytelling has undergone a tectonic shift that has transformed what was once the passive audience into active participants of the storytelling process. Adaptations, retellings, spin-offs, fanfiction all allow access into the creation process of the narrative itself. Local stories are lent a universal flavour by adopting new forms - of which a few instances are the Panchatantra published in comic books, televised adaptations of the Mahabharata and the tales of 1947 Partition brought to life in graphic novels. The monochromatic idea of a narrative being words on a page has evolved from oral traditions to comic books to even interactive video games. Storytelling in films, TV series, and video games combine the best of writers, designers, animators, artists, actors, singers and creators and the amalgamation of this creates a sum larger than its parts. The modern idiom of storytelling no longer creates a barrier between the teller and the audience, but allows space for the synthesis between the self and society.
Stories are the common currency of all humanity because the human experience involves the process of understanding the self and others. Storytelling, orality, and narrativisation enable communication across cultures, languages, and time, and we wish to explore this further through our annual conference.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
1. All submissions must be mailed to [email protected]
2. The document should be named in the format 'Name_Abstract'.
3. All abstracts must be written within 350 words.
4. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 11:59 pm, 7 February 2020.
5. All work submitted should be original. Plagiarism will not be entertained.
6. Students from all departments and colleges are welcome to submit abstracts.