Digital storytelling for Creative writing/Media students

All Creative Writing and Media students in the Falmer Humanities programme create a digital story as part of a first year module.  For Creative Writing students, it is an opportunity to explore ‘storying the self’ besides the written word.  For Media students, their story becomes a focus for theoretical work around amateur media making and participatory culture.

The digital storytelling element of these modules enables creative writing and media students to use the form to explore stories about their sense of identity and their place in the world. While it is common for students to examine the process of leaving home and starting life at university, the subject matter they choose is diverse; from tributes to important people in their lives, for example grandparents and best friends, to the sudden loss of a loved one, recounting traumatic experiences or fond memories and exploring mental health issues. Some express their desire to help others going through similar issues by sharing their own experiences and in particular the techniques they have used to control and alleviate mental health challenges. The story circle, a trusting and safe environment, enables them to share stories they may have been unwilling to share in other circumstances, to be able to learn more about themselves and their peers and to achieve a heightened degree of self-reflection.

The emphasis in these workshops, which is slightly different to our community workshops, is on the power of the writing and using innovative and interesting forms to express the story. Students are encouraged to interpret their experiences through poetry, song, free verse, metaphor, comic book heroes, gothic narrative and any number of literary and filmic devices to produce a work that intrigues and above all, moves their audience by expressing universal stories through powerful storytelling.

For more information contact Ross Adamson