Story Connections

One of the best ways to establish a sense of connection with another person is to share personal stories, which is the central activity of this Endeavor Community. As a student in this program, you will practice story-sharing multiple times in the class, and then later do the same activities with incarcerated youth. By learning the skills of effective listening and of shaping stories, students will develop relationships, increase empathy,  and better recognize stories at work in cultural as well as personal contexts.

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  • Coursework Overview

    The coursework for this Endeavor community involves taking a one-unit course in the fall semester and a half-unit course in the spring semester, both taught by Professor Dolson.

    Fall 2023 Semester

    Spring 2024 Semester

    FYS 100: Storytelling and Identity (1 unit)

    IDST 190: Story Connections Seminar (.5 unit)

    FYS 100 satisfies a general education requirement; students are required to take one first-year seminar (FYS) during each of their first two semesters at Richmond.

    IDST 190 is a half-unit project-based course part of the Endeavor program.

  • Specific Course Information

    FYS 100: Storytelling and Identity

    Why do we love stories? This course explores oral and written storytelling, memoir stories, and cultural stories through which we understand our world. Students will grapple with these ideas by participating in a community-based story project with Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center. Students will tell their own stories as well as read, discuss, research, and write analytically as a way of making sense of their experiences through the lens of academic research.

    IDST 190: Story Connections Seminar

    Students will build on storytelling skills and the relationships built in the fall FYS to create a project with their story partners at Bon Air Juvenile Correctional Center. This may take the form of a digital story collection, a printed book, a podcast, an event, or some other form.
  • Faculty Information

    dolson
    Professor Terry Dolson is the Senior Associate Director, Community Engaged Learning in the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement.

  • Roadmap Short Course Information

    As part of the Endeavor program, you will participate in the popular Roadmap to Success pre-orientation program, where you will take a short course led by Professor Dolson.

    Short Course Description: Contemporary Storytelling: The Moth

    The Moth is real people, telling their stories in 7 minutes with no notes…  By listening to stories recorded at Moth events, we’ll get a chance to hear some engaging stories and we’ll figure out what makes them so engaging.  Then we’ll move from listening to telling, and each of us will develop a “Moth-worthy” story of our own.