Storytelling and Ethics: Literature, Visual Arts and the Power of Narrative

Storytelling is an essential part of literature, art, and our everyday lives, and this volume explores the ethical potential and risks of storytelling from an interdisciplinary perspective. It stages a dialogue between contemporary literature and visual arts across media, interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives, and history, and analyses ethical issues involved in different strategies employed in literature and art to narrate experiences that resist telling and imagining. The book foregrounds the connection between remembering and imagining and explores the ambiguous role of narrative in the configuration of selves, communities, and the relation to the non-human. It also reflects on the relevance of artistic storytelling practices for our understanding of ethics.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 314 pages
\n Publication date: 30 September 2020
\n Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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In recent years, storytelling has garnered significant attention from both the popular and academic realms, recognizing its profound significance in various aspects of our lives, including literature, art, daily existence, dreams, fantasies, aspirations, historical self-understanding, and political actions. The ethical dimensions of storytelling inevitably intertwine with these discussions, though they often remain implicit rather than explicitly addressed. This volume aims to explore the ethical potential and risks of storytelling from an interdisciplinary perspective, fostering a dialogue between contemporary literature and visual arts across media (film, photography, performative arts), interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives (debates in narrative studies, trauma studies, cultural memory studies, ethical criticism), and history (traumatic histories of violence, cultural history).

The collection delves into the ethical considerations involved in narrating experiences that resist being told or imagined, such as traumatic historical events, including war and political conflicts. By examining the various strategies employed in literature and art to convey such narratives, the chapters shed light on the ethical implications of storytelling in the contemporary arts as they engage with, draw upon, and contribute to historical imagination.

The book emphasizes the interconnectedness between remembering and imagining, exploring the ambiguous role of narrative in shaping selves, communities, and our relationship with non-human entities. While discussing the ethical aspects of storytelling, it also reflects on the relevance of artistic storytelling practices for our understanding of ethics. This volume makes an original contribution to interdisciplinary narrative studies and narrative ethics, articulating a nuanced understanding of how art intersects with ethical considerations.

\n Weight: 474g\n
Dimension: 151 x 226 x 24 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780367667481\n \n