The Power of Narratives Across Disciplines
Wednesday, October 12 from 10 AM – 3 PM
Georgia Museum of Art
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-power-of-narratives-across-disciplines-a-creative-mini-conference-tickets-416046485237
Join leading experts from across UGA as they discuss the creative use of narratives and storytelling across their wide areas of research. Registration is required as tickets are limited. This event is free to attend and open to everyone.
Kimberly Van Orman
UGA Institute for Artificial Intelligence
How do we teach students to save the world? Use science fiction!
Hyangsoon Yi
UGA Comparative Literature
Narrative for Education, Narrative for Entertainment, and Narrative for Enlightenment: The Storytelling Conventions in Buddha Biography
Nate Kreuter
UGA English
The Persuasive Lives and Afterlives of Trees, According to a Humanist
David Saltz
UGA Theatre and Film Studies, Ideas for Creative Exploration
Living in Fictional Worlds: Acting, Imaginative Play, and Simming
2022 Annual Torrance Lecture: Angus Fletcher
Wednesday, October 12 at 4 PM
Georgia Museum of Art
Why are Children More Creative than Computer AI — Until They Go to School?
For decades, researchers have observed: children get less creative the longer they attend school. In this talk, I’ll explain why–and what we can do about it. I’ll reveal how children’s creativity is rooted in a neural process that cannot be reproduced by computer AI. I’ll detail my work with US Special Operations to up-train that neural process in adults. I’ll present my lab’s new findings on how the training can restore creativity in elementary students. And I’ll propose that we devote less time in school to critical thinking and mindfulness–and more time to causal thinking and art.
Angus Fletcher Professor of Story Science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic institute for the study of stories. His research on how narrative can boost empathy, courage, and creativity has been called “mind-blowing” by Malcolm Gladwell and “life-changing” by Brene Brown. His most recent books are Wonderworks (Simon & Schuster, 2021) and Storythinking (Columbia University Press, 2023). His current research partners include various Fortune 50s, public schools, and US Special Operations.