UNIVERSITY NEWS - FEBRUARY 2004

MEDIA CONTACT: Stacia Smith
561-297-2971 or ssmith@fau.edu

Photo attached.
FAU Hosts Storytelling Conference

BOCA RATON, FL (February 19, 2004) - Florida Atlantic University's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters will host two storytelling concerts with nationally-acclaimed performers Friday, March 5 and Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 in the Live Oak Pavilion on FAU's Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. The March 5 concert, "Storytelling for Healing," will feature Diane Rooks, Gail Rosen and Fran Yardley. The March 6 concert, "Storytelling for Peace and Community Building, Healthcare, Business and other arenas," includes Laura Simms, Antonio Sacre, Audrey Galex and B.J. Abraham. Ticket prices for either concert are $12 and will be available at the door before the performances. FAU students are free with ID.
This will be part of a storytelling conference March 5 and 6 at FAU's Boca Raton campus, 777 Glades Road. The conference will feature papers by storytelling scholars and panel discussions on the use of story in peace- and community-building.

"Unfortunately, people tend to associate storytelling with milk and cookies," said Caren S. Neile, who directs the South Florida Storytelling Project for FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters' Department of Communication. "In fact, storytelling was once the primary means by which history, genealogy and education were transmitted. Today, storytelling is employed to great effect in business, education, healthcare, conflict resolution and many other fields. I am glad that Dean William A. Covino and the College recognize the importance of storytelling."

Neile will introduce a new storytelling journal at the conference, Storytelling, Self, Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Storytelling Studies. The journal, developed by a board headed by Neile, John Gentile, of Kennesaw State University and Joseph Sobol, of East Tennessee State University. is the first peer-reviewed, academic journal to focus on storytelling. It will be published starting in the Summer of 2004, and bi-annually thereafter. Neile, Gentile and Sobol are members of the Storytelling in Higher Education special interest group of their professional organization, the National Storytelling Network (NSN). NSN boasts 3,000 members nationwide.

The South Florida Storytelling Project in conjunction with FAU's Storytelling Club presents storytelling performances at FAU campuses, along with classes and community outreach. The conference and concerts are sponsored by FAU's Storytellers Club, the College of Nursing, the Peace Studies Program and the Bio-Medical Program. To buy tickets for either concert or for more information on the South Florida Storytelling Project, call Caren Neile at 561-297-0042 or cneile@fau.edu.
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