Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Technology offers us a unique opportunity to engage in global conversations. Through the use of user-generated storytelling, online communities can be created around original content and common interests. These new communities engage active readers as conversations are being made through art and media. When it comes to issues of politics and sustainability, the diversity of user-generated storytelling can both unite and inform. Graduate students at Ball State University have partnered with Circle of Blue to create The World’s Water Story website. This website creates an information society, educating the public about the world water crisis by displaying user-generated stories from around the world that share the submitters’ experiences with water through art and media. This global storytelling informs the public of the fragility of their own water realities and challenges a wider audience to engage in water issues. The website’s interactive globe displays the stories by location, allowing the user to explore stories from familiar and diverse perspectives. Users are encouraged to view stories non-linearly so they can reimagine the stories into personalized narratives, discovering connections across the globe. By submitting their own story to the website, the user is joining a worldwide, online conversation.