The rhetoric of storytelling: A study in multicultural communication

• Main Author: Davies-Gibson, Miriam Rose
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses 01-01-1996
• Subjects: Communication; Composition
• ISBN: 9798209472346

Polarized communication is epidemic in the twentieth-century (Arnett, 1986). The use of cultural folktales in a storytelling presentation is a specific performance technique and rhetorical device which can be used to reduce polarized communication and develop multicultural dialogue among dissimilar groups. This study examines the use of storytelling as a narrative device for creating identification among adult students in an English as a Second Language (ESL) class. In the search for a mechanism that can reduce polarized communication, this study answers the question: To what extent do the rhetorical dimensions of narrative help promote cultural identity? To answer the research question, the following sub-questions are posed: (A) What themes or characters are common among narratives of diverse ethnic groups? (B) How do common themes and characters develop a sense of cultural identity? Stories were collected from two classes of English as a Second Language (ESL) in metropolitan Detroit. The stories, interaction observation, and exit interviews with student participants served as data for analysis. Rhetorical criticism was conducted by applying King's (1992) Narrative Structure to the folktales. The concept of identification (Burke, 1969) was used to determine how folktales develop a sense of cultural identity and identification among tellers and listeners of dissimilar groups. Cultural identification develops in two ways. First, the "we have that story too" phenomenon develops. Students hear a tale told by someone from a different culture which is similar to their own, and this leads to discussion of how the tales are similar and different. Second, storytelling creates a self-reflexive state and functions as a dialogue builder.