Class Description
From Little Village to Little Vietnam, Chicago has stories waiting to be told. We are all co-authors of our city’s shared narratives.
Drawing on oral histories, personal reflections, and the Newberry’s Chicago history archives, class participants will add their own stories to Chicago's rich storytelling tradition. Those who wish will be invited to publish their work online and in a forthcoming book.
As we work on crafting our individual stories, the class will discuss a variety of things that have shaped our lives and our city. Discussion topics include the evolution of neighborhoods and communities; intersections of place and identity; architectural history; narratives around urban planning; demographics; public art; Chicago landmarks; immigration; collective storytelling.
Classroom activities will include interactive discussions of short assigned readings, interview training, writing workshops, and collaborative voice-based storytelling.
Dr. Aaron Greenberg co-founded Biograph, a storytelling technology company. He has served on the Core Faculty of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Bioethics Clinical Scholars Program and is a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Materials List
Required:
- Instructor-distributed materials
Recommended:
- Destiny Burrow’s “Leclaire & Bloomingdale”: https://www.biographbook.com/l...
- Krystle Smith’s “Hubbard & Lavergne”: https://www.biographbook.com/h...
- Lise Weil’s “North & Lake Shore Drive”: https://www.biographbook.com/lake-shore-drive-chicago/
First Reading:
- Please survey “On the Corner” stories at https://www.biographbook.com/o... and come ready to discuss your favorites.
Cost and Registration
Four sessions, $215 ($193.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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