Home Intro to Story CD Course

2007 Schedule

Register for the 2007 Meeting Quotations Kind       Words
Contact 2002 Meeting About 2002 TAPES/CDS About  logo Links Media Mailing List Sign-up
 
 
 
 

StoryCon / Story Science Vision

September 26-29, 2002,  Palm Springs, CA

Vision   Goals

The longer vision of the evolution of the art and science of Story; "Storyology?" 

As the the formulae, patterns, elements, dynamics and dimensions become fleshed out, they will, like most other sciences, create new terminologies and metaphors and ways of thinking about all the items on the knowledge, wisdom and understanding plate.

These new tools and technologies will be applied to politics, social problems, marital and individual therapies, new models of human growth and potential, as well as to enhancing performance and functioning at work, sports, learning, in health and relationships, as well as giving us more scientifically conceived visions of the future. (see storyworkshop in our links section)

Stories evolve from the unconscious, inner, deeper realms of humankind, the core structural elements, the archetypal components seen repeated again and again, and the special sinew and flesh each writer puts on the "structural bones" of any given story. 

As the hybrid art/science of story science evolves, it is certain that our ability to more effectively tap and use the energy and creativity of the subconscious mind will be enhanced. Stories are also powerful tools for altering and achieving new states of consciousness. 

    "Art is I; science is we." Claude Bernard (1813 - 1878) French physiologist   

 We’ll also need to protect the art of story from the sometimes excessive reductionism and formulization that scientists and corporations indulge in.

These new tools and technologies will be applied to politics, social problems, marital and individual therapies, new models of human growth and potential, as well as to enhancing performance and functioning at work, sports, learning, in health and relationships, as well as giving us more scientifically conceived visions of the future.

There’s no telling how the new powers of story science, with the resources of the subconscious tapped, will change the world and our ideas about it. Hopefully, this meeting will take the world of story to a new level, in terms of how it is valued and invested in by society. In the short run, I hope, that as the Science of Story develops, it will, like most other sciences, become eligible for the billions of dollars of research funds made available to other sciences, and that story experts will be tapped outside the current realm of story, in new fields, such as the corporate world, where a handful of story experts have made pioneering first steps, in diplomacy, peacemaking,  as well as fields we haven’t even thought of yet.

Rob Kall

   "Today the function of the artist is to bring imagination to science and science to imagination, where they meet, in the myth." Cyril Connolly (1903 - 1974) English journalist, editor, writer
"The Unquiet Grave," pt. 3, 1944  

Goals for StoryCon

The  meeting's goal is to take the world of STORY to the next level by bringing together story experts from multiple disciplines. 
goals include:

  • Bring together diverse groups of people who work with story, from novels, short stories, screenwriting, TV, journalism, video games, software, corporate culture, marketing, politics, religion, law, therapies, education.
  • Build better bridges between the different parts of the world of story to enhance job opportunities, idea sharing.
  • -Identify story structure and other story elements that play a role in making stories better, more powerful, more successful. Agreeing upon terminology.
  • Explore the roots of story creation-- from both sides of the brain. 
  • -Create an edited book on story with contributions from the speakers
  • Establish an academic journal on the art, science and application of story come out of the collaborative discussions
  • -establish a more formal multidisciplinary organization which focuses on the art science and application of story
  • -establish a basis for federal funding for people in organizations in the story art/science/business that is comparable with funding for other sciences/medicine
  • -open up new opportunities for writers who don't know about the other aspects of the story business. Get cross fertilization and communication going.
  • Encourage the development of graduate level degree programs or "subject concentrations" in STORY, within a multitude of departments-- Screenwriting, Creative Writing, English, Performing Arts, Journalism, Psychology, Sociology, Business, Computer Software, Business Management, Law, Science, Medicine, Education. See the StoryTelling Masters Degree Program at ETSU as an example 
  •  
Meeting Organizer's Responsibilities:

For Speakers: This is a meeting in which the speakers receive first priority.  We aim to creative a temporary community where the content is so good, the speakers stay for the whole meeting, rather than popping in, giving their talk then leaving. We want and expect to see awesome speakers in the conference hall listening, asking questions.  

The audience is invited to listen in on advanced lectures, conversations and dialogues and is encouraged to network, to take advantage of the fact that the speakers are present throughout the meeting. Hot tubs and sofa clusters are part of our criteria for sourcing a hotel meeting venue.

TO SPEAKERS

  • Bring together extraordinary speakers from diverse fields so speakers and attendees are not familiar with more than half of the speakers. The ones you don't know are the ones you want to hear. 
  • make sure speakers discuss advanced, new material in their talks-- no standard "dog and pony shows." It should be material speakers are "buzzed" to speak about and share with colleagues, to get feedback and dialogue.
  • Challenge speakers to stretch their selves, ideas, come out of the closet on interests,  visions and dreams.

To The Audience

  • Provide a wonderful learning environment with first quality and  unprecedentedly diverse mix of speakers.
  • establish a sense of community that makes it feel safe to approach celebrity speakers and have great conversations.
  • Offer a menu of lecture and workshop content that makes it frustrating to decide which workshop to attend, or whether you want to rest or go from morning to evening trying everything on the menu. 

Meeting organizer  Rob Kall  Please contact me with any suggestions. I love feedback.