Presenter: Tyson Fullmer, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English
Authors: Tyson Terence Fullmer
Faculty Advisor: Jasmine Spencer, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English
Institution: Dixie State University
Connection with our work is the key to a successful and fulfilling outcome. In a series of video-retellings and accompanying essays, the creator presents an example of personally investing in the material he interacts with—Indigenous oral stories—and the work he produces from it—retellings of those stories—and gives instruction on how “retellings” can be an effective tool to use in the process of connection. Fullmer began by personally interacting with his source material, various Dene holy stories, making notes of what impacted him most during a reading. He collected the main themes that were brought out in the notes, and referring to his “lens material” (work by Brené Brown on shame and vulnerability); he further researched those topics of interest, gaining personal insight and further analyzing narrative depth. Then, in a series of video retellings, he recounts the stories themselves, allowing himself to comment on what he learned during his research on the topics of initial interest. The final product, a digital art gallery, presents an example of the work for which Fullmer advocates during this project. Fullmer gains a more intimate knowledge of himself as he honors these sacred stories, sharing the work in a way their storytellers would have intended--through personal response. As he does so, he also presents a format to other people which they can take with them throughout their careers. As people see examples of academic vulnerability presented by members of the community, it is the hope that they will see that there is space opening up for more personal involvement in their fields; and ideally they will be inspired to contribute their own best work to their conversations. This example of humble personal involvement is a contribution towards a more inclusive and diverse academic community.