Street Level Stories: Using Special Collections to Re-Imagine
Community Narratives Nicole Dixon
[email protected]
Slide 2
writer + librarian
Slide 3
The Bras dOr Collection Thousands of reports, studies, and
documents on various aspects of the Cape Breton economy and living
conditions on Cape Breton Island.
Slide 4
The Bras dOr Collection
Slide 5
5 Realizations/Connections BDC = story ideas/material creating
a database is a lot like telling a story (e.g., relationships;
collections) research and creative writing ask the same questions
(esp., why and how) BDC = Cape Breton revitalization aid Special
collections, databases, and short stories are all tools we can use
to re-imagine our collective narratives.
Slide 6
6 Why Reimagine Our Narratives? A Tale of Two Reports: ONeill
Report (2010) Ivany Report (2014) the commission is calling for an
attitudinal change, one where the population collectively comes
together to focus on an overarching goal, with each person and
sector looking at what they can do to contribute to the province as
a whole rather than any one particular area. [is] the
provincedestined for a long-term downward-sloping line or the
creation of an alternative reality [?] The commissions hope is the
report will serve as a living document that people can build on and
use as a guide for future work
Slide 7
7 Changing Our Narrative of Decline STU gerontology professor,
William Randall: ...there is this over-arching master narrative
which... sees aging Cape Breton as a downhill slide, as a
decline... We need counter-stories. Rich, more positive
counter-stories of what aging Cape Breton is all about What if we
all cultivated our own good, strong stories and acknowledged our
mutual responsibility to strengthen each others stories? Cape
Bretons story = narrative of decline We need a new story. A
narrative of resilience/positivity/action, etc.
Slide 8
8 There are two main problematic cornerstones of this Cape
Breton attitude... the first is that we really do seem to have a
poor self image. As a whole, we can be quite self-deprecating Cape
Breton is a beautiful place with so many great and unique
characteristics and so much potential for progress. Many... from
away see this but we ignore it. In our young people it breeds a
desire to escape and not return. Two Prevalent Negative Attitudes
in Cape Breton How Cape Breton Attitudes Shape the Decisions of Our
Youth
Slide 9
9 we have an us vs them attitude more so than anywhere I have
ever been. We talk about our problems and we talk about the
mainland and/or out west like theyre some demon that were fighting.
Really, we should be trying to cooperate with these places... This
attitude... provides very easy scapegoats Its always someone
elseits never us... Theres no solutions that can be reached with
this attitude. If we believe that our problems are caused by
everyone else, we dont need to address those problemscause its
their fault... even if it is someone elses fault, its our
responsibility to fix them... this combative nature... negates the
desire to take risks... Risk is essential to the development of any
community... And if you dont take risks were going to be stuck in
the same time for the rest of eternity. Two Prevalent Negative
Attitudes in Cape Breton How Cape Breton Attitudes Shape the
Decisions of Our Youth
Slide 10
Using the BDC to Counter Negative Attitudes: Research/Outreach
history of community economic development what have we tried?
lessons learned? what ideas can we build upon and/or never try
again? what have we yet to try? record of experiences example of
all facets of a community working together
Slide 11
Using the BDC to Counter Negative Attitudes: Modeling database:
Open Mine open access Open Mine built with Drupal community-based,
social Drupal allows for (social) tagging; folksonomy databases are
a community = a collection of items with relationships (Internet
Collection of Things) image: Wilgengebroed on FlickrWilgengebroed
on Flickr
Slide 12
Using the BDC to Counter Negative Attitudes: Creativity stories
= literal rewriting of our narrative (imagination/reimaging); ways
of seeing another way to disseminate information art = empathy
Imaging what it is like to be someone other than yourself is at the
core of our humanity. It is the essence of compassion, and it is
the beginning of morality. Ian McEwan art = revitalization Detroits
Heidelberg Project attracts touristsHeidelberg Project Chicagos
Dorchester Project creative projects based on a community-based
special collection come with a built-in audience asset-based
community development
Slide 13
Examples of Community-Based Creativity
http://stagingvoicesforchange.wordpress.com/
Slide 14
14 from Ducks, Kate Beaton Kate Beaton : We had to go, but we
want to come back. Leaving is something we learned to do, but I
think now and then on what it would be if we were taught to stay
instead, and shown we could. If we invited others to join us. I
mean, there's a pretty nice view. And like I said, the tea is
on.
Slide 15
Write What You Dont Know I always say, Forget about write about
what you know. Write about what you dont know. The point is that
the self is limiting. The selfsubjectivityis narrow and bound to be
repetitive. We are, after all, a species. When you write about what
you dont know, this means you begin to think about the world at
large. You begin to think beyond the home-thoughts. You enter dream
and imagination Cynthia Ozick, The Paris ReviewThe Paris
Review
Slide 16
Street Level Stories
Slide 17
Slide 18
The Culture of Community Every community creates its own
culturethe way the community members learn, through time,how to
survive and prosper in a particular place Our Way is the culture of
community, and something you cannot buy. Nor can it be
createdbyprograms. A culture is the creation of people who are
seriously related to each other. It takes time because serious
relationships are based upon trust, and trust grows from the
experience of being together in ways that make a difference in our
lives. The Asset-Based Community Development Institute
Slide 19
Conclusion local assets [are] the primary building blocks of
sustainable community development. The basic tool for community
building with the gifts of individuals and of the power of
associations is making connections. Asset-Based Community
Development Institute The Bras dOr Collection isnt just a special
collection of Cape Bretons history, but, by demonstrating our
successes and failures and highlighting our local assets, is also
the root of and blueprint for an integrated, prosperous, more
empathetic, culturally-rich community. It is a collection of our
individual yet connected stories. References