Call for Papers
In what has been described as an “age of total narrative,” storytelling plays an increasingly central role in public discourse, professional practice, and everyday life. Yet, systematic exchanges between research on narratives and applied narrative practices remain surprisingly limited. This workshop addresses this gap by examining how narratives operate in real-world settings: how they persuade, mobilize, include and exclude, stabilize identities, and shape ethical judgments across domains such as healthcare, management, organizational consultancy, environmental activism, education, and digital media.
Positioning itself within the rapidly expanding field of applied narratology (the study of narratives), the workshop introduces an ethical applied narratology that foregrounds questions of responsibility, power, and consequence. It treats storytelling not as a neutral tool but as a culturally and politically charged resource whose use demands critical reflection. Participants will be invited to reflect on how narrative practices can be designed, evaluated, and intervened in to foster greater justice, reflexivity, and sustainability. To this end, the workshop deliberately moves beyond narratology’s traditional focus on literary texts and abstract models while retaining the field’s critical orientation toward narrative as a formative social and ethical force.
Together and over four days, we will:
- Contribute to the development of socially responsible, ethically grounded approaches to storytelling in an age of misinformation, AI-generated narratives, and narrative commodification.
- Encourage dialogue between scholars and practitioners working across disciplines and sectors;
- Foster narrative literacy, enabling participants to critically assess, responsibly employ, and ethically evaluate storytelling practices;
- Examine the ethical implications of narratives in professional, institutional, and everyday contexts;
- Explore how narratological concepts can be applied beyond literary studies.
By combining theoretical reflection with hands-on methodological training, this workshop addresses both the creation of applied narrative tools and the critical evaluation of narrative manipulation, with particular attention to ethics, power, and responsibility.
Target Audience
The workshop is designed for:
- MA and PhD students, early career researchers, and established scholars from the humanities and social sciences;
- Professionals interested in ethical narrative practices (e.g. consultants, educators, artists, content creators, healthcare professionals).
Program Highlights
The workshop will feature four one-day workshops, as well as a keynote lecture by internationally renowned scholars:
One-Day Workshops:
- Prof. Mari Hatavara (Narrare-Centre for Interdisciplinary Narrative Studies; University of Tampere) – The Travelling Methods of Narratology
- Dr. Deborah de Muijnck (International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture, JLU Giessen) – The Scandalization of Narratives in (Anti-) Social Media
- Prof. Sjoerd-Jeroen Moenandar (The Netherlands Winter School on Narrative, University of Groningen) – Narrative Consultancy and Its Application Across Professional Fields
- Prof. Wojciech Małecki (Faculty of Letters, University of Wrocław) – Applied Empirical Ecocriticism and Narrative’s Role in Environmental Advocacy
Keynote Speaker
- Rita Charon, M.D. (Executive Director Columbia Narrative Medicine, Columbia University): The Ethicality of Storytelling: Privacy, Confidentiality, and “Ownership” of Patients’ Stories
How to Apply
Applicants are invited to submit the following materials:
- A short bio of approximately 150 words, including institutional affiliation and research or professional interests.
- A brief abstract / motivation statement of approximately 250 words, outlining:
- the applicant’s research or professional background,
- their motivation to participate in the workshop, and
- the relevance of their interests to the theme of ethical applied narratology.
Application deadline: March 3rd