MU professors are in the process of building an interdisciplinary narrative storytelling program for students interested in the emerging field, which centers around technological skill and creativity. Although the proposal for the program has not yet been approved by the UM System Board of Curators, a team of professors is working to put together the degree plan to present at the end of the semester.
Associate journalism professor Charles Davis is one of many professors leading the push to create the digital storytelling degree. He said the current effort to create the program is the result of a running dialogue between many forward-thinking professors on the MU campus.
“It all emerged from a conversation that several of us on campus had been having in some form or another for years,” Davis said. “We have many different disciplines on campus that touch on multimedia narrative storytelling, whether they are journalism, strategic communications, communication, art, film or even computer science engineering. So we’ve got these bits and pieces all over campus but nowhere that a student could go to really do specifically this.”
He said many students are attracted to the journalism school because of its narrative aspects but are disappointed when they aren’t offered a high level of freedom of expression. Others, he said, simply don’t find gathering news very exciting and want to pursue a more creative path.
“Journalism has lots of rules, lots of ethical conventions,” Davis said. “We gather news over here, and we certainly don’t do creative nonfiction. We need a big, broad, morphable program that lets kids play in unconventional ways. It needs to be broad enough to appeal to the students who struggle to find their path in traditional disciplines.”
Davis said the program will bridge multiple disciplines and involve lots of hands-on experience, including four years of internships. He expects the narrative storytelling program to be housed in the College of Arts and Science.
“We’re going to be producing people for jobs that aren’t created yet,” Davis said. “We’re already doing that in the J school. With the new program, we need to create the conditions that allow a culture where students can really get creative.”
Professors from a range of departments, including film, communications and English, are collaborating to allow the new program’s scope to encompass as broad a range as possible.
Among MU students, the idea of the new program has enjoyed an enthusiastic response. Senior Taylor Bell, a graphic design and strategic communications major, said the narrative storytelling program appeals to her in many ways.
“It’s definitely something that isn’t offered at Mizzou right now,” Bell said. “Not everyone interprets information the same way, and finding new platforms that aren’t all news-based to present information is a really important way to use technology.”
Davis said the greatest challenge faced by the program right now is getting it through the slow-moving university system.
“We have chosen to proceed optimistically, despite this being a tough budget time,” Davis said. “I think the best way to do it is to continue to march forward, to make the case and make it compelling. Ultimately I think we can sell it.”