Piecing Together the Past: Storytelling in the Present

It is a different kind of story. Compared to the papers and the panels based on theories and experts often seen at NCA, four presenters gathered to share narratives that give meaning to their research.

While the stories address different subjects, they all highlight the crises that occur in American identity. From the war Iraq to the Minnesota bridge collapse, the presentations spoke of pivotal events through the eyes of real characters that were affected by them.

"I think these narratives really speak and tie this research together," Justin Davis of the University of Tennessee said.

Davis told the story of Benjamin Smith during the hate movement. His analytic process of discovery led to his determination to explore the story's significance.

"I'm really trying to reconstruct his process of development during time when society was looking through a racist lens," Davis said.

While some told stories of the past, Celeste Wells of the University of Utah addressed the war we are waging right now through her story on The Fourth Quarter, a rap group of soldiers fighting in Iraq.

"Fourth Quarter creates a space of resistance within the war while actively participating in it. This war is highly contested but still continues to be fought so I find it important to examine it," Wells said.

The panel went beyond a presentation of research and ideas as Wells took a look at the war through the rap group's words.

"For our country we bleed for you while you run your mouth. We made you rich because we're willing to die for you, but you take that for granted," Wells said while quoting Fourth Quarter.

While the panel was more of a story sharing session, Stephen Larson of Villanoa University says the information relayed through storytelling is a key research approach.

"You are able to establish a hybrid interactivity with other students while being able to tackle revlevant social issues," Larson said.