Power of Narrative 2025: Full Schedule

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10:15am EDT

The Operative Word Is Power: Sharing narrative power vs. wielding it

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am EDT

Join Dionicia "Dio" Roberson of Generocity.org as she walks through the concepts of Narrative Sovereignty and Narrative Empowerment. We’ll discuss how these principles can inform your approach to people-centered storytelling, as well as what tools or resources we can access and share to balance the naturally-occurring power differential between storyteller and subject/source.

Speakers

Dionicia V Roberson

managing editor at Generocity

Dionicia Valencia Roberson, who also goes by Dio, grew up transient and chronically unsheltered across many cities, including Boston. As such, Dio learned firsthand the ways in which stories about people - whether true, kind, or neither - can impact them in real time, for better or... Read More →

Saturday March 29, 2025 10:15am - 11:15am EDT
East Balcony

Breakout

2:15pm EDT

Navigating Lived Experience: Objectivity, Ethics, and Positionality in Narrative Journalism

Saturday March 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT

East Balcony

What happens when the stories you report intersect with your own lived experience? Panelists Andrew Leland, Rachel Kolb, and Darcel Rockett will tackle the complex challenges journalists face when reporting on communities they belong to or are deeply embedded in, and how to navigate "objectivity" in these instances. Panelists will discuss the ethical considerations, responsibilities, and nuances of managing one’s positionality in narrative journalism.

Speakers

Andrew Leland

writer, audio producer, editor, and author of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight

Andrew Leland is the author of The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight, which was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize. He has contributed to the New York Times Magazine, the New Yorker, Art in America, Radiolab, New York Magazine, 99 Percent Invisible, and elsewhere... Read More →

Rachel Kolb

writer and scholar

Rachel Kolb is a writer whose work explores communication, language, and disability as central components of human experience. A graduate of Stanford University, she was the first signing deaf Rhodes scholar at Oxford before receiving her Ph.D. in English literature from Emory University... Read More →

Darcel Rockett

Reporter at The Chicago Tribune

Darcel Rockett is a consummate storyteller and writer whose work centers on narratives for and about populations/communities who need to be heard. An avid documenter of the Black experience, she continually aims to shine a light on the many facets of race and culture. She is currently... Read More →

Saturday March 29, 2025 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT
East Balcony

Breakout

3:30pm EDT

Magazine Pitches

Saturday March 29, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT

East Balcony

Our editors will listen and react to story ideas, offering helpful feedback and suggestions for how to get that writing assignment. Submit your fully-formed pitch for a magazine story to srkess@bu.edu by Friday, March 14.

Due to limited time, we'll select about six pitches. Those with selected pitches will present their ideas to the panel on Saturday, March 29.

Saturday March 29, 2025 3:30pm - 4:30pm EDT
East Balcony

Breakout