Outcome II (Integrating Ideas) – At the end of the term, students will “be able to integrate their ideas with others using summary, paraphrase, quotation, analysis, and synthesis of relevant sources.”

The Integrating Ideas learning outcome is focused on text engagement, on your ability to represent the relevant “conversation” between texts (They Say), and on your ability to position yourself (I Say) in that conversation.

A good example where I was able to integrate sources into my writing, was in the 3rd essay I completed in this semester. The thesis of this essay was being able to understand and show that there is a formula that can helps storytelling lead to a change in perspective; Stroytelling leads to empathy, and empathy leads to problem solving. Tomas Pueyo, a storytelling author who who speaziles in behavioral psychology, storytelling, design and scriptwriting argues that storytelling doesn’t just create empathy: “it is a way to get into somebody else’s brain to see how we solve problems” (13:54). Similarly, Jonathan Gottschall, an American author who specializes in literature and evolution, stated, “We communicate through stories and learn from them” (Science, para. 1).These authors helped strengthen the thesis statement that storytelling leads to empathy, and empathy leads to problem solving by arguing that by connecting the dots, we problem solve because we can empathize with people, and we naturally want what’s best for other human beings. Storytelling gets straight to the problem despite our differences.

Here is the essay to which I am referring:

Empathy helps us to connect the dots, and there is a formula that helps storytelling lead to a change in perspective. Storytelling leads to empathy because we as humans put ourselves in the storyteller’s shoes and we can feel the challenges they are going through; empathy leads to problem solving because we instantly want to help and fix the problem because we can now understand what they are going through and would not imagine going through it ourselves. Both combined will lead to evolution and learning.  

Tomas Pueyo is a storytelling author who specializes in behavioral psychology, design, storytelling and scriptwriting in an effort to uncover how people think and why they think the way they do. He argues that storytelling doesn’t just create empathy: “it is a way to get into somebody else’s brain to see how we solve problems” (13:54). Similarly, Jonathan Gottschall, an American author who specializes in literature and evolution, stated, “We communicate through stories and learn from them” (Science, para. 1).  What these two authors seem to be saying is that by connecting the dots we problem solve because we can empathize with people, and we naturally want what’s best for other human beings. Storytelling gets straight to the problem despite our differences. Just like Pueyo says, “to put it in another way, stories are a way to learn” (14:03). 

Problem-solving in this way can unite people for a common cause, which can lead to change. This is likely because people feel the need to share their story because they believe someone needs to listen to it. For example, in the “It Gets Better” program, members of the community who were straight still made viral videos because they wanted to contribute to helping the gay community, even though they were not directly affected. The LGBTQIA+ community is usually isolated due to not feeling like they belong in straight communities, so when these videos from straight people were made it gave the LGBTQIA+ community a sense of feeling that they are not alone and that people from outside their community do accept them.    

The “It Gets Better” program allows us to see how storytelling can lead to problem solving. Another example of this strategy can be shown in a reading called “Momma, the Dentist, and Me,” by Maya Angelou, who was an American memoirist, poet and civil rights activist. This reading was about an African American little girl who had two rotten teeth. She had gone to a white dentist thinking she was going to get the help she needed but unfortunately that was not the case. This story is a good example of storytelling leading to problem solving. This is shown when the Dr. Lincoln states, “Annie, my policy is I’d rather stick my hand in a dog’s mouth than in a nigger’s.” When this confrontation happens with the dentist it makes me feel awful and I start to instantly empathize for them. In my life, I may have not experienced racism, but I have experienced being marginalized for being homeless. It is not a good feeling to experience, and I never want anyone to be marginalized for something they cannot control. In “Momma, The Dentist, And Me,” it made me learn that I am privileged to live the life that I do and that so many other citizens have it harder than me.