SoC First Year Seminar: Interdisciplinary Topics in Communication Arts & Sciences (101-0-4)

Topic

What’s Your Story? Storytelling, Performance and P

Instructors

Barbara Butts
847/491-3121
1949 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL
Office Hours: As posted

Lori Baptista

Meeting Info

Shepard Hall B25: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Why do we tell stories and what gives them the power to connect, persuade, and inspire? This team-taught course examines storytelling through the lens of Theatre and Performance Studies, exploring how stories are created, performed, and experienced across a range of media. Students investigate narrative structure, performance techniques, audience engagement, and ethical representation while creating original storytelling projects based on personal experiences, research, and real-world events. By the end of the course, students will be able to analyze, develop, and perform stories that communicate meaningfully across diverse contexts and connect to their audiences.

Registration Requirements

Registration is limited to SoC First-Year students assigned to take a first-year seminar in Fall 2026. If attempting to swap a section after registration, please reach out to dear-soc@northwestern.edu for assistance.

Learning Objectives

Learning Goal: Engage critical thinking skills while exploring the breadth of School of
Communication creative and research endeavors.

Learning Outcome: Students will identify key factors relevant to the course topic,
differentiate between multiple perspectives and interpretations, and explain how at least
two School of Communication disciplines might approach a given topic.

Learning Goal: Experiment with research and communication conventions associated with
School of Communication disciplines.

Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate their ability to communicate ideas and/or
experiences compellingly by using appropriate research tools, soliciting feedback,
employing disciplinary conventions, and addressing audience expectations.

Learning Goal: Collaborate with peers from different SoC majors to highlight the benefits of
interdisciplinary inquiry.

Learning Outcome: Students will collaborate with peers across different majors to
successfully complete at least one group project and reflect upon the skills employed to
accomplish that task.

Class Attributes

SOC First-Year Seminar