Abstract
This chapter covers a comprehensive understanding of storytelling, followed by a focus on storytelling for sustainability and its possible uses. The first section is about the meaning of storytelling and distinguishes between the characteristics of stories themselves and the characteristics of the contexts in which they are told. The second section introduces a definition of storytelling for sustainability that combines the characteristics mentioned in the first section with the inherent normativity in the concept of sustainability and the theoretical foundations of sustainability communication. To further elucidate this definition, a case study is discussed. The third section discusses the opportunities and risks of sustainability storytelling. It describes not only how stories can provide a way for audiences to engage with complex contexts but how stories can also lead to oversimplification that discourages independent thought. This chapter ends with a description of the goals of the SusTelling project, showing how the project contributed to filling research gaps and promoting an evidence-based use of storytelling in sustainability communication.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Narrating Sustainability through Storytelling |
| Editors | D. Fischer, S. Fücker, H. Selm, A. Sundermann |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| Chapter | 1 |
| Pages | 13-25 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781003326144 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032352695 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Dec 2022 |