Are we born with Story instincts, in the way we have instincts for language? Is Story necessary for us to be truly human? Morgan proposes that Story simulates human life, inside the human mind, by engaging the senses, triggering emotions and creating awareness of consequence and meaning. Story is shared, experiential, chronological thinking. It is the most primal, the most powerful and the most subtle system of logic, persuasion and communication. Story is how humans inhabit Time, how cultures and individuals remember, and how we plan and dream.
Clay Morgan teaches English at Boise State, and is a charter member of the faculty in the Foundational Studies Program. He also runs Boise State’s The Story Initiative, and co-founded Story Story Night, a monthly storytelling evening in downtown Boise. Morgan has published seven books, including the novel Santiago and the Drinking Party, the young adult novel The Boy Who Spoke Dog, and NASA’s official history of Shuttle-Mir, which earned him NASA’s Public Service Medal, for “exceptional contributions to the mission of NASA.” He was the first writer to win the Idaho Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.
Learn more about Morgan and a number of other Boise State University faculty experts at http://beyondtheblue.boisestate.edu/, Boise State’s award-winning website of podcast presentations on a wide range of relevant topics.
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