Ongoing Reality Storytelling Research

I am continuing my research on the American Reality Storytelling Movement by studying more shows less in depth (than the dissertation study with Atlanta's Carapace described below). I am attending open mic and story slam shows and interviewing a couple of participants from each show. I am continuing to publicly blog my memos as I analyze transcripts and field notes.

I'm including information on this page for anyone curious about the study. I am happy to answer any further questions you may have about this research. Please contact me. 

This research was first approved by the Internal Review Board at UW Whitewater, where I worked for 4 years, and has also been approved by the IRB at UW Milwaukee, where I work currently. 

If you are interested in work that has already come out of this research, my dissertation is available on ProQuest (or you can contact me for a copy). The title is "Coming Out of Our Shells: Safety and Vulnerability in Reality Storytelling." I also published an article focused on slam storytelling during the pandemic in Fall 2022, Vol 18, Issue 1 of Storytelling, Self, Society entitled "A Zoom Tetrad: Applying McLuhans' Laws of Media to Video Conferencing. 

Dissertation Study with Carapace

For my dissertation, I conducted an ethnography of Carapace to better understand how community forms around such events. I attended Carapace regularly to observe and conducted interviews with members of the Carapace community.

As I analyzed my field notes and transcripts I recorded some of my thoughts in a public blog: http://performingreality.blogspot.com/. Members of the Carapace community were invited to follow my work and leave comments. 

I created this page specifically for members of the Carapace community. If you would like to know more about the study, please read the attached research summary. I am happy to answer any further questions you may have about this research. Please contact me. 

This study was approved by the UNC Internal Review Board. The IRB number is 17-1236. You are welcome to contact my faculty advisor Brian Sturm (sturm@ils.unc.edu) or the IRB (919-966-3113) with further questions about this study. The IRB declared this research "exempt from continuing review" as it poses no more risk to participants that the normal activities of every day life.