Stories with Strangers: A Community Building Library at Regis University
Stories with Strangers
A Community Building Library at Regis University
April 11th, 2023 2-4 PM
Mountain View Room
Why Stories with Strangers?
We are calling our event “Stories with Strangers”, to highlight the “stories” of lived experience as well as the importance of sharing these stories with “strangers” to grow understanding, build relationships, and create community.
How does it work?
The event is based on the “human library” concept developed in Denmark in 2000, where a “human book” will engage with student “readers” through open conversation. Human books are “checked out” by readers. The books tell their story for 15 minutes, then engage in discussion for 15 minutes with readers. These interaction have shown to grow empathy and build community.
Talking to Strangers by The name of the program is inspired by a book titled "Talking to Strangers" by Danielle Allen, in which Allen examines interracial distrust in the US. Allen argues that this “distrust can be overcome only when citizens manage to find methods of generating mutual benefit despite differences of positions, experiences and perspectives”. Allen continues, “Engage a stranger in conversation across a racial, ethnic, or class divide and one gets not only an extra pair of eyes but also the ability to see and understand parts of the world that are to oneself invisible. Real knowledge of what’s outside one’s garden cures fears, but only by talking to strangers can we come by such knowledge."
Ground Rules
➜ Open-mindedness: Listen to and respect all points of view.
➜ Acceptance: Suspend judgment as best you can.
➜ Curiosity: Seek to understand rather than persuade.
➜ Discovery: Question assumptions, look for new insights.
➜ Sincerity: Speak from your heart and personal experience.
➜ Brevity: Go for honesty and depth but don’t go on and on.
*from Conversation Cafe Agreements (conversationcafe.org)