Last week, Nature in Legend and Story (NILAS) co-sponsored an event  at the University of Illinois at Springfield, at which James Bruchac told Native American tales of plants and animals, and I have not often seen a speaker hold the attention of college students and professors so completely. We all know how confusing our schedules in higher education are, where meetings are forever interrupted by classes, and classes by meetings. This time not a single person left before the end of the event. Cathy Mosley and I also presented.

 

This started me thinking about the role of storytelling in higher education. We in NILAS began by trying to convince people that stories of plants and animals are not...