Storytelling and imagination can be seen as pathways to engaging with our human capacity for empathy.

Recent research among US college students has demonstrated that empathy may be waning (Konrath, O’Brien and Hsing, 2011). Yet the power of story and imagination may help us cultivate greater empathy through engaging more deeply with the experience of others, as research on fiction demonstrates (Johnson, 2012).

In this presentation, Clare Coburn offers an experiential exploration of the power of story to imagine beyond our own lives. Stories allow us to empathise with characters from very different lives and worlds and to explore the essence of what it means to be human. Clare presents research findings that empathy may be enhanced through reading fiction. She suggests that the heightened imaginative state engendered in listeners through oral storytelling may offer even greater opportunities to cultivate both imagination and empathy. In this lively and engaging presentation, the audience will participate in an imaginative storytelling activity themselves and reflect on their own experiences of empathy. You will also learn about the power of storytelling to enhance our imaginative capacity. Individualism and a focus on person goals and needs may be rising yet the images aroused by story may help us to connect more deeply with each other.