BEING CREATIVE IS AN ACT

OF LANGUAGE

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories andKnowledge

• Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

•Other deconstructive approaches include jokes, irony, parody, and tragedy.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

•Other deconstructive approaches include jokes, irony, parody, and tragedy.

•All work can gain added benefit through a deconstructive approach.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

•Other deconstructive approaches include jokes, irony, parody, and tragedy.

•All work can gain added benefit through a deconstructive approach.

•All thoughtful movement to question a moment in life (new or historical), to question the values behind that moment, is a movement of deconstruction.

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Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

•Other deconstructive approaches include jokes, irony, parody, and tragedy.

•All work can gain added benefit through a deconstructive approach.

•All thoughtful movement to question a moment in life (new or historical), to question the values behind that moment, is a movement of deconstruction.

•Deconstruction is a tool for reinventing and creating, a tool for being.

Knowing and Making: The Deconstruction of Stories and Knowledge

•Take the story of a culturally meaningful element (called a discourse).

•Decide what the discourse says.

•Identify distinctions in the text, the cultural context, the dualities and fuzziness.

•Reform the discourse by using alternative distinctions.

•Other deconstructive approaches include jokes, irony, parody, and tragedy.

•All work can gain added benefit through a deconstructive approach.

•All thoughtful movement to question a moment in life (new or historical), to question the values behind that moment, is a movement of deconstruction.

•Deconstruction is a tool for reinventing and creating, a tool for being.

•Deconstructive technique often destroys the original form, but it mostly provides the opportunity to explore the ‘countless meanings’.

ABOUT LANGUAGE

ABOUT LANGUAGE

•Language, is a creative symbol of a perception of a sign.

ABOUT LANGUAGE

•Language, is a creative symbol of a perception of a sign.

•Language plays a very great role in the making of our life. Yet it also limits our perception and defines our intellectual boundary conditions.

What is worse than evil;greater than God; plentiful among the poor; and if you eat it you will die?

“ ....Reveal then Thyself, O Lord, ...that the holy ecstasy of prayer may fill our souls – a prayer that shall rise above words and letters and transcend the murmur of syllables and sounds – that all things may be merged into Nothingness before the revelation of Thy splendour ...”

Abdu’l-Baha

ABOUT LANGUAGE

•Language, is a creative symbol of a perception of a sign.

•Language plays a very great role in the making of our life. Yet it also limits our perception and defines our intellectual boundary conditions.

•“to what extent we can admit (to) the apparent character (of life), (and) the necessity of lies (to cover up) for nothing, might be a divine way of thinking.” Nietszche (1885)

ABOUT LANGUAGE

•Language, is a creative symbol of a perception of a sign.

•Language plays a very great role in the making of our life. Yet it also limits our perception and defines our intellectual boundary conditions.

•“to what extent we can admit (to) the apparent character (of life), (and) the necessity of lies (to cover up) for nothing, might be a divine way of thinking.” Nietszche (1885)

•Deconstructive tools help our consciousness and unconsciousness grapple with the boundary conditions where the linguistic form (thinking form) is failing.

ABOUT LANGUAGE

•Language, is a creative symbol of a perception of a sign.

•Language plays a very great role in the making of our life. Yet it also limits our perception and defines our intellectual boundary conditions.

•“to what extent we can admit (to) the apparent character (of life), (and) the necessity of lies (to cover up) for nothing, might be a divine way of thinking.” Nietszche (1885)

•Deconstructive tools help our consciousness and unconsciousness grapple with the boundary conditions where the linguistic form (thinking form) is failing.

•Educators of children can use simple deconstructive approaches to create ways of teaching subjects that might otherwise be difficult to explain.

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

1. Choose a theme. eg.‘through tests we find strength’

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

1. Choose a theme. eg.‘through tests we find strength’

2. Describe aspects of the theme.

Tests = exams, barriers, obstructions, troublesome events, anxieties and worriesWe or our = me, us, one person, a group, charactersFind = searching, looking, exploring, accidentally discoveringStrength = natural ability, developed ability, learning, physical energy, mental energy

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

1. Choose a theme. eg.‘through tests we find strength’

2. Describe aspects of the theme. eg.

3. Explore the meaning of the key activity of the theme. eg.To find = something (the object of the theme) is lost or hidden or unrealised

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

1. Choose a theme. eg.‘through tests we find strength’

2. Describe aspects of the theme. eg.

3. Explore the meaning of the key activity of the theme. eg.To find = something (the object of the theme) is lost or hidden or unrealised

4. List the elements from 2 & 3 that will make up the storyline. eg troublesome event one character accidentally discovering natural ability that was unrealised

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

1 Choose a theme. eg.‘through tests we find strength’

2. Describe aspects of the theme. eg.

3. Explore the meaning of the key activity of the theme. eg.

4. List the elements from 2 & 3 that will make up the storyline.

5 Choose a genre ( a type of story) eg.

contemporary humanfairy storyscience fictionnon-human (animals \ plants etc)historicalother fantasyabstractchoreographed only

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

6 . From 4. & 5., above, you have the early outline of the story,

eg. An animal story in which the main character (an animal) is involved in a troublesome event that makes it accidentally discover a natural ability that was unrealised.

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

6 . From 4. & 5., above, you have the early outline of the story,

eg. An animal story in which the main character (an animal) is involved in a troublesome event that makes it accidentally discover a natural ability that was unrealised

7. Write the outline of the story for 5 characters maximum

eg. A baby magpie falls out of the tree while learning to fly. It is now on the ground, vulnerable to predators. Two human children see it and come running over to catch it. The magpie is extremely frightened. Its fear gives it the strength to take off from the ground and fly.

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

6 . From 4. & 5., above, you have the early outline of the story,

7. Write the outline of the story for 5 characters maximum eg.

8. Flesh out the story by asking questions about each element and event of the outline. The answers don’t need to be factual, in some genres factuality helps create the story for the audience, other genres might have no factuality.

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

6 . From 4. & 5., above, you have the early outline of the story,

7. Write the outline of the story for 5 characters maximum

8. Flesh out the story by asking questions about each element and event of the outline. The answers don’t need to be factual, in some genres factuality helps create the story for the audience, other genres might have no factuality.

9. And when you have answered one question, you might be able to ask other questions to fill out detail in your story.

(Remember, the story should still be short, and if you’re writing for a play, try to keep it to one scene. Also remember to keep the active characters to a minimum, although you can always use costumed children as props in the scene.)

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

10. Write out the story with a lot of dialogue.

Explain the flow of events through the mouths of the characters, and add descriptive information in an interesting fashion

eg. “Gosh it’s uncomfortable in here”, thought baby magpie (BM), “ I wonder if I can make a bit of space.” BM struck the wall of its egg, sharply, with its beak. The wall cracked. Light flashed. “Peeeep!!”, cried BM turning quickly away from the light in surprise, and putting a sharp talon through the floor of the egg.”

WRITING SHORT PLAYS OR STORIES ON BAHA’I THEMES, FOR CHILDREN

10. Write out the story with a lot of dialogue. Explain the flow of events through the mouths of the characters, and add descriptive information in an interesting fashion.

11. Remember to bring closure to the story, as the finish. Most stories have a climax just before the end. In the case of the magpie story some suspense needs to be built up, anxiety from the mother magpie and BM, enthusiasm from the children, with BM flying as the climax. But the theme will need some closure to make the ‘moral of the story’ explicit, especially for a child audience eg BM chirruped happily from the tree above the children’s head, “Hey mum, thanks to those girls chasing me, I learnt to fly.”

When writing for a play

When writing for a play

All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name

eg BM: “Gosh, its .....”

When writing for a play

•All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name eg BM: “Gosh, its .....”

•Add some acting notes next to the dialogue or prior to the act. This comes out of the story but you might want to elaborate depending on the props and the audience view of the stage, eg actor should sit facing to the right, side on to the audience, with legs bent up, feet flat.

When writing for a play

•All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name

•Add some acting notes next to the dialogue or prior to the act.

•Describe the set at the beginning. The description is from the view of the audience including right, left, front, back. You may need to draw it with detailed instructions for making the props

When writing for a play

•All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name

•Add some acting notes next to the dialogue or prior to the act.

•Describe the set at the beginning.

•You can use a narrator to quickly set the context for some stories, and if you want to limit the dialogue, especially for younger children or simple enactments where you can’t do a lot of rehearsal.

When writing for a play

•All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name

•Add some acting notes next to the dialogue or prior to the act.

•Describe the set at the beginning.

•You can use a narrator.

•Likewise with costumes. A symbol of a character carried by the actor can be enough to say who the character is. eg a magpie beak.

When writing for a play

•All the dialogue needs to structure next to a character’s name

•Add some acting notes next to the dialogue or prior to the act.

•Describe the set at the beginning.

•You can use a narrator.

•Likewise with costumes. A symbol of a character carried by the actor can be enough to say who the character is.

•Challenges can be overcome with some lateral thinking eg a costumed child acting as the baby magpie doesn’t need to fly for the audience. If the actor is seen to run fearfully with much flapping, across the stage away from the 2 children who keep a fixed gaze on the bird as they chase it, the Baby Magpie can disappear off stage and if the children’s gaze sweep slowly up and up, with a little supporting dialogue, then the audience will understand that the bird has flown.

CHALLENGES:

Come up with new ideas for working for the purposes of the Baha’i Faith:

•unity of humanity

•service to humanity

•international peace

•spiritual education of humanity

Remember: ask in great detail, what are the meanings of the text, the words, the phrasing, the spirit, the contexts.

Place the context here and now.

What meanings fit together in promising ways.

Remember: Creativity is the composition or construction from diverse elements. (Abdu’l Baha)