How can hope flourish from the devastation of war, oppression, and forced migration?

For the people featured in this book, this is not a philosophical question – it is a lived reality. Drawn from first-hand experience of violent conflict and displacement, the stories in this book belong to three extraordinary individuals who found a path to hope through action in the face of violence.

Ideal reading for academics, artists, and activists who are working around issues of social justice, Creative Resistance highlights the extraordinary actions of ordinary people in dark times.

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• viviiAcknowledgments
• xxiContents
• xiixiiiLearning objectives
• 1 The role of storytelling and narrative in transformation
  • Introduction
    • Why this book?
    • Narrative research
  • The personal narrative or life story
    • Narrative identity
    • The impact of time and place on narrative
    • Introducing marginalized stories, creating counternarratives
  • The transformative mobilizing power of narratives
    • Narratives and trauma: individual transformations
    • Narrative power and collective resistance
  • A life history approach
    • Positioned agency
    • Research methods
    • Writing process and co-creation
    • Narrative truth and ethics
  • Inspiring transformation with stories of hope
• 2 Monirah Hashemi: Who lights the stars?
  • Childhood in Iran: growing up as an outsider
  • “Return” to Afghanistan: discovering film and theater
    • Art as political creative practice
    • A variety of creative practices: performances, community theater, and training youth
    • (Self-) censorship and facing threats
  • Free expression in exile: uncovering, telling, and performing her personal story
    • Sitahara: the personal is deeply political
    • Who lights the stars?
    • Trauma and storytelling
  • Questioning and challenging the status quo
    • Countering narratives and lighting stars in dark spaces
    • The role of marginalized outsiders
    • The transformative potential of art
  • In conclusion: lighting stars in dark spaces
• 3 Halleh Ghorashi: From revolutionary to engaged academic
  • Coming of age in Iran
    • Revolutionary activism and the spring of freedom
    • The shadow period
  • Life in exile: the journey toward becoming an engaged academic
    • A responsibility to engage: transforming society and self
    • Being an engaged academic: form and focus
    • Making a difference: action, impact, and uncertainty
  • Key stepping-stones toward political action
    • Role models and supporters of dreams
    • Experiential knowledge
  • In conclusion: narratives of change
• 4 Diala Brisly: “The braver you are, the more you will see”
  • Art as a safe space: Diala’s childhood and young adult years
    • A challenging childhood: questioning what it means to belong
    • Young adulthood: study and work
  • The 2011 Syrian uprising: activist and artist
    • Contributing through art
  • Choosing exile in order to contribute
    • Creating art with and for Syrian kids in Lebanon
    • A visa to Europe—living in France
  • Trauma, responsibility, and change
    • Personal and collective trauma healing
    • A sense of responsibility
    • Seeing real impact
  • In conclusion: the courage to see
• 5 Can stories inspire response-ability?
  • Inspiration: exploring “a sense of responsibility”
    • Normative identity
    • Intersubjective responsibilities: the ethics of care
    • Marginalization and privilege
  • Political action: the key role of questioning individuals
    • Initiating “new beginnings”
    • Displaying courage
    • Creating visions of the future and acting prefiguratively
  • Impact: the transformative power of storytelling and narrative
    • Stories of violence and oppression: loss, pain, suffering
    • Witnessing and healing
    • Observing and sharing one’s impact on the world
  • In conclusion: storytelling, response-ability, and positioned agency
• 285Notes
• 288289Assignment suggestions
• Appendices
• 296297References
• Index

Cindy Horst PhD is Research Professor in Migration and Refugee Studies and co-director of the PRIO Centre on Culture and Violent Conflict.