Storylistening

Sarah Dillon is Professor of Literature and the Public Humanities in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge, UK.Claire Craig is Provost of Queen’s College Oxford, UK, and a former civil servant.

‘Dillon and Craig help readers learn how to understand the function and role of stories in public reasoning (storylistening) and show how this process facilitates the production of useful policy relevant knowledge (narrative evidence). This book makes a crucial contribution to the study of research, political debate, and public policy.’Paul Cairney, University of Stirling, UK‘Dillon and Craig have written a book of compelling value to policymakers. The humanities must engage with public reasoning, but how can they better do so in partnership with other forms of evidence? How can the insights that narratives provide enhance public reasoning? How can we listen better to stories to balance their informative and democratising power against their potential to be persuasive and manipulative? In answer, the authors present the framework of storylistening.’ Sir Peter Gluckman, Chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice‘This important new intervention makes a passionate and convincing case for the power of narrative and storytelling in contemporary society, as well as for the centrality of a public humanities in further understanding and facilitating interdisciplinary conversations about some of the most pressing challenges facing society today.’ Katy Shaw, Northumbria University, UK‘In this important and timely book, Dillon and Craig radically expand our notion of what constitutes the "evidence" that should inform policy-making: not just scientific facts and statistical models, but stories too; not just logos but mythos. They launch a powerful argument for why narrative literacy is as important for wise and effective public decision-making as is scientific literacy or numeracy.’Mike Hulme, University of Cambridge, UK‘In any domain of public policy, the prevailing stories shape ideas and decisions, and therefore collective outcomes, but until now they have done so outside of a formal framework for taking them seriously. In providing just that, Storylistening is an essential contribution to understanding how change in society comes about.’Diane Coyle, University of Cambridge, UK‘This book is brilliant, absolutely brilliant - timely, important, necessary. It is compelling.’Ben Davies, University of Portsmouth, and Secretary of University English, UK‘This is a must read book that highlights the absolute necessity to reimagine the power of stories in light of the rapid social and political changes of the 21st Century. It’s a fascinating exploration of how policymakers can gather evidence from stories to inform their thinking.’Tabitha Goldstaub, Head of the UK Government’s AI Council

• Prologue Introduction 1. Points of View 2. Identities 3. Modelling 4. Anticipation Epilogue