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The desire to tell stories is an innate essence of our humanity. In the early days of human history, cavemen created drawings depicting barbaric battles between humans and animals, and were used as effective ways of communicating stories about survival and life.  For millennia, we have used storytelling as a tool for evoking emotion, whether that be to induce pity, elicit laughter, or to convey a moral. In the modern age, storytelling has been harnessed to instrumentalise social change, and to critique the oppressive power structures which demonise individuals classified as ‘other’. Writers such as Lorraine Hansberry, and Harper Lee, both created art which was, and remains, significant in challenging racist ideologies towards African Americans; stories invaluable for emphasising the racial injustice of their respective contexts. Yet, there is also an insidious aspect within the act of storytelling. Whilst storytelling can certainly be harnessed to organise social change, it can also be weaponized to reinforce the oppressive power structures that poison society. As Western History books show, stories are often told from one narrative, one experience and one group of people. Narrative craft is not only an artistic endeavour, but a pursuit which can hold deeply political implications.

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