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Field Notes for Storytellers: Research, Security, and the Archival Muse fills a wide gap in storytelling instruction by helping you organize and conduct the research that underpins the stories you tell. There are four modules in the course, and each of them draws upon my experience as a storyteller, a folklorist, a doctoral researcher of ethically sensitive topics, and the CEO of a technology company.
On the day I toured Luss and Rossdhu House in Scotland, I also toured the grounds of the Bannachra Estate, which has historical ties to Clan Colquhoun and is presently being renovated into a twenty-first century educational facility complete with solar panels, water collection, gardens, and other sustainability features. I met Dr. Liz Barrett and her husband Rob Lenihan, owners of the estate, and it was Rob who took me on the tour. At one point, he showed me a deep ravine along the edge of the acreage and said that historically, this was the place Clan Colquhoun threw women accused of witchcraft. I was horrified. I wanted to walk to the edge and place myself in the shoes of women whose bodies might still be lying on the ravine floor, even as I recognized the narrative for what it was, a local legend.
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