Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee 

Since its inception in the 1980s, the ISSN has expanded from being a primarily Anglo-American group of scholars interested in narrative literature to a far more international society dedicated to the study of narrative as a transmedial and transcultural phenomenon. The Society embraces this development and is dedicated to supporting diversity both in the spread of topics it attends to and in its membership. Diversity for us is multi-faceted and intersectional, and includes race, ethnicity, sex/gender, sexual orientation, neurodiversity, nationality, language, economic status, age, career level, and other aspects of identity. It is important to us that the Society, Narrative listserv, and particularly the conference are inclusive spaces that are welcoming to all members. We also recognize the need to continue expanding the scope of narrative theory, and that such growth can only happen if we welcome scholars with diverse experiences and theoretical approaches. The purpose of the committee is to promote this huge and ongoing task by identifying tangible areas for improvement and offering concrete suggestions.

Among the current activities are the organisation of the pedagogy lunch and a town hall at the 2021 ISSN conference. The committee has also started  the “Narrative for Social Justice” initiative, which gives visibility to work in narrative that intersects with questions of diversity and justice. Moreover, we work together with the Graduate Student and Contingent Faculty Council on setting up a mentorship programme.

We invite all ISSN members to join in the conversation: Please share your experiences and suggestions. You can send us an email or talk to us at the conference.

Committee members 2021: Dorothee Birke, Gretchen Busl, Helen Davis (co-chair), James Donahue, Yoon Sun Lee (co-chair), Tara MacDonald, Cody Mejeur (Initiative Director, “Narrative for Social Justice”), Aaron Oforlea, Cathy Romagnolo

Email contacts: Helen David (helen.davis@wilkes.edu) and Yoon Sun Lee (ylee@wellesley.edu)

Mentorship Program

In partnership with the Graduate Student and Contingent Faculty Caucus, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee runs a mentorship program that connects graduate students, early career researchers and scholars who hold short-term appointments with senior researchers.

The program seeks to encourage forms of community, support, and professional opportunity and to promote the sharing and building of knowledge and skills, both for the mentee and the mentor.

If you are a member of the Society and would like to become a mentor or a mentee, please fill out this form:  

DEI and Narrative Bibliography

We are working on developing a crowd-sourced bibliography that will highlight both critical work in narrative theory and narratives across multiple media that actively engage questions of diversity, equity, and social justice. We hope to provide a form for your submissions by the end of summer 2021, and we look forward to seeing your suggestions.