After watching Chimamande Adichie: The Danger of the single story:
- What stood out most to you in watching this TED talk?
- What are some of the single stories that people bring to you about their lives?
- What are some of the single stories that exist about the people you work with?
- What do you notice about the effects of these single stories on people’s lives and relationships?
I felt so reinvigorated after watching Chimamande’s TED talk. Two things struck me as insightful in this TED Talk: Choice and Power. Power establishes mainstream narratives and choices select a particular mainstream narrative if a sense of autonomy is lost.
As with most of us, people bring the negative lessons as the single stories about their lives to me, as any client would to a lawyer.
Some of these stories include the emotional aspects of domestic abuse in relationships which lead to separation in marriages, child custody and property disputes.
I notice that these single stories create hopelessness and feelings of powerlessness in people’s lives and relationships. Their resistance to include others, other than the expert lawyer, in disputes often hurts other possible narratives that may have positive effects.
I like the explanation about African authentification and dominant narratives about poverty. It made me reflect on the importance of curiosity in exploring non-dominant stories.