What’s restorative narrative? A Q&A with a journalism professor who’s studying it

After reading a Columbia Journalism Review piece last winter on restorative narrative, Nicole Dahmen wanted to know more. She started reading everything she could find on the idea.

โ€œImages & Voices of Hope, a non-profit media group, has been instrumental in terming, defining and promoting โ€˜restorative narrative,’โ€ said Dahmen, an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon.

As ivoh defines it, she said, restorative narrative tell stories of โ€œrecovery, restoration and resilience in the aftermath, or midst of, difficult times.โ€

Restorative narratives share some characteristics, Dahmen said, including that theyโ€™re โ€œ1) strength-based with hard truths that show progression without giving false hope; and 2) authentic, sustained inquiries that present universal truths and human connection.โ€

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