This course digs deep into the power of stories and storytelling in four overlapping ways. First, we will consider how various disciplines across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences use stories of particular people to advance their general explanations about the world. Engaging texts from classics, philosophy, anthropology, history, narrative journalism, psychoanalysis, biology, and neuroscience, students will consider the strengths and limitations of stories to gain insights into the concepts, methods, and theoretical contributions of these disciplines. Next, we move beyond an exploration of stories in the service of disciplinary knowledge and reflect on the broader ethical and political dimensions of storytelling. Third, we will take a brief look into the deployment of storytelling in applied contexts and professional practices, drawing from examples in narrative medicine and restorative justice. Finally, we will interrogate assertions that storytelling belongs to traditional societies, and that science has eclipsed storytelling in modern societies, by investigating the recent resurgence of public storytelling through programs like The Moth, StoryCorps, and This American Life in order to think through the role of storytelling in contemporary public culture. CAS Divisional Assignment: SS or HU; KHC Assignment: HU