Storying the Self: How Stories Shape our Identities (Coursera)

Storying the Self: How Stories Shape our Identities (Coursera)

Explore how artists have come to understand their identities over time, through creative media and scholarly discussions. You will connect with your own sources of creative inspiration, and revisit a major moment in your life that has shaped who you are and how you understand yourself, with the invitation to engage with this story through literary analysis and creative expression. Discover how these themes and theories help leaders understand their own and others’ identities across the full range of human diversity, as they show up in workplaces and relationships.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Course 1 of 3 in the Storying the Self for Leadership and Creativity Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • Reflect on how our own life experiences and identities have shaped us as leaders and creators.
  • Connect course material to our lives, including prior knowledge and experiences.
  • Analyze life story texts/media.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
What is the 'Self'?
Engage with different ideas of a 'self' and explore creative practices that can help you consider your own life experiences in new ways.

WEEK 2
Diving into our Stories
Consider how our social identities shape our lives and what we 'know.'

WEEK 3
Stories as Openings
Dive into the past as we imagine different possible futures through Dr. Stephanie Toliver's work combining storytelling and justice in ways that blend and defy genre and form.

WEEK 4
Shaping a Story of Self
Consider the importance of context as a way stories are shaped and understood, and explore stories in your own life that engage sensory experiences and responses.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Our World and How to Accept It (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

Our World and How to Accept It (Coursera)

Thriving organizations strive for equity at all levels. Dynamic global DEI initiatives strengthen connectivity within individual teams and foster cross-cultural collaboration and mutual understanding while encouraging the inclusion of employees from all regions. Broader global relations aside, there also exist country-specific ethnic dynamics that make DEI a critical conversation. Global dynamics present a possible risk (and opportunity) for organizations. In this course, we will focus on how successful DEI initiatives advance business goals, the historical context for DEI work, and definitions of several key terms and concepts.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Achieving Supplier Diversity (Coursera) Coursera
Coursera Instructor Network

Achieving Supplier Diversity (Coursera)

If you are interested in learning more about supplier diversity and how to achieve it, then I encourage you to take this course. It is a valuable resource that will help you develop and implement a successful supplier diversity program that benefits your organization and the communities you serve.

Sep 21st 2026
3 Weeks
Attracting and Sourcing Diverse Candidates (Coursera) Coursera
University of Western Australia

Attracting and Sourcing Diverse Candidates (Coursera)

It is during the shortlisting and interviewing processes, which are typically undertaken by a single panel, that candidates most often report being unfairly assessed during recruitment efforts. In this situation, it is often revealed that personal characteristics, such as age, gender, or race, rather than relevant characteristics, such as skills and experience, fed into a particular decision about who to hire.

Sep 14th 2026
3 Weeks
Liderança Criativa e Inclusiva (Coursera) Coursera
FIA Business School

Liderança Criativa e Inclusiva (Coursera)

Nossas boas-vindas ao Curso Liderança Criativa e Inclusiva. Neste curso, você aprenderá sobre conteúdos de liderança, bem como do pensamento criativo e inclusivo. Serão apresentados os conceitos básicos de liderança e as bases teóricas do processo criativo baseado na neurociência, ferramentas de desbloqueio criativo e como é possível trabalhar seus hábitos mentais.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Best Practices in Planning DE&I Interventions (Coursera) Coursera
Rice University

Best Practices in Planning DE&I Interventions (Coursera)

Best practices in Planning DE&I Interventions presents a “how-to,” step-by-step approach to planning around and executing diversity initiatives. From recruitment, retention, and training, this module addresses issues such as what do you do when your organization is not ready for DE&I, to how to turn principle concepts of DE&I into practical application and desired deliverables.

Sep 14th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Cognitive and Experiential Diversity (Coursera) Coursera
IE Business School

Cognitive and Experiential Diversity (Coursera)

In this course, we explore the nature of cognitive and experiential diversity, as understanding these invisible forms of diversity is essential to meet the needs of an organization. Cognitive and experiential diversity is needed to drive innovation and disruption. To address the challenges of the future, we must understand the cognitive and experiential backgrounds needed to tackle every challenge that comes our way.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Fundamentals of Diversity (Coursera) Coursera
IE Business School

Fundamentals of Diversity (Coursera)

In this course, we will arrive at the first port of our Diversity Inclusion and Belonging Journey, the Fundamentals of Diversity. The course will provide you with the basic tools to be able to navigate diversity. The course will bring you an understanding of the fundamental categories of diversity, and will particularly focus on demographic diversity including gender, ethnicity, race, disability, aging or physical appearance. it will also help you to identify the challenges posed by diversity, and finally you will gain a working knowledge of how to manage diversity in organizations and teams.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Story and Narrative Development for Video Games (Coursera) Coursera
California Institute of the Arts

Story and Narrative Development for Video Games (Coursera)

In this course, you will examine how storytelling acts as a vital mechanism for driving video gameplay forward. Looking at several historical and contemporary games, you will be asked to evaluate and interpret different story styles with the goal of identifying themes and procedures for your own game ideas. We'll examine traditional narrative story processes, such as three-act structure, and how they fit into game story flows and the strategic elements of gameplay. Ultimately, you will learn how to define character, setting, and structure to create a compelling game concept.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Optimizing Diversity on Teams (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pennsylvania

Optimizing Diversity on Teams (Coursera)

By drawing on social science perspectives, this course enables you to learn what diversity is, and how to use it to maximize team performance, innovation and creativity. You also learn how to draw out the collective wisdom of diverse teams, handle conflict and establish common ground rules through real-world cases and peer-to-peer discussions. In addition, you discover how to overcome common biases faced in diverse teams. Systems of power, reward and rhetoric are discussed to help you create prosperous teams where differences flourish.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Creative Writing: The Craft of Style (Coursera) Coursera
Wesleyan University

Creative Writing: The Craft of Style (Coursera)

Your style is as unique and distinctive as your face, your voice, except that you can choose it, you can can work on it, enhance it. In this course we will introduce aspiring writers to the art of putting pressure on written language. We will study the use of metaphor and imagery, and demonstrate how clarity, grace, and inventiveness in word choice are imperative to a story’s success. Writers will emerge with the revision skills essential to all writers of good stories and good prose.

Sep 14th 2026
4 Weeks
Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (Coursera) Coursera
University of Pittsburgh

Gender and Sexuality: Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace (Coursera)

What is sex? What is gender? What is sexuality? What do we mean by LGBTQIA? How are these concepts related to the workplace? How have our understandings of these terms changed over time, and how have these changes impacted work and culture? To help you answer these important questions, this course will introduce you to the exciting field of gender, sexuality, and women's studies, and to LGBTQIA identities.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Diversité et inclusion sur le lieu de travail (Coursera) Coursera
ESSEC Business School

Diversité et inclusion sur le lieu de travail (Coursera)

La diversité est une réalité indéniable dans le monde d'aujourd'hui. Les mouvements de femmes, le militantisme pour les droits civiques, Black Lives Matter, la mondialisation et bien d'autres encore ont tous contribué à attirer l'attention sur l'importance de la diversité et de l'inclusion. Les questions de diversité occupent systématiquement les deux faces d'une même pièce. D'une part, les mouvements sociaux ont historiquement mis en lumière les inégalités subies par les femmes et les groupes minoritaires. D'autre part, la diversité apporte des perspectives différentes et potentiellement nouvelles, qui peuvent être source d'innovation et de changement.

Sep 21st 2026
4 Weeks