THE NETHERLANDS WINTER SCHOOL ON NARRATIVE
Narrative and the Arts
ENSCHEDE, 20-22 january 2026
CONTENT
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere" (Einstein)
“Art disrupts, narrative connects—together, they can transform.”
From everyday life to the frontiers of academic inquiry, storytelling and the arts permeate how we think, communicate, persuade, remember, and envision. We write our lives into being, curate our identities online, create immersive artworks, design meaningful experiences, and mobilize narratives to shape futures—personal, political, and planetary. In a world increasingly shaped by technology and uncertainty, stories and arts don’t merely reflect reality—they help construct it.
This PhD winter school explores the distinct and complementary affordances of narrative and the arts in knowledge-making, experience-sharing, and value negotiation. While both are deeply entangled with imagination, they engage our senses, emotions, and intellects in different ways. Narrative structures sequence, situate, and make meaning through language and temporality; the arts may speak through affect, abstraction, form, and texture—often reaching where words falter.
Narratives can train empathy, shape identities, and imagine alternative worlds—but also risk reinforcing dominant ideologies and inequalities when used uncritically. The arts, likewise, hold potential for both resistance and complicity. What emerges when we bring them together—across genres, disciplines, and research practices?
What to expect
Participants from the humanities, social, behavioral, and technological sciences are invited to critically and creatively explore the interplay of narrative and the arts in relation to their own research, design, and practice. The course combines close reading, collaborative projects, interactive workshops, and experimental exercises. By engaging with literary, visual, performative, and digital modes of expression, we aim to foster a richer understanding of how stories and the arts shape—and are shaped by—social realities.
Prior to the winter school, participants will prepare through selected readings and assignments. During the course, they will collaborate in interdisciplinary groups to develop a project that reflects on or integrates narrative and artistic practices within their research. The week culminates in peer presentations and reflective discussions.
LEARNING GOALS
At the end of the winter school, the participant is able to
- Critically reflect on different approaches in narrative research;
- Critically reflect on combinations between narrative research and the arts;
- Practice interdisciplinary skills by working together towards a project presentation
- Reflect on how to apply arts and narrative in your own research
TARGET GROUP
The winter school is designed for a maximum of 25 PhDs and early career researchers interested in the study of narrative, as well as professionals interested in storytelling. It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language in order for them to participate actively in the discussions and to present their own work in English. Participants get a certificate of participation. PhD students get 2ECTS for preparing and participating in the Winter School for their TGS Training and Supervision Plan.