COM Research Seminar: Reclaiming Storytelling as Codesign, Participatory Research Methods in Communication Studies
28 May 2026 (Thu)
On 13 May 2026, Prof Jenny Zhengye Hou from Queensland University of Technology Australia delivered a seminar titled “
Reclaiming Storytelling as Codesign, Participatory Research Methods in Communication Studies”.
In the seminar, Prof Hou explored how storytelling can move beyond its traditional role as a communication strategy and persuasive device to become a rigorous methodology for integrating diverse and marginalized voices into knowledge co production. She presented storytelling as a systematic and reflexive approach grounded in constructivist epistemology participatory praxis and intersectional analyses of power. Drawing on a critical review of multidisciplinary scholarship. Prof Hou articulated a four-stage methodological framework consisting of design conduct sensemaking and curation each embedded with ethical consideration and relational accountability. Through an empirical case she demonstrated both the transformative potential and the structural tensions of using storytelling as method. Prof. Hou advocated repositioning storytelling as an epistemic intervention that shifts research from extractive practices toward co creative and emancipatory knowledge co production ultimately advancing epistemic justice.
Faculty members and doctoral students from the Department of Media and Communication attended the session and engaged in a lively and intellectually stimulating discussion. In responding to questions from the audience Dr. Hou shared valuable insights on the practical application and ethical considerations of storytelling as a research methodology.
Dr. Jenny Zhengye Hou is Associate Professor of Strategic Communication at Queensland University of Technology Australia. Anchored in an interdisciplinary and socially engaged approach Dr. Hou advances communication scholarship and practice oriented toward public interest and social impact across diverse contexts ranging from health promotion disaster risk reduction food sustainability to accessible transport.
