New book uses speculative storytelling as a form of expression in STEM and innovation

What becomes possible when women are invited to change the rules when it comes to navigating the world of STEM?

That’s what 25 women were asked when Gayathri Shukla, BSc (Eng)’05, was guiding the creation of her second illustrated anthology titled The Fires We Lit: Illustrated Stories of Women Reimagining the Rules. 

“This book asks, ‘How can a woman do it?’ says Shukla, a Schulich School of Engineering alum. “And, as book blurb writer (and author) Lisa Murphy-Lamb so eloquently wrote, these carefully written characters resist, accept, subvert and redefine without ever abandoning who women were, are or will be.”

The Fires We Lit, a collection of literary pieces, bears witness to the lived experiences of women in STEMfields (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and innovation while using imagination to envision new possibilities. This direction allows contributors to express themselves through speculative storytelling, a genre that asks, “what if?” and builds off her first anthology, Landed, which centred on the stories of Canadian immigrant women. 

“I told contributors that their story doesn’t have to solve the world's problems, but to inspire readers to ask how the world could be different,” says Shukla.

Contributors include University of Calgary students, staff, faculty and alumni, and each story is paired with an original illustration by Calgary fine artist Cynthia Cabrera. 

“For the writers, seeing what Cynthia noticed and chose to bring forward offered a new way of seeing their own stories,” says Shukla. “For readers, the artwork opens another door into each imagined world.”

Storytelling as a transdisciplinary tool 

Having founded Campfire Kinship in 2020, an organization that uses storytelling to build cultures of connection, Shukla is now bringing her storytelling practice into her academic inquiry.  

“At Campfire Kinship, we use storytelling as a tool to elevate lived experiences and to create environments that are welcoming of differences,” she says. “I hope that this project serves as a bit of a proof in the pudding that you can and you should integrate tools of storytelling and imagination into the transdisciplinary toolbox when you are trying to impact change.” 

Shukla is a PhD student in UCalgary’s Transdisciplinary Graduate Program at the Faculty of Graduate Studies. It was a natural fit for Shukla, who spent nearly two decades as an engineer in the mining and energy sectors. She says her work in the program relates to the anthology as it connects with a question she is exploring through her research: how story-based reflection can help people make sense of lived experience and imagine different conditions for change. 

“I think the future belongs to those who are able to swim across different lanes and be able to bring people together to solve these complex problems,” she says.

The project originated in conversations between Shukla and Schulich professor Dr. Laleh Behjat, PhD. Now, she’s supervised by Dr. Katherine Lawless, PhD, transdisciplinary faculty member and assistant professor in departments of Geography and Communication, Media and Film in the Faculty of Arts. 

"When Gayathri first shared her project with me, I immediately saw how it aligned with my own research,” says Lawless. “Her work explores how storytelling can catalyze social change, while my research explores social-ecological transformation through soil. We quickly recognized an opportunity to test her storytelling methodology in the context of my soil research. Now, we're developing a collaborative grant proposal to do just that.” 

To get writers for the new anthology started, Shukla led a workshop series to help them build a foundation for their stories through creative writing, character and world building, challenging them to “sit in ambiguity.” 

“It’s okay if you don't have a full and complete answer to a question,” she says. “That's the point of a transdisciplinary approach, to find others with vastly different backgrounds and create a solution together.”

Taking inspiration from bell hooks’ intersectional feminist theory, Shukla created a series of prompts for contributors asking bold questions and subsequently led the editorial process and publication. 

Shukla says it was important to translate this research into approachable ways. 

“I love these community projects because they’re so accessible and it’s honestly a bit more engaging to read a storybook than a dissertation,” she says with a chuckle.

Book launch set for Sept. 12

Supported by a Calgary Arts Development grant, the anthology was published at the end of July, with a book launch planned for Sept. 12. The event will include readings, book signings and an exhibition of the original artwork used in the publication.

The event runs from 12 to 3 p.m. at the Strathcona Community Association, 277 Strathcona Dr. S.W. 

Learn more about the project and register to attend the launch event.