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Regis A. Peeples Ed.D., is a 2026 graduate of the Ed.D. program in Educational and Professional Practice at Antioch University.

Headshot of Regis A. Peeples.

Dissertation Committee:

John Scott, Ph.D., Committee Chair 

Gary Delanoeye, Ed.D., Committee Member

Wilfred Doucet, Ph.D., Committee Member

Keywords

black box, cultural humility, dangerous storytelling, epistemological, explanatory sequential design, interpretivist paradigm, open dialogue circles, participatory action research, qualitative, relational teaching, transdisciplinary practice

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

On college campuses worldwide, storytelling functions as a primary method for transmitting and affirming knowledge. It serves to validate lived experiences, acts as a relational teaching tool, and supports theoretical inquiry. Given that teaching is inherently political, storytelling can also perpetuate hate, oppression, and other social harms within academic environments. Even when educators use storytelling constructively, limited training exists on the full range of its impacts on students, particularly in terms of what may be described as “dangerous” storytelling. Dangerous storytelling refers to narratives, intentional or authentic, that reinforce or cultivate phobias about physical appearance (e.g., race, culture, nationality), propagate violence against marginalized communities, or sustain systems of racism, genocide, and judgment based on attributes other than behavior or character. This concern led to the development of an in-class activity titled the Black Box exercise. In this activity, students anonymously record harmful stories, stereotypes, and beliefs they have internalized over time. These written submissions are then shared and discussed aloud within a safe, structured setting. This program evaluation examined the effectiveness of the single-session Black Box exercise in helping students identify and reflect on harmful narratives. The study investigated how undergraduate students relate to storytelling in classroom settings and how they feel they are affected by narrative practices. Three frameworks were used to guide design and analysis: the narrative paradigm (Hallsby, 2022); the dialogue practice paradigm, specifically, dialogue circles (Olson et al., 2014); and an interpretivist paradigm, which was used to examine qualitative free-response data. The study also employed an explanatory sequential design, consistent with foundational mixed-methods research; and incorporated a participatory action research framework. Pre- and post-activity surveys served as the primary instruments for collecting data. The findings were used to inform the understanding of how storytelling shapes student experiences, assess whether the Black Box activity enhances awareness of dangerous storytelling, and explore how students interpret the narratives present in their daily environments. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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Regis A. Peeples standing at a podium with a microphone in front of a shelf of books.

ORCiD No. 0009-0000-8345-9447

Bio:

Dr. Regis Peeples is a full-time tenured professor of English at Santa Monica College. He received his Ed.D. in Multicultural Studies and Anti-Racist Curriculum Development from Antioch University in 2026. His research explores dangerous storytelling, the ways it can lead to oppression, systemic racism, suppression, and genocide, and tools you can use to assess storytelling's impacts on not only students and educators within academic spaces but also throughout the Earth as a whole.

Publications:

“King + Lyre Iss. 1 Vol. 1”; Eric Michaels (Aug 2017)
“Palm”; Red Right Hand Press (Aug 2017)

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