An author and a journalist, Kotlowitz is in residence as the Summer term Montgomery Fellow and is teaching an English 67, titled "Telling Stories: The Art of Non-Fiction Writing."
Kotlowitz spoke about the power of narratives as a way that people can better understand themselves and the world they inhabit.
"[Kotlowitz] is a practitioner of what has been called the new new journalism' a journalism of empathy," Richard Stamelman, executive director of the Montgomery Endowment, said in his introduction to Kotlowitz's speech.
Kotlowitz writes "dramatic" stories about poverty, immigration and racial injustice with "unbending honesty, a steely moral consciousness and an unwavering belief in fairness and justice," Stamelman said.
In his speech, Kotlowitz warned listeners not to define an individual's life by a single encounter or experience.
"We need to take care not to craft a single narrative, not to pigeonhole people, not to think we already know when in fact we know very little," he said.
As an example, Kotlowitz described a girl he met who was addicted to crack cocaine and looked "close to death." When Kotlowitz encountered the same girl several years later, however, he was shocked to see that she was healthy, sober and completely changed.
When narratives are used properly and not to unfairly constrain others they have an educational value and can help us interpret the world, Kotlowitz said.
Kotlowitz also cautioned against "false narratives" that can misguide us and "spur us to dark and inhuman actions." Kotlowitz cited one used by former U.S. President George W. Bush's administration that labeled Saddam Hussein a "direct threat to our country."
Kotlowitz said he remains optimistic about narratives's potential to continue to educate and enlighten readers.
"What better time than now to figure out what holds us together and what drives us apart?" Kotlowitz said.
Narratives can also validate people's personal histories and connect them to places that they would otherwise be unable to visit, according to Kotlowitz.
"Stories open apertures to corners of the world that might otherwise remain dark and sequestered, out of sight and out of mind," Kotlowitz said.
When choosing subject matter for his writing, Kotlowitz is drawn to stories that are unconventional and "outside of the center of the storm," he said. Kotlowitz also stressed the importance of writing "honest" narratives that preserve the truth while remaining empathetic.
"We have to be careful that we don't rewrite our narrative to conform to how we now view the world in the present," he said.
Through narratives, writers also have the opportunity to give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves, Kotlowitz said.
"Imagine not just having a false narrative, but not having a narrative at all," Kotlowitz said.
