Neuro-Narratology

ISBN-13: 9783631896174 / Angielski / Twarda / 2023 / 124 str.

Opis

What happens in our brain when we create a story? Based on neuro-cognitivism, the study of narratives - ranging from novels to "life-stories", which relate to interstitial topics - has become more rigorous. In fact, an unparalleled panorama of constants, cemented since the Upper Palaeolithic, has been added to an unprecedented awareness of how each cultural habitat shapes the narratives of its inhabitants. This occured according to a particular neuro-cognitive style, thus limiting the so-called "authorial" freedom. Narratives - whether they originate from the Muses or from the voice of a completely illiterate individual - are like compressors that can zip together all the most crucial elements in our existence: time, space, intentions, purposes, agents and instrumental actions. For this reason, they represent an inexhaustible object of research.

The volume is the result of transdisciplinary studies carried out by a professor working at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The volume apply neuro-scientific methods to focus on the concept of narration. The main topic is literature and life narratives as an neuro-cognitive tool.

Spis treści

Preface - Chapter 1 The fundamentals: Adaptivity, predictivity, counterfactuality - Chapter 2 Because the brain is made to tell - Chapter 3 The neurocognitive function of events - Chapter 4 Cortisol and literature: Suspense! - Chapter 5 On the therapeutic function of narratives - Chapter 6 Two noble parvenues: Neurocognitive and computational criticism - References

O autorze

Stefano Calabrese is full professor of Comparative Litarature at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He specializes in both eastern and western literary texts and life narratives by applying neuro-cognitive methods and research results.