Cognitive Linguistics and Characterization in Euripides’ Electra
(First published on May 2, 2023) Evert van Emde Boas explains two ways that “cognitive sciences might help us understand what goes on in literary characterization” in Euripides’ Electra: “First, they might help us get to grips with how the interpretation of characters actually works, that is, with what goes on in our brains and bodies when we meet characters in literature, drama, or film.” And second, these insights “can help us understand issues of literary character is as a ‘lens’ through which to look at the characterization of individual figures in literature (and drama, tv, film, etc.).” For the whole discussion, read on!
Is This the End? A Neurocognitive Approach to End Time Narratives (ETNs)
From ancient to modern times, representations of end time scenarios have not only remained popular, but they have been instrumental in shaping people’s thoughts and actions in many different contexts. But how do End Time Narratives achieve their effects on readers, listeners, or viewers? Melissa Sayyad Bach presupposes that ETNs exercise their immense fascination, and their effects, by triggering certain underlying neurocognitive mechanisms…
Peter Stockwell on Cognitive Poetics (part 3)
In this third instalment of an interview with Peter Stockwell, he discusses the payoff of using a cognitive approach to literature, and what a cognitive approach “do” for us in relation to other approaches.
Peter Stockwell and Cognitive Poetics: Interview, Part 1
June special! This is the first of four weekly instalments of an interview with Peter Stockwell, Professor of English at the University of Nottingham and author of Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction (2d ed.; Routledge, 2019). Here, Peter describes how he began to use of cognitive science to study literature, and simultaneously gives us a window into how cognitive science entered literary studies altogether.
Cognition, Prepositions, and Point of View: Interview with Rachel & Mike Aubrey
Rachel and Mike Aubrey, with SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics) International, talk about their translation work and research on prepositions and point of view in cognitive perspective.
Cognition, Grammar, and Reading Ancient Narratives: An Interview with Steve Runge
Stephen E. Runge, author of Discourse Grammar of the Greek New Testament: A Practical Introduction for Teaching and Exegesis (Hendrickson, 2010), talks about how cognitive linguistics as applied to grammar can help explain how humans process ancient narratives.
Cognition and Point of View: An Interview with Eve Sweetser
Linguist Eve Sweetser (University of California, Berkeley) gives key points from her Society of Biblical Literature (2022) presentation about how cognitive science aids our understanding of point of view in ancient narrative texts.
Cognition and Ancient Characters
A conversation with Koen De Temmerman (Ghent) and Evert van Emde Boas (Aarhus) discussing cognition and ancient characters and their 2018 volume, Characterization in Ancient Greek Literature (Brill).