How to Do Things with Narrative: Cognitive and Diachronic Perspectives

by Jan / Olson Alber (Editor)

This collection of essays seeks to combine narratological analyses with an investigation of the ideological ramifications of the use of narrative strategies. As the title indicates, the overarching question asked here is how to do things with narrative. The essays collected here do not posit any intrinsic or stable connection between narrative techniques, on the one hand, and world views, on the other. Instead, the articles demonstrate that world views are always expressed through specific formal strategies. This insight leads to the question of why these particular techniques (rather than others) are employed.

Moreover, the essays focus on the relevance of theoretical concepts that were developed by Monika Fludernik, who has been Professor of English Literature at the University of Freiburg in Germany since 1994. They focus either on her contributions to narrative theory or her books and articles that emphasize the extra-textual and political implications of narrative.

262 pages, Hardcover

Published November 20, 2017