A Biocultural Approach to Literary Theory and Interpretation

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British, Theory
Cover of the book A Biocultural Approach to Literary Theory and Interpretation by Nancy Easterlin, Johns Hopkins University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nancy Easterlin ISBN: 9781421405049
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press Publication: May 31, 2012
Imprint: Language: English
Author: Nancy Easterlin
ISBN: 9781421405049
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication: May 31, 2012
Imprint:
Language: English

Combining cognitive and evolutionary research with traditional humanist methods, Nancy Easterlin demonstrates how a biocultural perspective in theory and criticism opens up new possibilities for literary interpretation.

Easterlin maintains that the practice of literary interpretation is still of central intellectual and social value. Taking an open yet judicious approach, she argues, however, that literary interpretation stands to gain dramatically from a fair-minded and creative application of cognitive and evolutionary research. This work does just that, expounding a biocultural method that charts a middle course between overly reductive approaches to literature and traditionalists who see the sciences as a threat to the humanities.

Easterlin develops her biocultural method by comparing it to four major subfields within literary studies: new historicism, ecocriticism, cognitive approaches, and evolutionary approaches. After a thorough review of each subfield, she reconsiders them in light of relevant research in cognitive and evolutionary psychology and provides a textual analysis of literary works from the romantic era to the present, including William Wordsworth’s "Simon Lee" and the Lucy poems, Mary Robinson’s "Old Barnard," Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s "Dejection: An Ode," D. H. Lawrence’s The Fox, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, and Raymond Carver’s "I Could See the Smallest Things."

A Biocultural Approach to Literary Theory and Interpretation offers a fresh and reasoned approach to literary studies that at once preserves the central importance that interpretation plays in the humanities and embraces the exciting developments of the cognitive sciences.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Combining cognitive and evolutionary research with traditional humanist methods, Nancy Easterlin demonstrates how a biocultural perspective in theory and criticism opens up new possibilities for literary interpretation.

Easterlin maintains that the practice of literary interpretation is still of central intellectual and social value. Taking an open yet judicious approach, she argues, however, that literary interpretation stands to gain dramatically from a fair-minded and creative application of cognitive and evolutionary research. This work does just that, expounding a biocultural method that charts a middle course between overly reductive approaches to literature and traditionalists who see the sciences as a threat to the humanities.

Easterlin develops her biocultural method by comparing it to four major subfields within literary studies: new historicism, ecocriticism, cognitive approaches, and evolutionary approaches. After a thorough review of each subfield, she reconsiders them in light of relevant research in cognitive and evolutionary psychology and provides a textual analysis of literary works from the romantic era to the present, including William Wordsworth’s "Simon Lee" and the Lucy poems, Mary Robinson’s "Old Barnard," Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s "Dejection: An Ode," D. H. Lawrence’s The Fox, Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea, and Raymond Carver’s "I Could See the Smallest Things."

A Biocultural Approach to Literary Theory and Interpretation offers a fresh and reasoned approach to literary studies that at once preserves the central importance that interpretation plays in the humanities and embraces the exciting developments of the cognitive sciences.

More books from Johns Hopkins University Press

Cover of the book Authoritarianism Goes Global by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Over the River and Through the Wood by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Birds of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Zones of Instability by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Nature Exposed by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Respiratory Physiology of Newborn Mammals by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Before the Refrigerator by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Becoming a Wildlife Professional by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Mammals of Mexico by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book The Attainment Agenda by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book New Worlds for All by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book The Story Within by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Take Control of Your Depression by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Operation Ebola by Nancy Easterlin
Cover of the book Visualizing Mathematics with 3D Printing by Nancy Easterlin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy