Routledge Companion to Literature and Cognitive Studies

Jan Alber is Professor and Chair of New English and American Literature at JLU Giessen University (Germany) and Past President of the International Society for the Study of Narrative (ISSN). He is the author of Narrating the Prison (2007) and Unnatural Narrative: Impossible Worlds in Fiction and Drama (2016). Alber’s articles have been published in journals such as European Journal of English Studies, Journal of Narrative Theory, Literature Compass, Narrative, Poetics Today, Scientific Study of Literature, Storyworlds, and Style. He is the editor (or co-editor) of 13 edited collections, the most recent one being Pandemic Storytelling (with Deborah de Muijnck and Jessica Jumpertz) (2025). Alber is currently working on a UKRI project (funded by AHRC and the German Research Foundation) on post-postmodernist fictions of the digital (PPFDs) with Alice Bell.Ralf Schneider is Professor and Chair of English Literature at RWTH Aachen University, where he is also Co-Founder and Director of the Aachen Center for Cognitive and Empirical Literary Studies (ACCELS). He has worked and published on various aspects of British literary and cultural history. However, his research focus has been on cognitive approaches to literary reading, in particular the reception of literary characters. A monograph on character constellations and the cognitive and empirical study of literature, to be published with Routledge, is in preparation.

• List of Figures List of TablesNotes on contributors IntroductionJan Alber and Ralf SchneiderPART IHistorical Developments Cognitive Literary Studies: The History of the Field 1 Narratology and Cognition Jan Alber2 The History of the Field: From Reader‑Response Theory to Cognitive Literary Studies Sven Strasen3 Neurobiology and Literature Donald R. WehrsPART IICore Issues and Debates Cognitive Narratology 4 “Natural” Narratology and Experientiality Maria Mäkelä5 Schema Theory Catherine Emmott and Marc Alexander6 Cognition and the Reception of Literary Character Ralf Schneider7 Possible Worlds and Cognition Marie‑Laure Ryan8 The Phenomenon of Narrative Immersion Federico Pianzola9 Blending and Literature Marcus Hartner10 The Cognitive Processing of Experimental Literature Lars Bernaerts11 Interdisciplinary Mind Modeling: Exploratory Cycles in Cognitive Science, Narrative Theory, and Fictional Creativity Marco BerniniCognitive Linguistics and Literature 12 Stylistics Peter Stockwell13 Text World Theory Sara Whiteley14 Cognitive Grammar in LiteratureMarcello Giovanelli and Chloe Harrison15 Storyworld Possible Selves María‑Ángeles Martínez16 Metaphor, Cognition, and Narrative Fiction Yanna PopovaLiterature and Emotional Impact 17 The Emotional Impact of Literature Patrick Colm Hogan18 Neuroscience and Aesthetic Emotions Paul Armstrong19 Literature and Persuasion Kobie van Krieken and José SandersPART IIINew Debates 4E Cognition and Literary Reading 20 What Is 4E Cognition? Regina E. Fabry21 Building Blocks for an Embodied Narratology Marco Caracciolo22 Literature and Enactive Cognition Merja Polvinen23 Situation Models and Embodied Cognition Jessica JumpertzCulture and Cognition 24 Cognition and Cultural Studies Marcus Friedrich and Rüdiger Heinze25 Narrative, Culture, and Identity Deborah de Muijnck26 Practical Suggestions for Using Research on Theory of Mind in Literary and Cultural Studies Lisa Zunshine27 The Phylogenetic Basis of Poetic Behavior Katja Mellmann28 Cognition and Culture: The Subversive Potential of Second‑Person Narratives Denise Wong29 Postcolonial Cognitive (Literary) Studies Alexandra Effe30 Cognition and Gender: Handwriting, Multimodal Poetry, and the Upending of Stereotypes Torsa GhosalEmpirical Literary Studies 31 The Empirical Investigation of Cognitive Processes: The Ghost of Scientism in Empirical Literary Studies Paul Sopcak32 Foregrounding: Toward a More Comprehensive Understanding Frank Hakemulder, Amir Harash, and Giulia Scapin33 Engaging with Literature in Print, on Screen Displays, and in Audiobooks: Current Findings and Perspectives for Future Empirical Research Anne Mangen and Kari Spjeldnas34 Empirical Ecocriticism W. P. Małecki35 Absorption and Impact on Self‑Concept When Reading Climate Fiction Cristina Loi, Massimo Lusetti and Moniek Kuijpers36 The Sound of Meaning, and the Meaning of Sound: Phonetic Iconicity in Literature Willie van Peer and Anna Chesnokova