Neurocognitive Interpretations of Australian Literature: Criticism in the Age of Neuroawareness (Routledge Focus on Literature)

This unique book on neurocognitive interpretations of Australian literature covers a wide range of analyses by discussing Australian Literary Studies, Aboriginal literary texts, women writers, ethnic writing, bestsellers, neurodivergence fiction, emerging as well as high- profile writers, literary hoaxes and controversies, book culture, and LGBTIQA+ authors, to name a few. It eclectically brings together a wide gamut of cognitive concepts and literary genres at the intersection of Australian literary studies and cognitive literary studies in the first single-author volume of its kind. It takes Australian Literary Studies into the age of neuroawareness and provides new pathways in contemporary criticism. Cover Endorsement Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction: Going the Extra Scholarly Mile Work Cited Part I Cognition and Literary Culture 1 Up for a Cha(lle)nge?: A Case for Cognitive Australian Literary Studies Introduction Up for a Change? The Rise of the Neurohumanities and Cognitive Australian Literary Studies in Australia Rising Up to the Challenge: The Field of Cognitive-Inspired Literary Scholarship Creativity-Focused Research Brain-Inspired Studies Cognitive Readings of Australian Literary Works Body-Related Investigations Writings Informed By Affect Studies The Strange Case of Cognitive Australian Literary Studies Conclusion Notes Works Cited 2 Do Judge a Book By Its Cover!: Attraction and Attachment in Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief Introduction The Laws of Attraction: The Appeal of Books Not So Guilty Literary Pleasures: Excitement, Desire, and Hedonic Hotspots The Psychodynamics of Bookish Seduction: Emotional Involvement and Attachment Conclusion Notes Works Cited Part II Cognition and the Mind 3 Gazing Inward and Outward: (Trans)Formation in C.J. Koch’s Bildungsroman Protagonists and Readers Introduction Christopher Koch’s Bildungsroman-Inspired Novels Gazing Inward: Transformation in the Bildungsroman Protagonists Gazing Outward: Narrative Persuasion and Transformation in Readers Conclusion Notes Works Cited 4 Australian High-Functioning ASD Fiction in the Age of Neurodiversity: Graeme Simsion’s Rosie Trilogy Introduction Main Features and Definition of Australian High-Functioning ASD Fiction From Mind Style to Literary Style: Narrating Neurodivergence The Politics of High-Functioning ASD Fiction: “Aspies Rule!” Conclusion Notes Works Cited Part III Cognition and the Body 5 The Erotics of Writing and Reading Australian Fiction: Linda Jaivin, Frank Moorhouse, and John Purcell’s Art of Dealing With Dirt Introduction The Sexual Revolution in Print: From the Balmain Group Era to Contemporary Erotica The Erotics of Writing Sex in Text The Subtle Art of Dealing With Dirt: The Erotics of Reading Sexually Explicit Fiction Conclusion Notes Works Cited 6 Brains in Pain and Coping Bodies: Trauma, Scars, Wounds, and the Mind–Body Relationship in Western Australia Aboriginal Literature Introduction Brains in Pain: Grief, Trauma, and Self-Injurious Behavior in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence Coping Bodies: Scars and Sadness as Signs of Vulnerabilities in Terra Nullius The Mind–Body Nexus: Mental Scars and Physical Damage in Aboriginal Literature Conclusion Notes Works Cited Part IV Cognition and Emotions 7 Angry Gay Men: Rage, Race, and Reward in Contemporary Australian Advocacy Fiction Introduction The Politics of Tsiolkas’ Expressed Rage: Violence in Words, Thoughts, and Actions in Merciless Gods The Aesthetics of Polites’ Repressed Rage: Literary Representations and Techniques in The Pillars Advocacy Literature: Anger, Social Injustice, Outrage, and Cognitive Reward Notes Works Cited 8 No Time for Outrage? The Demidenko Affair: Literary Representations, Criticism, and Moral Emotions in The Hand That Signed the Paper Introduction A Controversial Novelist Eliciting Moral Outrage Morality, Ethics, and Representation Rights in a Mimetic Literary Narration Indignation: Emotional Involvement in the Literary Aesthetic Experience Conclusion Notes Works Cited Selective Bibliography Index "This book eclectically brings together a wide gamut of cognitive concepts and literary genres at the intersection of Australian literary studies and cognitive literary studies in the first single-author volume of its kind"-- Provided by publisher