Narratology

About: Narratology is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2833 publications have been published within this topic receiving 50998 citations. The topic is also known as: narrative theory.

"How do I apply narrative theory?": Socio-narrative theory in translation studies

Abstract: Since the publication of Translation and Conflict: A Narrative Account (Baker 2006), there has been a growing interest in applying socio-narrative theory to Translation Studies, with Baker’s ideas extended and applied to several different areas of inquiry. This article gives a brief overview of these projects, and discusses in more depth the example of my own application and development of narrative theory. This includes a revised typology of narratives, the combination of narratological and sociological approaches, an intratextual model of analysis, and a new emphasis on the importance of narrators and temporary narrators in the (re)configuration of narratives. The article ends with a brief discussion on further topics within Translation and Interpreting Studies to which narrative theory might be applied.

Introduction: Towards a Narratology of TV Series

Abstract: As ‘the principal storyteller in contemporary American society’ (Kozloff 1992: 67) — as well as in many other contemporary societies — television is replete with narrative forms and genres. It is not only ‘the sitcom, the action series, the cartoon, the soap opera, the miniseries, the made-for-TV movie’ (ibid.: 68) that clearly show narrative traits. Even types of programmes which appear to be far less likely as narratives — such as advertisements, music videos or nature documentaries — often tell a story, though these stories admittedly vary considerably in terms of how elaborate they are: A commercial for pain relievers may rely on comparison and argument, or an ad for a car may be abstract and descriptive, but a vast number of advertisements offer a compressed narrative exemplifying the products’ beneficial effects. Music videos often enact the storyline of the song’s lyrics. Nature documentaries tend to follow the story of the animal’s life cycle or of the seasonal progression in a geographical area. (Ibid.: 68–9)

Point of view, perspective, and focalization : modeling mediation in narrative

Abstract: Stories do not actually exist in the world but are created and structured - modeled - through the process of mediation, i.e. through the means and techniques by which they are represented. This is an important field, not only for narratology but also for literary and media studies. The articles in this volume, contributed by international scholars from seven countries, address this problem anew by reviewing the differentiation of mediation and re-defining its dimensions both in literary texts and other media such as drama and theater, film, and computer games.

Fictional MindsComing to Terms with the Unnatural

Abstract: In the analysis and interpretation of fictional minds, unnatural and cognitive narratology may seem mutually exclusive. They each highlight different aspects of what narrators and characters think and feel, and their explanatory grounds differ. An unnatural reading unearths the narrative features, such as literal mind reading, that cannot be reduced to real-world possibilities, whereas a cognitive approach may focus on what is analogous to real-world cognition, or it may explain how unusual fiction is made sense of in cognitive terms. This article offers a synthesis in which the contrast between the two is closely examined. Then the article makes a case for a dialectical approach in which readings move from one position to another in order to achieve a more rewarding and encompassing understanding of fictional minds in general and unnatural minds in particular. The argument is developed through a reading of Peter Verhelst’s The Man I Became and through a discussion of the case of mind reading.