Narrative: A Key Concept for Cognition and Culture
14 Pages Posted: 25 May 2009
Date Written: May 24, 2009
Abstract
This paper reviews the four basic elements of narrative proposed in David Herman 2009 - situatedness, structured event sequence, element of rupture and "what it's like" dimension - and proposes two further elements: intentionality and conceptual viewpoint in narrative. Intentionality, although not particular to narrative but rather implied in human action in general, is an essential feature that makes one interpret a narrative as such (and not as an instance of another genre or discourse). The conceptual narrative viewpoint is related to the act of narrating implied in the narrative, and to the particular perspective adopted with respect to the story told.
Narrative and its basic elements are further considered with respect to traditional narratology, as well as to the cognitive perspective of narrative.
This paper proposes a study of narrative as a possible interface between the cognitive science and the study of culture.
Keywords: narrative, cognitive narratology, culture studies
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation