This book brings together researchers with cognitive-scientific and literary backgrounds to present innovative research in all three variations on the possible interactions between literary studies and cognitive science. The tripartite structure of the volume reflects a more ambitious conception of what cognitive approaches to literature are and could be than is usually encountered, and thus aims both to map out and to advance the field. The first section corresponds to what most people think of as "cognitive poetics" or "cognitive literary studies": the study of literature by literary scholars drawing on cognitive-scientific methods, findings, and/or debates to yield insights into literature. The second section demonstrates that literary scholars needn't only make use of cognitive science to study literature, but can also, in a reciprocally interdisciplinary manner, use a cognitively informed perspective on literature to offer benefits back to the cognitive sciences. Finally, the third section, "literature in cognitive science", showcases some of the ways in which literature can be a stimulating object of study and a fertile testing ground for theories and models, not only to literary scholars but also to cognitive scientists, who here engage with some key questions in cognitive literary studies with the benefit of their in-depth scientific knowledge and training.

Introduction: A Window on to the Landscape of Cognitive Literary ScienceEmily T. Troscianko and Michael BurkeSECTION I: LITERATURE THROUGH A COGNITIVE LENSChapter 1: Scientific Concepts in Literary Studies: Towards Criteria for the Meeting of Literature and Cognitive ScienceMarcus HartnerChapter 2: Towards a 'Natural' Bond of Cognitive and Affective NarratologyCaroline Pirlet and Andreas WiragChapter 3: 'Annihilation of Self': The Cognitive Challenge of the SublimeDavid MiallChapter 4: The Space between Your Ears: Construal Level Theory, Cognitive Science, and Science FictionJames CarneyChapter 5: Patterns of Thought: Narrative and VerseBrian BoydSECTION II: COGNITION THROUGH A LITERARY LENSChapter 6: Simulation and the Structure of Emotional Memory: Learning from Arthur Miller's After the Fall.Patrick Colm HoganChapter 7: Cognitive Science and the Double Vision of FictionMerja PolvinenChapter 8: Fantastic CognitionKarin KukkonenChapter 9: Feedback in Reading and Disordered EatingEmily T. TrosciankoChapter 10: Animal Minds across Discourse DomainsDavid HermanSECTION III: LITERATURE AND COGNITION IN COGNITIVE SCIENCEChapter 11: Embodied Dynamics in Literary ExperienceRaymond W. Gibbs, Jr.Chapter 12: How Readers' Lives Affect Narrative ExperiencesRichard J. Gerrig and Micah L. MumperChapter 13: On Truth and FictionKeith OatleyChapter 14: Under Pressure: Norms, Rules, and Coercion in Linguistic Analyses and Literary ReadingsAlexander BergsChapter 15: Affective and Aesthetic Processes in Literary Reading: A Neurocognitive Poetics PerspectiveArthur M. Jacobs