Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne
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Contemporary Weird Fiction and the Allegorical Intuition
No full textI call the key cognitive move in processing allegory “gist projection”: the reader extracts a “gist” from the literal level of the text and projects that meaning to an outside target domain. Because the text includes no language directly referring to that target, a reader’s ability to recognize the presence of allegory occurs through an intuitive flash of understanding. In typical allegorical texts, authors spark this allegorical intuition in readers by including disruptive details—for example, references that allude to a situation outside the text, that undermine the reader’s expectations, or that create noticeable discontinuities within the text. Once the allegorical intuition has been activated, the reader begins problem-solving, summarizing the gist of the text and testing its application to hypothesized target domains.
But to the extent that authors grasp how allegory works cognitively, they can play with these readerly expectations, as we see in two recent novels that undermine the traditional literary uses of allegorical intuition. In Life of Pi, Yann Martel avoids activating the allegorical intuition by providing naturalistic explanations for details such as the presence of animals on the boat with Pi. Therefore, the reader, who ordinarily might interpret animal characters with reference to allegorical beast fable, instead reads this as a non-allegorical narrative, until the end of the book, when Pi provides an allegorical reading in which the animal characters represent humans. In contrast, in The City and the City, China Mieville plays with the reader’s allegorical intuition by activating it with strange details and then offering no clear target domain for projection. The strangeness of the story, of two cities inhabiting the same space, suggests political allegory, but the novel resists allegorical interpretation. The “weird” experience of reading these books derives in part from the unusual ways the authors manipulate their readers’ allegorical intuitions
Real time network traffic monitoring for wireless local area networks based on compressed sensing
No full textParallel Resistance: Protestors and Delegates at the 1968 Democratic Convention
No full textKyler Hudson is a junior at IPFW, majoring in history and political science. His historical interests include WWI, presidential politics, and the Supreme Court. He plans on completing his undergraduate degrees next spring and is currently contemplating law school. He hopes to remain in the Fort Wayne area, ideally finding a position at a law office or local television station
Republican Motherhood and the Cult of Domesticity: Their Own Separate Spheres
No full textFiona Sackett is a senior History major with a minor in Theatre in the Honors program. She is interested in American women’s movements and cultural histories such as popular fashion and etiquette. She is currently planning on applying for grad school in Dramaturgy after her graduation. Fiona is from Huntington, Indiana
The American Dream: All for One or One for All
No full textHannah Smith is a sophomore and her major is Secondary Education. She relishes in all historical subjects, but is particularly interested in the Cold War. She plans and looks forward to teaching high school social studies, including history, political science, and sociology
