How to Read a Mind

This course offers an introduction to what has come to be known as cognitive poetics. Taking our best current knowledge of how our minds and language work, this course takes you through key questions of literature and reading: why do we feel anything for fictional characters? Why do we get angry, moved, irritated, annoyed or sentimental about imaginary people in imagined worlds? Why do the lives of imaginary minds living in fictional bodies seem to matter so much to readers? The answers to these questions are surprising and empowering. How to Read a Mind is part of a series of ‘how to read’ courses which are being presented by applied linguists, discourse analysts and literary critics at The University of Nottingham. We recently ran How to Read Your Boss, and there will be more in future. In advance of the course starting you can join the conversation using #FLread or contact @PeterJStockwell on Twitter.

• Professor Peter Stockwell