Transformative Reading
Transformative Reading belongs to a growing tradition of studies investigating the functions of aesthetic experiences in our lives. Philosophers, literary theorists, and psychologists have suggested that aesthetic experiences implicate and develop our sense of ourselves. Literary texts, as one such experience, challenge readers and extend their imagination by means of complex or deviating plots. Reading literary narrative fiction helps readers develop imaginary selves in a safe way, enhancing their theory of mind. It might also contribute to the development of readers’ interpersonal competencies and foster pro-sociality, altruistic behaviour, and empathy. This book uses empirical research methods to focus on the processes of literary reading, revealing two pathways for the transformative powers of literature. It also reveals how an understanding of these pathways might be beneficial in educational settings – in schools, in the workplace, and in medical contexts.
[Linguistic Approaches to Literature, 42] 2024. xii, 263 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 19 July 2024
Published online on 19 July 2024
© John Benjamins
Table of Contents
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Acknowledgements | pp. xi–xii
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Part I. Theoretical foundations
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Chapter 1. The notion of reading | pp. 2–21
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Chapter 2. Modalities of transformative reading | pp. 22–48
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Chapter 3. The transformative reader | pp. 49–64
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Part II. Tracking readers’ responses
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Chapter 4. Lexical Basis for Numerically Aided Phenomenology (LEX-NAP) | pp. 66–89
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Chapter 5. Applying LEX-NAP: An empirical investigation of transformative reading of the self | pp. 90–117
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Chapter 6. A typology of reading experiences | pp. 118–148
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Chapter 7. Discoursal basis for the typology | pp. 149–184
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Chapter 8. Assessing the typology | pp. 185–196
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Part III. Applications and future directions
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Chapter 9. Uses in learning environments | pp. 198–210
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Chapter 10. Looking ahead: Transformative reading in the third culture | pp. 211–224
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References | pp. 225–245
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Appendixes
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Appendix 1. Degrees of intensity (a sample) | pp. 248–251
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Appendix 2. Discoursal features of the prototypes | pp. 252–254
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Appendix 3. Probing the corpus | pp. 255–259
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Index | pp. 261–262
“Reading changes lives – but how can we study such transformative experiences with literature? Fialho’s book offers a new, compelling look at old questions, bringing into play aesthetic experience, readers’ sense of self and the literary text in her bid to understand the transformative power of literature.”
Karin Kukkonen, University of Oslo
“This book is a thoughtful and methodologically-sophisticated deep dive into one of the most essential questions in literary studies: how reading helps give meaning to people’s lives. It weaves together quantitative and qualitative approaches to provide empirical insights, a roadmap for future research, and valuable guidelines for improving literary education. It is a wonderful addition to the empirical literary studies tradition.”
Melanie Green, University at Buffalo
“A must-read for all literature, stylistics, and cognitive poetics scholars and teachers of literature, Fialho’s book is a major step forward in contemporary literary studies, offering a theoretically rich and analytically productive approach to the process of reading. Relying on an innovatively construed range of theories and developing a compelling empirical paradigm, it offers a typology of reading experiences which brings the conversations on ‘reader response’ to a whole new level.”
Barbara Dancygier, University of British Columbia
“This erudite volume on transformative reading is a must read for anyone working in literary pedagogy. Fialho succeeds admirably in bringing clearly argued empirical research to bear to highlight the effects that literary reading can have on our perceptual cognitive and emotional capacities, as cultured human beings. Reading this book on transformative reading is a transformational act in itself. Teachers of literature will find it truly inspirational.”
Michael Burke, University College Roosevelt, Utrecht University
Subjects
Linguistics
Literature & Literary Studies
Main BIC Subject
CFC: Literacy
Main BISAC Subject
LAN010000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Literacy