Drawing on both literary theory and cognitive science, the research of Dr. Mistreanu in the interdisciplinary field of cognitive literary studies encompasses a wide range of questions regarding the complex and intricate relationship between fiction and cognition. The work is twofold: on the one hand, she investigates the literary depictions of human mental activity, with a focus on contemporary French-language translingual fiction. She pays special attention to the representations of affect, creativity, imagination, thought and reason, and to the way these cognitive processes illustrate different cultural, social and political phenomena of our world, such as migration, minorities’ rights, upheavals and social justice movements. On the other hand, the work in the areas of literary theory and postclassical narratology explores, questions and aims to theorize different manners in which cognitive science can enrich our understanding of the interface between literary fiction and the human mind. In this presentation, Dr. Mistreanu will discuss some of the highlights of her research, talks about the two books she has authored so far, and introduces some of the topics she is currently addressing in her work.
Diana Mistreanu holds a PhD in French literature from the University of Luxembourg and the University Paris-Est Créteil. She is a guest researcher and lecturer at the University of Szeged (Hungary) and Researcher-in-Residence Fellow at the PICAIS at the University of Passau, where she is working on the depiction of affect in Shumona Sinha’s novels, under the supervision of Prof. Marina Ortrud M. Hertrampf. Her fields of research are cognitive literary studies and contemporary French and Francophone literature. She is particularly interested in the interaction between the body-mind-brain and literary fiction, contemporary autobiographical writing, translingual writers and indigenous Canadian literatures.
The lecture will be held in English. All members of the University of Passau and interested members of the public are cordially invited to the event.
| Open to | all |
|---|---|
| Prior registration | not required |
| Organised by | PICAIS - Passau International Centre for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Event website | https://www.picais.uni-passau.de/en/events |
| Contact organizer of event | picais-office@uni-passau.de |
