NEW - Narratologies of the East and West

Narrative is ubiquitous in all human societies across the world, present and past. Unfolding in all dimensions of human activity – in work and leisure, from childhood to old age, in science and art, for sacral and secular use, as method of creating and maintaining identities, for private and public purposes, in everyday doings as well as in highly sophisticated cultural activities, in rural and urban settings, on every continent, in every nation, and for every possible constellation of audiences – narrative takes a place among modes of communication unlike any other.

Narrative permeates the human condition. Yet, it is also true that many other modes of interaction exist. Narrative is not hegemoneous as a communicative style, but rather it is subjugated to certain pragmatic conditions. These conditions, in turn, sustain narrative as a truly important characteristic of human nature and culture.

The NEW project is intended to uncover some of the mysteries related to narrative and narrative phenomena, by thoroughly investigating theoretical approaches to narrative, as these have unfolded in Eastern and Western cultures.