Ulysses and the Poetics of Cognition

Given Ulysses' perhaps unparalleled attention to the operations of the human mind, it is unsurprising that critics have explored the work's psychology. Nonetheless, there has been very little research that draws on recent cognitive science to examine thought and emotion in this novel. Hogan sets out to expand our understanding of Ulysses, as well as our theoretical comprehension of narrative-and even our views of human cognition. He revises the main narratological accounts of the novel, clarifying the complex nature of narration and style. He extends his cognitive study to encompass the anti-colonial and gender concerns that are so obviously important to Joyce's work. Finally, through a combination of broad overviews and detailed textual analyses, Hogan seeks to make this notoriously difficult book more accessible to non-specialists.

Patrick Colm Hogan is Professor in the Department of English and the Program in Cognitive Science at the University of Connecticut, USA.

Introduction. Ulysses and the Human Mind 1. Shame and Beauty: "Telemachus" and "Nestor" 2. Identity and Emotion: "Proteus" 3. Simulating Stories: "Calypso," "Lotus Eaters," and "Scylla and Charybdis" 4. Narration, Style, and Simulation: "Hades," "Aeolus," and "Lestrygonians" 5. Psychological Realism and Parallel Processing: From "Wandering Rocks" to "Sirens" 6. Critical Realism and Parallel Narration: "Cyclops" and "Nausicaa" 7. Style Unbound: "Oxen of the Sun" 8. Metaphor, Realism, and Fantasy: "Circe" 9. Narrational Duality, Loneliness, and Guilt: "Eumaeus," "Ithaca," and "Penelope" Afterword. An Outline of Theoretical Concepts and Principles