The Visceral Novel Reader

The "Connecting the Dots": Conceptualising "Trace" in the Nexus of Novels and Readers’ Sensory Imaginings workshop is designed to shed new light on the analysis of novel reading experiences by examining in what manner the concept of trace offers a key to readers’ willingness to engage with, and emotionally respond to, novels.

Just as our detection and pursuit of tracks entails the combined effort of visual and haptic input, reading novels attentively involves intertwining certain cues with our sensory perception, imaginings and memories. As such, trace opens a host of conceptualisations and investigative opportunities in relation to readers’ visceral interaction with novels. The international conference correspondingly places special emphasis on the connections between the materiality of trace on the one hand and the corporeal interaction of the reader and the novel on the other.

This workshop contributes to the research project "The Visceral Novel Reader" examining the creative co-production of reading at the Department of English and Linguistics of the University of Mainz, Germany.

  • Project Website
  • The information about the event is available from Twitter #connectdots2020 .