A Participatory Perspective on the Experience of Narrative Worlds (Invited Talk)

Abstract

As people experience narratives, they often behave as if they are participants in the narrative world. This talk embraces that claim to develop a participatory perspective on readers' and viewers' narrative experiences. This perspective asserts, for example, that readers encode participatory responses as reactions to characters' utterances and actions. The talk will review three areas of empirical research that have emerged from this perspective. The first area will be readers' experiences of narrative mysteries—circumstances in which a text raises questions that are not immediately settled. The second area will be the consequences of readers' participation as they weigh in on characters' actions and decisions. The third area will be the potential for changes in people's beliefs and attitudes as a product of their narrative experiences.