Narrative Dialogue Research Articles

‘Pushing the envelope’: The Representation of Jazz, Sex and Violence in Fred Khumalo’s <i>Bitches’ Brew</i>

This paper, primarily, explores the extent to which Fred Khumalo’s novel, Bitches’ Brew, can be considered a jazz novel by looking at both its subject matter and form. It argues that the transgressive power of Khumalo’s novel lies in its use of epistolary form as a narrative strategy that is akin to a jazz solo, marked as it is by a dialogical narrative that is similar to the call and response pattern that bears an affinity to a jazz performance. In terms of the subject matter, the central thrust of the argument is that the over-arching predominance of sex and violence in the text threatens to overshadow the musicality of the text, even as masculinity and misogyny are considered as the other side of the coin of jazz. In its exploration of the jazz and gender interface, this paper highlights how the phallocratic logic that informs and dominates the novel is indicative of the fact that Khumalo may have ‘pushed the envelope’ too far in his representation of masculinity and misogyny in jazz culture in his writing of this work. That Khumalo's novel fails to interrogate the relationship between jazz and black masculinity, but rather endorses and valorises it, serves to reinforce the stereotype of misogyny in jazz culture.
 Keywords: Fred Khumalo, Bitches’ Brew, jazz, musicality, masculinity, misogyny

The Cultural Significance of Timbre Analysis

This article is in three interrelated parts. In Part 1, I present a methodology for analyzing timbre that combines spectrogram analysis and cultural analysis. I define a number of acoustic timbral attributes to which one may attune when analyzing timbre, organized as oppositional pairs of marked and unmarked terms, in order to both aid in spectrogram analysis and account for some of this cultural and perceptual work.In Part 2, building from Allan Moore’s definition of four functional layers in pop texture, I argue for the adoption of a fifth layer, which I term thenovelty layer.I study its construction in 1980s hit singles via the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer. The novelty layer is imbued with several layers of semiotic significance: it functions in opposition to the melodic layer, comprises instruments whose timbral characteristics are more resistant to blending with the rest of the ensemble, and often uses “world instruments” in 1980s popular music. This latter point is a reflection of the problematic treatment of world music by 1980s music culture. I use my approach to timbre analysis to define the timbral norms for the novelty layer as opposed to Moore’s other layers.In Part 3, I create a dialogic narrative analysis of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid (1984) that demonstrates what it might mean to transgress these norms. This analysis, in acknowledging the problematic cultural associations of the song, illustrates the rich discourse that can be produced when timbre is made central to the analytical process.

Past and Present as Dialogic Narratives in Postmodernist Novels: Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair as an Intertextual to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

This article intends to delve into the intertextual use of a Victorian novel in The Eyre Affair (2001) by the British writer Jasper Fforde. In his intertextual novel, which features as a sequel to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre (1847), Fforde shows that art is dependent on art and may integrate allusions to prior works. Since the research interest in the existing responses to Victorian narratives is considerably new, my paper aims to give a comprehensive reflection on one of these responses. It contributes to explore the reasons why the Victorian classics still fascinate postmodernist writers, while observing the changes these latter made to please the twenty first century reader. Its main focus is to determine the intertextual dialogue between the two novels focusing on important critical aspects in Jane Eyre such as point of view, the controversial ending, and the migration of characters, which become an inspiration for Fforde to bring Bronte’s tale to life by carrying the idea of intertextuality in The Eyre Affair.

To Freire or not to Freire: Educational freedom and the populist right‐wing ‘Escola sem Partido’ movement in Brazil

This article addresses key topics of academic freedom and critical pedagogy during a time of right‐wing populist politics. The rise of the far‐right politician Jair Bolsonaro to Brazil’s presidency in 2019 was accompanied by a vow to eradicate any vestige of the ideas of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire from the country’s schools. Bolsonaro’s campaign was supported by ultra‐conservative groups that have as their core mission a traditional Christian and anti‐Communist educational agenda. At the forefront of these groups is the influential and conspicuous ‘Escola sem Partido’ (ESP) movement that has forcefully campaigned against Freire’s critical pedagogy across the country and promoted physical and online abuse of teachers since 2014. This article asks how Freire’s philosophies can be an ally in the struggle for democratic education in the current political climate in Brazil. It employs a method of dialogical narrative to bring Freire’s theories and critical methodology to life and test their potency against the ESP educational philosophies. It initially employs Freire’s core ideas to examine the ESP policies and parliamentary bills. In the second part, it analyses documents and online content produced by civil society resistance to ESP pressures. The findings show the vitality of Freire’s pedagogical philosophy to empower oppressed communities in their demands for quality education. The narrative concludes by demonstrating the vital role of the critical consciousness process and of Freire’s pedagogy of freedom to support ongoing struggles by teachers and communities to block ESP attempts to abolish critical thinking in Brazilian public education.

Confronting Discursive Hegemony: The Problematization of Argentine Cultural Identity in Los suicidas del fin del mundo (2005), by Leila Guerriero, and Viajera crónica (2011), by Hebe Uhart

This paper presents a joint study of two volumes of contemporary Argentine crónicas: Los suicidas del fin del mundo (2005), by Leila Guerriero, and Viajera crónica (2011), by Hebe Uhart. It argues that both authors adopt a “political commitment” (Caparrós 2008) by challenging the homogenizing hegemonic discourses about Argentine cultural identity through a dialogic narrative (Bakhtin 1986) which problematizes its complexities and contrasts, exposing the tensions between centers and peripheries. Overall, it examines how these books contest dominant perspectives by depicting socio-political dynamics (Guerriero) and linguistic practices (Uhart) utilizing three intertwined types of discourse: a) the chronicler’s gaze and first hand observations, b) written documented sources, and c) people’s testimonies recovered from real life interactions.

Environment, intention and intergenerational music making: Facilitating participatory music making in diverse contexts of community music

Abstract Current conversations and debates amongst community music and music educational practitioners have engendered the need to identify and describe qualities and leadership strategies that could be expected essential for those in teaching, facilitating and/or working in diverse settings, including carceral environments. Common areas are first explored: where are we working (context)?, with whom are we working (people/community)? and given an understanding of the first two questions, how do we do it (strategies)? These framing questions assist in locating common characteristics of making music in various settings, but also point to the distinctive features of each of the three contexts. By establishing conditions for authentic experience, safety in exploring and risk-taking as well as defining key strategies for successful engagement, instructional approaches are identified and applied. Pedagogical practices that include instructional strategies such as guided discovery, collaborative learning and narrative dialogue are identified. Facilitation processes such as, for example, demonstrating/modelling, coaching, Socratic direction and facilitating/enabling are models of musical intervention that create space for acquiring and using lifelong skills in participatory contexts. Whether in schools, communities or prisons, the positive experience of music making thrives where the flexibility of the teacher/facilitator, the reflexivity of the innovator, the foundational knowledge that research and practice provide and the ultimate enhancement of the community are fully in place.

Hearing the Present, Remembering the Past: “Aural History” from Charlie Haden and John Zorn

ABSTRACT The representation of the past in “postmodern” musical works is often seen as a rejection of coherent historical narratives. Works featuring a mixture of styles (“polystylism”), “borrowed” sounds (either sampled or quoted), and a collage structure supposedly reflect and enact postmodernism’s rejection of “grand narratives” in general and the idea that history has a coherent meaning in particular. This essay contests this interpretation of such postmodern devices by looking at two works using such musical features in the service of what I call “aural history”: the musical enactment of historical events. Using Bakhtin, I argue that Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra (1969) and John Zorn’s “Shtetl” (from his 1993 composition Kristallnacht) use postmodern devices to craft dialogical narratives. Rather than mirroring postmodern undecidability, such musical narratives “orchestrate” (Bakhtin) historical voices into an enactment of the past as seen from the present.

An Indigenous Approach to Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP) in Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT This research utilised a Māori-centred framework called Te Ao o Pakirehua (the world of inquiry) to inquire into teaching practices and involved two indigenous and two non-indigenous Initial Teacher Education (ITE) educators from Aotearoa New Zealand. This approach was founded on a Te Tiriti (Treaty) partnership and principles of self-study of teacher education practices. The four ITE educators inquired into their identities as both teachers and learners in relation to their worldviews and knowledges. Analysis of their narrative dialogues identified three key themes that shaped the understanding of the landscape of practice: Tikanga: Living with, by and for Māori values; Realising a Te Tiriti framework; and Enacting the principle of Āta (growing respectful relationships). Developing narrative dialogues founded on Kaupapa Māori principles and Māori values enabled the educators to challenge dominant Eurocentric perspectives of self-review and support their developing teacher identities. Sustaining a culturally and linguistically affirming environment, while focusing on understanding and enacting cultural competency within teacher educator practice is a challenge for ITE. We propose that using a Te Ao o Pakirehua framework as an indigenous approach to self-study supported dialogue between tertiary educators and whakamana (empowered) them to assist the development of their socio-cultural practices.

The Value of Hard Work Embodied in the Novel Mata dan Manusia Laut by Okky Madasari

This study aims at describing the character education values embodied in the novel Mata dan Manusia Laut by Okky Madasari. The novel is chosen due to the character values that can be a reflection of students to apply in daily life. As the object of the study is the stories of this novel which contains the character education values. This study is a descriptive qualitative research in which the data in this study are in the form of words. The data used in the form of a narrative dialogue between characters in the novel. The technique used is the content analysis method. For the data validity of this research uses theory triangulation, method triangulation, and data triangulation. The data analysis technique used is the analysis of the Flow model by Miles and Huberman (2012) through the stages of data reduction, data presentation, as well as withdrawal conclusions. The theory of character education values refers to the Thomas Lickona theory which consists of ten character education values. However, this study is more focused on the value of hard work. The results of this study show that regarding the character education values, novel Mata dan Manusia Laut by Okky Madasari gives examples as well as description especially for the value of hard work which contains eleven values quoted from the novel. Also, the novel Mata dan Manusia Laut by Okky Madasari is representative enough as literacy learning, especially for a novel containing character education.

Qui suis-je

The scarcity of research on French immersion teachers’ professional identity contrasts with the increasing popularity of French immersion programs in Canada and the concomitant need for French immersion teachers. This study explores the professional identity negotiation of four French immersion teachers in Alberta, Canada, with a focus on discontinuity. Semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face with the participants were analysed using dialogic narrative analysis. The findings highlight how discontinuity is occasioned by a change in knowledge about the French immersion teaching as a profession, encountering classroom realities, shifting one’s values concerning second language learning and the emotions one experiences in moments of discontinuity. A negative change in emotion may encourage discontinuity in immersion teacher identity and teachers’ understanding of themselves as second language learners. On the other hand, positive emotions underline the harboured passion for French and second language learning and may help re-align French immersion teacher identity to the sense of purpose teachers identified in their professional lives. The study concludes with a discussion of certain considerations arising from the data.

International Education Equity for Doctoral Students: Duoethnographic Reflections from China and Cameroon

Aim/Purpose: In our reflexivity in this duoethnographic study, we aimed to identify and elicit the authentic voices, thoughts, and experiences of international students from China and Cameroon to explore international education equity’s complexities through the internationalization of curriculum in doctoral programs at U.S. institutions. Background: Many studies have addressed the need for education equity in terms of gender, age, and socioeconomic status. However, few studies have explored the complex tensions of international education equity for international graduate students as they relate to the internationalization of the curriculum in doctoral programs in the context of neonationalist political rhetoric. Methodology: A duoethnographic method was utilized to create dialogic narratives and provide multiple perspectives on a variety of topics across disciplines and forms of practices of one’s life history to act and give meaning to actions. As two researchers and international doctoral students from China and Cameroon, we conducted interviews and discussions to maintain an ongoing dialogue debriefing our experiences. Contribution: By focusing on the experiences as international doctoral students, this duoethnographic study encourages readers to recognize how different cultures, experiences, and needs reinforce and influence one another and the importance of ensuring education equity for international doctoral students’ success. Findings: Three elements of international education equity were defined as authentic inclusion, differentiated teaching strategies and assessments, and individualized resources including but not limited to financial and cultural resources. Four prominent themes emerged related to international education equity for international doctoral students: (1) academic support related to teaching and learning strategies, assessments, language support, and mentorship; (2) financial support related to university funding and employment opportunities; (3) administrative support related to staff/faculty/community training on intercultural competence and training related complexities of visa status for international doctoral students; and (4) community support in the context of geopolitical tensions. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings highlight the need for research universities to address international doctoral students’ concerns, develop and innovate practices to ensure international education equity, and help international doctoral students to study in a safe and welcoming environment. Recommendation for Researchers: The findings suggest further critical research into the rationale of the difficulty in international education equity and the impact of equity in the curriculum and learning spaces of higher education through exploring the similarities and nuances between international doctoral students from China and Cameroon. Impact on Society: These findings aim to ensure international educational equity and to build a welcoming environment for international doctoral students through collaboration among education providers, policymakers, and the community. Future Research: Future research may use international educational equity to explore diverse international doctoral students’ experiences, needs, and challenges in studying at U.S. research universities, and how those experiences, needs, and challenges shift their mobility.

The Structure of the Narrative Dialogue in Andalusian Shrines from the Fifth Century AH to the Ninth Century

Primary thalamus: ‏Dialogue is an important element of narrative narration, as it is a narrative method used in poetry, story and narrations to depict the characters and push the act forward the techniques of the old text are not hidden, as the features of storytelling appear on the ancient literary text in poetry and prose, as the sender depended on a method Tell or tell, which is called the speech If we go back to the old literary texts, especially the art of standing, and read a new reading, the data of this art are revealed, and we find that it belongs to the storytelling, as we see the clear narrative style, and hardly anyone disagrees that the old texts in general are fertile, seduce critics and attract students as they are full of energies and creativity and the literary aesthetic that nourishes the reader's thought (2). Upon entering the text the Andalusian Maqamah from the fifth century AH to the ninth century AH, we see the impact of the Andalusian civilization clearly on the style of standing in general. Through the mentioned centuries and showing the creativity of Maqamiin t he narrative of that era. DOI : 10.7176/JLLL/64-06 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Deeper inside the Experience of Pediatric Headache: A Narrative Study

Objective: To explore meanings, perspectives and points of view of the subjective experience of paediatric patients with headache (PPwH) and create a first-person narrative for clinical practice. Methods: We conducted a qualitative, narrative research study with PPwH, 11 - 17 years old. Data were collected through narratives interviews and a twofold narrative analysis was performed: a narrative and a thematic analysis. Results: Twenty-three patients (14 girls; mean age 14.5; median duration of illness of 5.8 years) were recruited. Through narrative analysis and close reading, narratives revealed different ways to organize illness experience: PPwH can use 1) narrative sequences of recurrent events in order a) to describe the continuing living-through of the experience of headache, b) to define operative script or c) to characterize the illness experience generally as a “controlled” routine; or 2) a storied account of events, with well-defined characters, plot and evaluation of contingency and correlation between events to express a personal point of view and a moral standpoint about the illness experience. Through thematic analysis 5 main themes and 22 subthemes about the significance of being a PPwH emerged: a) disease dimension (description of pain), b) illness dimension, c) sickness, d) causality, e) coping and f) future perception. Then, a first-person narrative story was created as a tool enabling reflection and conversation during clinical consultation. Conclusions: Results suggest that promoting narrative dialogue can be an opportunity for the neurologist: the prototypical narrative developed from story analysis might be a tool to apply for the narrative-based medicine in the clinical setting.

A Socio-Political History Of Marathi Theatre: Thirty Nights by Makarand Sathe

Reviewed by: A Socio-Political History Of Marathi Theatre: Thirty Nights by Makarand Sathe Radhica Ganapathy A SOCIO-POLITICAL HISTORY OF MARATHI THEATRE: THIRTY NIGHTS. By Makarand Sathe. London: Oxford University Press, 2015. Box Edition, 3 Vols. Hardcover, $236.07. Makarand Sathe's A Socio-Political History of Marathi Theatre: Thirty Nights is described by Kumar Ketkar, in the introduction, as part discourse and part keertan, a didactic form of storytelling employed in Hindu temples (p. xxiii). Using a meta-framework of narrative dialogue between a clown and a playwright to trace the history of Marathi theatre, Sathe does a magnificent job of keeping readers aware of regional and national narratives occurring in colonial/post-colonial India by drawing parallel influences between theatre and national politics. He offers several insights into Marathi theatre while simultaneously acknowledging noteworthy contributions made by those overlooked by the mainstream. The book details substantial historical information intertwined between the history of India in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, excerpts from plays that deepen the reader's understanding of the work, critical analysis, and commentary. A Socio-Political History of Marathi Theatre grapples with a core question of "Who am I?" over three volumes, spread over a course of thirty nights (which are presented as thirty chapters). Sathe's examination explores the psyche of playwrights, their contributions, the surrounding social politics, and political ideologies which helped shape theatre in modern India. Volume I begins with the period 1843–1947 and focuses on the theatre of the colonial era. Beginning with the debate over which play counts as the first official Marathi play, Sathe introduces the "First Three" with information regarding structure, themes, and social influence: Vishnudas Bhave's Sita Swayamvar in 1843, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule's Truteeya Ratna in 1855, and Kirloskar's Sangeet Shakuntal in 1880. He adds V. J. Kirtane's Thorale Madhavrao Peshawe as a key contributor for its simple and realistic approach to language. In a country where mythological drama is still relevant to unifying values, Sathe's study on historical farces is eye opening. He illustrates how the plays bridge people from across the classes, with Brahmins coming into contact with the poor and working class. He notes that while the early farces in Marathi were a collection of formulated pranks, lacking in structured scripts, they evolved to include deep social commentary. N. H. Bhagwat's Mor L.L.B. Prahasan in 1882, for example, serves as the first of its kind to intermingle social issues via the treatment of its satirical dialogues. [End Page 296] Volume I continues within its examination of the intersections of drama and national issues, especially issues of gender. The topic of women's rights emerges as significant in the plays serving as social reforms via the discussion of works by N. B. Kanitkar and Govind Ballal Deval. Volume I also notes how many of these plays were written in a prose format. For example, Shankar Moro Renade's Adhikardan Vivechana athava Sthanik Swarajya Vataghat is almost entirely prose, with very few songs. The language of this play is realistic, employing the use of English and Marathi. The play deals with complex political issues: the nature of British rule and resultant socioeconomic and cultural conditions, colonial education, and native governance. An important aspect in the advancement toward modernity was the concern of issues toward the individual in the Ibsenian form. Andhalyanchi Shala written by S. V. Vartak is an example of the shift to this type of modern drama. Sathe illustrates how Bal Gangadhar Tilak's rise as a national leader (1880–1920) was critical in how Marathi theatre established a Tilakite identity. Tilak was portrayed as the chief protagonist in many plays, several writers of the times were his supporters, and Tilak himself also supported many theatre companies. These political works deepened with Krishnaji Prabhakar Khadilkar, who according to Sathe, paved the way for the golden age of political Marathi theatre. Volume I also introduces readers to the origins and early concepts of experimental theatre with playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari, who often broke from social norms. One of the most interesting features in Volume I is a discussion of the theatre before 1930 which deals...

Colonial media ecologies

In this mixed-media essay I document a field trip to Ghana where I, so to say, travel in the footsteps of the Danish colonizers to the Gold Coast in a bid to dialogically challenge the genre of the monologizing colonial traveloguei. My methodological retracing of the slave route is inspired by Danish author Thorkild Hansen’s book trilogy Coast of Slaves, Ships of Slaves and Islands of Slaves from the 1960s in which he visits the former Danish West Indies and the Gold Coast (in the, at the time of his visit, still very young Ghanaian nation, which had gained its independence from Great Britain in 1957). Hansen was one of the first Danish authors to voice a strong critique of the Danish colonial past and of a neglectful historiography through his docu-fiction. I was curious to explore in a parallel movement to Hansen’s the landscape as prism and archive today. Hence, the ‘reenactment’ of the travelogue in this essay functions as an attempt to recast and refracture colonial narratives of past and present. My own documentary audio recordings from the field trip are presented here along with methodological reflections on how to voice dialogical narratives about colonialism in new digital media.

Dialogical narrative approach to enhance critical thinking and student engagement during lecturebased classes

Introduction: The dialogical narrative (DN) approach is an interactive teaching method designed and applied to the teaching of physiology to medical students. It uses an interactive conversational style within a narrative design. This study sought to answer the question “How do medical students perceive the effectiveness of the DN approach in promoting participation, engaged learning and critical thinking?” Methods: Physiological subject matter was presented to a class of second-year medical students in a manner that combined storytelling and a question–answer conversational style. Soon after, two focus group sessions, each with seven participants, were conducted to determine the students’ perceptions of the effectiveness of the approach. Recordings from focus group sessions were transcribed and subjected to qualitative thematic analysis, informed by narrative inquiry and dialogism. Results: Analysis revealed that students felt the DN approach: encouraged critical thinking, was more engaging and conducive to active participation than traditional didactic lectures and provided a narrative flow and logical progression of material. The approach challenged students who were not used to public speaking and encouraged students to be well prepared. The teacher needed to upskill in managing the approach and asking the right questions. Conclusions: The students were divided between those who feel comfortable with active, open dialogue in the class and those who do not, but most believed the interactions fostered skills that are important. Most students preferred the DN approach over traditional lectures. The great strength of the DN approach is the manner in which it integrates practical teaching measures within a sound theoretical framework.

Khosois al-Haj 'Abd Al-Malik ibn Karim Amrullah (HAMKA) Al-Adabiyah fi Riwayah ‘Adalah Ilahiyah

This study aims to identify the characteristics of the great Indonesian literary work Haji Abdul Malik bin Karim Amrullah (Hamka) in his novel ‘Keadilan Ilahi’ (Divine Justice), this work is one of the literary heritage of the old Indonesian poet that is rarely found by readers of Indonesian literary works in libraries throughout the Malay Islands, especially in Indonesia. Specifically, this research attempts to explain the characteristics of Hamka's literature, which is represented in narrative language and in a very subtle and directed language style when raising the theme of his novel. The importance of this research is because of the knowledge of the unique techniques possessed by Hamka in writing this novel, this work is no less flashy and prestige than the work of other novels such as ‘ Tengelamnya Kapal Van der Wijck’ (Sinking of the Van der Wijck) and ‘Di bawah Naungan Ka’bah’ (Under the Protection of the Kaaba). This study uses literary analysis methods that examine narrative techniques, dialogue, internal dialogue, retrieval, message delivery, and monologues used by Hamka in his novels. The second is to study Hamka's techniques in the novel by presenting parts of novel texts in Indonesian and providing the proposed Arabic translation.

What Can Discourse Markers Tell Us about Genres and Vice Versa? A Corpus-Driven Study of French Belgian Sign Language (LSFB)

This paper focuses on the use of three discourse markers—namely list buoys, palm‑up and same—across genres in French Belgian Sign Language. Our sample contains argumentative, explanatory, metalinguistic and narrative dialogues produced by six signers. We present a functional description of the three discourse markers and their distribution across genres. palm-up and same are highly polyfunctional, whereas list buoys express fewer functions in the dataset. In our sample, there are few differences in frequency of use of the three discourse markers and their functions across genres.

Transforming Health Experience and Action through Shifting the Narrative on Obesity in Primary Care Encounters.

We sought to understand the impact of primary care conversations about obesity on people’s everyday life health experience and practices. Using a dialogic narrative perspective, we examined key moments in three very different clinical encounters, the patients’ journals, and follow-up interviews over several weeks. We trace how people living with obesity negotiate narrative alternatives that are offered during clinical dialogue to transform their own narrative and experience of obesity and self. Findings provide pragmatic insights into how providers can play a significant role in shifting narratives about obesity and self and how such co-constructed narratives translate into change and tangible health outcomes in people’s lives.

Language beyond the language system: Dorsal visuospatial pathways support processing of demonstratives and spatial language during naturalistic fast fMRI

Spatial demonstratives are powerful linguistic tools used to establish joint attention. Identifying the meaning of semantically underspecified expressions like “this one” hinges on the integration of linguistic and visual cues, attentional orienting and pragmatic inference. This synergy between language and extralinguistic cognition is pivotal to language comprehension in general, but especially prominent in demonstratives.In this study, we aimed to elucidate which neural architectures enable this intertwining between language and extralinguistic cognition using a naturalistic fMRI paradigm. In our experiment, 28 participants listened to a specially crafted dialogical narrative with a controlled number of spatial demonstratives. A fast multiband-EPI acquisition sequence (TR = 388 m s) combined with finite impulse response (FIR) modelling of the hemodynamic response was used to capture signal changes at word-level resolution.We found that spatial demonstratives bilaterally engage a network of parietal areas, including the supramarginal gyrus, the angular gyrus, and precuneus, implicated in information integration and visuospatial processing. Moreover, demonstratives recruit frontal regions, including the right FEF, implicated in attentional orienting and reference frames shifts. Finally, using multivariate similarity analyses, we provide evidence for a general involvement of the dorsal (“where”) stream in the processing of spatial expressions, as opposed to ventral pathways encoding object semantics.Overall, our results suggest that language processing relies on a distributed architecture, recruiting neural resources for perception, attention, and extra-linguistic aspects of cognition in a dynamic and context-dependent fashion.