Ustream

Brian Boyd, "Naturalistic Literary Theory and Naturalistic Literary Criticism" :

Among the many possibilities for exploring literature with the aid of the methods and results of science are a literary theory and a literary criticism that take into account our deep evolutionary past and our complex neural present. I will explore what difference a scientific and naturalist literary theory and criticism can make and how they remain compatible with the openness, suggestiveness and subjectivity of literature. For the critical part of the paper, I will take Shakespeare's Hamlet as a familiar and rich example.