Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room
In Man Walks into a Room, a neuronovel staging an amnesiac, Nicole Krauss challenges the memory-identity equation. While she draws on neuroscience, she also writes against it, as she emphasizes the explanatory gap and the problem of qualia. To resist the growing authority of neuroscience and its oft...
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European Association for American Studies
2021-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17512 |
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| author | Pascale Antolin |
| author_facet | Pascale Antolin |
| author_sort | Pascale Antolin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Man Walks into a Room, a neuronovel staging an amnesiac, Nicole Krauss challenges the memory-identity equation. While she draws on neuroscience, she also writes against it, as she emphasizes the explanatory gap and the problem of qualia. To resist the growing authority of neuroscience and its often reductionist discourse, Krauss features a neurosurgeon as a mad scientist coming straight out of a science-fiction novel, who uses discursive strategies borrowed from the humanities. She also displays the power and plasticity of literary narrative. Hence, her generic experimentations—borrowing from traditional genres, revising and combining them—are far more successful than her scientist’s brain experiments. In numerous passages focused on ordinary moments of life, Krauss draws her reader’s attention to the singularity of experience and the power of storytelling, through figuration in particular, to account for it. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-237b9e6ba1d8423a83ea16dd94ffffeb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-237b9e6ba1d8423a83ea16dd94ffffeb2025-01-06T09:08:42ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362021-12-0116410.4000/ejas.17512Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a RoomPascale AntolinIn Man Walks into a Room, a neuronovel staging an amnesiac, Nicole Krauss challenges the memory-identity equation. While she draws on neuroscience, she also writes against it, as she emphasizes the explanatory gap and the problem of qualia. To resist the growing authority of neuroscience and its often reductionist discourse, Krauss features a neurosurgeon as a mad scientist coming straight out of a science-fiction novel, who uses discursive strategies borrowed from the humanities. She also displays the power and plasticity of literary narrative. Hence, her generic experimentations—borrowing from traditional genres, revising and combining them—are far more successful than her scientist’s brain experiments. In numerous passages focused on ordinary moments of life, Krauss draws her reader’s attention to the singularity of experience and the power of storytelling, through figuration in particular, to account for it.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17512genreneuronovelNicole Kraussamnesiaconsciousnessexplanatory gap |
| spellingShingle | Pascale Antolin Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room European Journal of American Studies genre neuronovel Nicole Krauss amnesia consciousness explanatory gap |
| title | Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room |
| title_full | Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room |
| title_fullStr | Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room |
| title_short | Neurological Impairment and Literary Empowerment in Nicole Krauss’s Man Walks into a Room |
| title_sort | neurological impairment and literary empowerment in nicole krauss s man walks into a room |
| topic | genre neuronovel Nicole Krauss amnesia consciousness explanatory gap |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/17512 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT pascaleantolin neurologicalimpairmentandliteraryempowermentinnicolekrausssmanwalksintoaroom |