Bushell (2020) 8 Reading As Mapping, or, What Cannot Be Visualised

Internal Visualization of Literary Worlds: Each literary work creates a unique world accessible only through reading, requiring full mental engagement.

Readerly Visualization as Communication: The act of reading involves evoking mental images and understanding spatial experiences through visualization, leading to cognitive mapping.

Cognitive Mapping Models: Combines immediate route mapping with abstract geometric base mapping, varying by individual imagination dominance.

Historical Context: Cognitive mapping in literature has roots in earlier philosophical and psychological models, including phenomenological and spatial reader-response theories.

Gadamer and Iser: Gadamer’s philosophy of understanding relates to reader-response theory by emphasizing spatial engagement through intentional horizons; Iser stresses the reader's participatory role in meaning-making, moving through the text as if mapping it internally.

Conscious vs. Subconscious Memory: Yates and Carruthers highlight memory mapping techniques, showing that both subconscious and conscious spatial memorization processes are integral to understanding texts.

Certeau's Poacher: Certeau describes readers as active participants who 'poach' meaning from texts, transforming static texts into personally meaningful spaces.

Mapping Relations: Different mapping strategies (hierarchical, route-centred, or vista models) have developed, influencing how individuals mentally map environments.

Role of Anchor Points: Significant landmarks or 'anchors' in texts simplify navigation, occurring in both cognitive maps constructed from narratives and actual geographic mapping.

Digital Mapping Implications: GIS technology revolutionizes literature mapping by enabling the visual representation of narrative spaces, although caution is advised against overly relying on real-world coordinates.

Proposed Models for Digital Literary Mapping: Emphasizes dynamic, layered, and relative mapping strategies that respect the fictional nature of texts alongside real-world connections.

Challenges and Future Directions: Urges interdisciplinary exploration to enhance literary cartography through innovative digital practices and models that integrate cognitive experiences with narrative structures.