Overview

From Homer's epics to mainstream news, stories have lives of their own—and humans may not always control the narratives we create Combining ancient epic and myth with analogies from biology and the natural world, Joel P. Christensen explores the creative process and how narratives develop. This bold work urges readers to treat narratives as living things with their own agency in the world. Christensen starts by using Homeric epic to explore the way language and meaning develop alongside audiences in complex ecosystems and then moves through storytelling in the ancient Mediterranean over a thousand years. In this study, which ranges from the evolution of narratives to viral ideas, and to the dangerous side of stories in mass shootings and war, we see how narratives function as independent entities with consequences that cause lasting harm. Connecting his argument to the present day, Christensen addresses contemporary cultural panics, including AI and ChatGPT, ""post-truth"" or alt-facts in the digital age, and free speech and cancel culture. Storylife invites readers to rethink human creativity, the importance of collective actions, and the lives we build together with and against narrative. In an age rife with misinformation, it is time to reconsider how much control we have over stories and how to educate ourselves once we acknowledge the power that narrative exerts over us.

Full Product Details

9780300269239

Table of Contents

Reviews

"“Storylife is a beautifully written, wide-ranging book about narratives. It’s not often you encounter Homer under the same cover as DNA and Neuroscience. But Joel Christensen makes it work. I highly recommend Storylife.”—Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves and The Four Realms of Existence   ""A fascinating exploration of the role of story in how we conceive our selves and construe our worlds."" —Mark Turner, author of The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language  "

"“Written with great learning and elegance this stunningly original book changes not only how we think about Greek epic but how stories make and break us in the present as well as the past.”—Candida Moss, author of God's Ghostwriters   “Storylife asks compelling questions about stories and how they change. Written with a touching humanity, it focuses on Homer but reflects on a broad range of topics, from cognitive science to ChatGPT, from education to Covid-19.”—Helen Morales, author of Antigone Rising ""A fascinating exploration of the role of story in how we conceive our selves and construe our worlds."" —Mark Turner, author of The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language   “Storylife is a beautifully written, wide-ranging book about narratives. It’s not often you encounter Homer under the same cover as DNA and Neuroscience. But Joel Christensen makes it work. I highly recommend Storylife.”—Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves and The Four Realms of Existence  "

“Christensen’s engaging style and stimulating ventures through a wide range of academic perspectives are certain to appeal to a much wider audience. Such projects are especially vital in our historical moment when one of the most common biological terms applied to the field of classics (and indeed the humanities more broadly) is ‘extinction.’”—Courtney J. P. Friesen, Current ""A powerful book . . . intellectually stimulating and ethically compelling in equal measure.""—John Holmes, The British Society for Literature and Science “Written with great learning and elegance, this stunningly original book changes not only how we think about Greek epic but how stories make and break us in the present as well as the past.”—Candida Moss, author of God’s Ghostwriters “Weaving effortlessly between the biological sciences and literary criticism, Storylife trains its sights on the many-sided potencies of narrative. Faithful to the lessons of the Homeric epics, Storylife cautions us to be wary of narrative’s Siren-like capacity to bewitch. A stirring account of storytelling’s dynamism and allure.”—Dan-el Padilla Peralta, author of Classicism and Other Phobias “Storylife asks compelling questions about stories and how they change. Written with a touching humanity, it focuses on Homer but reflects on a broad range of topics, from cognitive science to ChatGPT, from education to Covid-19.”—Helen Morales, author of Antigone Rising “A fascinating exploration of the role of story in how we conceive our selves and construe our worlds.”—Mark Turner, author of The Literary Mind: The Origins of Thought and Language “Storylife is a beautifully written, wide-ranging book about narratives. It’s not often you encounter Homer under the same cover as DNA and neuroscience. But Joel Christensen makes it work. I highly recommend Storylife.”—Joseph LeDoux, author of The Deep History of Ourselves and The Four Realms of Existence

Author Information

Joel P. Christensen is professor of Classical and Early Mediterranean Studies at Brandeis University. He is the author of The Many-Minded Man: The “Odyssey,” Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic and coauthor of Homer: A Beginner’s Guide. He lives in Medford, MA.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available