Regaining Control: Neurodiverse Reading and Cognitive Difference in the Neuro-memoir.

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By developing a reader-response framework, an approach to a text that focuses on the reader's understanding of the content as opposed to the author's viewpoint or the text's structure, this project will explore the extent to which neuroscientific discussions regarding the effects of schizophrenia on the brain influence representations and understandings of the condition within the schizophrenic memoir. Memoirs authored by those with a schizophrenic spectrum condition are a growing literary sub-genre that remains largely unexplored. Using interdisciplinary methodologies to draw attention to the mind and the brain of the non-schizophrenic reader of the schizophrenic memoir will demonstrate how multidisciplinary perspectives of a condition can challenge conventional understandings of the notions of health and well-being. In turn, this will make treatment and support for schizophrenia more socially accessible as well as providing a humanistic insight for scientific, medical and psychoanalytical practitioners, meaning ultimately that social policy will also be changed over time.This project will be separated into three sections:Section 1: Contextualisation (2018-9)This section will initially focus on the development of the memoir genre. Once key features of the broader memoir genre have been established I will explore the emerging subgenres, focusing on the neuro-memoir. I will then outline how the schizophrenic neuro-memoir has become a subgenre with its own distinct multidisciplinary tropes that demand attention under the neuro-critical lens. During this year I will establish working relationships with interviewees, support and reading groups.Section 2: Areas of complexity (2019-20)Focus here will be on additional areas of complexity that arise within the schizophrenic memoir. These will be:- The ethical concerns surrounding the responsibility an author has in their representation of schizophrenia.- How perceptions of reality are challenged within the schizophrenic neuro-memoir not only through forms of hallucinations but through prescribed psychoactive drugs.- Exploring these ethical concerns and challenges as an emulation of the struggle for control an individual has over their own identity due to the condition and their treatment experiences.Section 3: Defining a Neurodiverse Reading Approach (2020-21)With the distinctness of the schizophrenic neuro-memoir highlighted and the ethical concerns outlined, the relationship between the neuro-memoir and the reader can be used to outline a neurodiverse reading approach. Two distinct areas will be highlighted;- The advantages and disadvantages of utilising neuroscientific dialogues surrounding cognitive deficits to understand schizophrenia as presented in the neuro-memoir and the effect it has on a reader's understanding of the literary narrative and mental well-being.- The influences upon the non-schizophrenic reader that impact the reading process and thus the potential social impact of the schizophrenic neuro-memoir.