Psychonarratology of Resentment. Trans- and intermedial modeling of consciousness in narrative media (Literature, Film, Comic)

• Applicant: Dr. Florian Scheruebl
• Subject Area: German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature)
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 556111612

The project investigates the narrative representation of the psychological dimension of resentment in the (popular) narrative media of literature, film and comics in the twentieth century. The focus of the project is on the trans- and intermedial exchange of these three media concerning the representation of psychic life. The project considers how psychological experience (i.e. psyche/consciousness) is modeled in different media using the example of the experience of resentment (transmedial approach) as well as how these media exchange with each other modes of representing consciousness (intermedial approach). The project sets itself the task of supplementing the narrative research field of psychonarratology, which so far has been dominated by research in the field of cognitive emotion research and reader response theory, with approaches from literary and media studies. In doing so, the project pursues two subgoals: It works through the representations of resentment in literature, comics and film in the 20th century (Objective 1). It argues that resentment is an excellent subject for investigating the narrative representation of psychological experience in the narrative media of literature, film and comics. Thus, dealing with resentment as a theme of (popular) narrative media opens up a privileged opportunity to expand the hitherto little elaborated methodology of psychonarratology trans- and intermedially, enabling differentiations at a higher level of systematization (Objective 2).

• DFG Programme: WBP Position