This study analyzes an oral performance of the entire Gospel of Mark, with emphasis on involvement with characters and events, the emotional effects of such involvement, and how these processes maintain or shape the identity of those who hear the Gospel. Insights from cognitive poetics and psychonarratology are employed to illuminate the complex, cognitive processes that take place when audience members experience an oral performance of the Gospel. Consequently, this study expands previous research on the Gospel of Mark which was conducted on the basis of narrative criticism, orality criticism, and performance criticism by including cognitive aspects. Cognitive poetics and psychonarratology have to my knowledge not been extensively employed to illuminate an oral performance of the Gospel of Mark previously. This investigation provides: (1) An original, coherent theoretical and methodological framework; (2) An analysis of mechanisms which promote involvement with characters and events in the Markan narrative; (3) An examination of the prospective emotional effects of such involvement; (4) Reflections on the potential of these mechanisms with regard to identity maintenance or formation through cultural memory; (5) A cognitive poetic commentary on the entire Gospel of Mark.

The story of Joseph and Aseneth is a fascinating expansion of the narrative in Genesis of Joseph in Egypt, and in particular, of his marriage to the daughter of an Egyptian priest. This study examines the portrayal of Aseneth's transformation in the text, focusing on three perspectives. How did Aseneth's encounter with Joseph and her subsequent transformation affect various aspects of her identity in the narrative? In what ways do the portrayals of Aseneth, her transformation, and her abode relate to select metaphors and other symbolic features depicted in the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible, and the Pseudepigrapha? And, how do the ritualized components through which Aseneth's transformation occurred function in the narrative, and why are they perceived as effective? In order to shed light on these facets of Joseph and Aseneth, the author draws on the contemporary approaches of intersectionality, conceptual blending, intertextual blending, and the cognitive theory of rituals, using these theoretical frameworks to explore and illuminate the complexity of Aseneth's transformation.