Narrative Research, once the domain of structuralist literary theory, has over the last 15 years developed into an international and interdisciplinary field. It is now commonly agreed that storytelling functions as a fundamental cognitive tool for sense-making and meaning production, and that human beings structure and communicate lived experience through oral, written and visual stories. Entitled Narratology in the Age of Cross-Disciplinary Narrative Research, this volume collects fifteen essays which look at narrative and narrativity from various perspectives, including literary studies and hermeneutics, cognitive theory and creativity research, metaphor studies, film theory and intermediality, as well as memory studies, musicology, theology and psychology. The topics touch on a wide range of issues, such as the current state of narratology and its potential for development, narrativity in visual and auditive art forms, the cultural functions of narrative, and the role of narrative concepts across the disciplines. The volume introduces interested newcomers to the ongoing debate, reflecting the diversity of research questions and methodological approaches involved. It takes a critical, yet cautiously optimistic stance with regard to the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration between narrative researchers, and invites experienced readers from any discipline interested in narrative to join this important debate, which promotes the exchange of ideas, concepts and methods between the humanities and the social sciences.

Situating Walter Macken in the literary and cultural contexts of his time, this collection of essays provides introductions to the different aspects of the author's multifaceted oeuvre, sets out to explain his enormous success on the stage and as a writer of fiction, and comments on how Macken contributed to shaping an image of the young Republic of Ireland for his national and international audience. Drawing on a variety of theoretical approaches from historical criticism, to narrative theory and gender studies, the overview articles as well as the in-depth analyses and interpretations assembled in this volume address issues that are of particular relevance to Irish literary and cultural studies today. They shed light on the historicity of some and the topicality of other aspects of Macken's ideas about community life, the promises and pitfalls of 20th- century capitalism, sex, gender and sexuality (with a special emphasis on Macken's construction of masculinity), generational conflicts, emigration and questions of ethnicity. They also evaluate Macken's 'sensational' realist aesthetics and their ideological implications. In an interview with the editors, Macken's sons share personal memories revolving around issues such as their father's writing routines in the family home in Oughterard or the author's marriage to Peggy Macken.