1st Talks and Drinks Art History Guest Lecture - STEVEN WILLEMSEN: 'Who's Afraid of Ambiguities & Open Endings? Personality and Preferences for Narrative Complexity'

Contemporary film and television have popularized forms of storytelling that strategically defy narrative sense-making—presenting unreliable narrators, temporal loops, or enigmatic ambiguities. But wherein lies the attractiveness of perplexing fiction? In everyday life, people are known to vary in their willingness and ability to cope with uncertainties or ambiguity. Could the same personality factors influence the enjoyment of such epistemic states in stories? And if so, which personality traits are the most influential? Combining narratology, cognitive psychology, and empirical aesthetics, this talk examines the links.

The talk will be followed by informal discussion, drinks and snacks.

Information: Dr. Jesús Rodríguez Viejo