Photograph by Sarah Lagrotteria. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster

Name: Angus Fletcher, PhD

Specialty: Professor of story science & Literature at Ohio State’s Project Narrative

Location: Ohio State University. Columbus, OH

Today we are excited to have Angus Fletcher with us on the show. He is a professor of story science and literature at Ohio State University’s Project Narrative. He completed dual degrees in neuroscience and literature before receiving his PhD in literature from Yale. In addition to his teaching and research, Angus also serves a story consultant for Sony, Disney, BBC, Amazon, PBS and NBC/Universal.  Unlike many literary academics, critics and perhaps your high school English teacher, Angus takes a very different approach to literary scholarship. He studies literature’s practical usefulness, and the science behind it.  

His new book, “Wonderworks. The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature,” explores literature as a series of unique and innovative discoveries. These literary inventions had, and continue to have, unique problem-solving functions. Problem-solving functions that can now be studied with the modern tools and methods of neuroscience. 

Links and Resources:

Angus Fletcher Profile: https://english.osu.edu/people/fletcher.300

OSU Project Narrative: https://projectnarrative.osu.edu/about/current-research/research-projects/angus-fletcher

Wonderworks Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Wonderworks/Angus-Fletcher/9781982135973

McKinsey Review: https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-on-books/author-talks-angus-fletcher-on-the-power-of-literature

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