School of English

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Image of Peter Stockwell

Peter Stockwell

Professor of Literary Linguistics, Faculty of Arts

Contact

Biography

BA English Language and Literature (Liverpool 1988)

PhD (Liverpool 1991)

FEA (Fellow of the English Association) (from 2012)

I work in literary linguistics; cognitive poetics; stylistics; applied linguistics; science fiction; surrealism. I maintain an interest in sociolinguistics and in language education both in the UK and across the world. I have been a Vice-Dean, and Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement. I have also spent 20 years involved in digital online education.

Teaching Summary

I don't see myself as a teacher in a direct sense. Instead I view my classes as places where research in literary linguistics - including my own - is presented to students for their own thinking.

Literary linguistics takes our best current knowledge of language and reading and applies it to questions of interpretation, aesthetics, literary value and criticism. My view is that it is the best and the proper way of pursuing literary scholarship. Any student who comes to one of my classes will be faced with a challenge to become a stylistician - and thereby to become a better literary critic, and a better thinker.

I believe that university classes should be intense, engaging and intellectually uncomfortable. The journey from new student of stylistics to a position of power over texts and readings is surprisingly short, and the best part of my job is seeing the light of understanding flick on in students' faces when they see what stylistics can do for them.

The measure of my success is not in snapshot surveys, module evaluations nor even the grades my students achieve: success is when one of my students, in 20 years time, takes a decision, or understands a part of their life, or takes a different direction from the one that otherwise they might have taken, as a delicate threaded and immeasurable consequence of something we worked through together years previously - and their life is enhanced by it.

Research Summary

Visit my Academia page for full details of my research. You will be able to download some of my work there: most articles beyond a year or so ago, plus the full text of some books. Please do support… read more

Selected Publications

  • P. STOCKWELL, 2020. Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction Second edition. Routledge.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2017. The Language of Surrealism Palgrave Macmillan.
  • M. MAHLBERG, P. STOCKWELL and V. WIEGAND, 2017. Corpus Stylistics: An Activity Book for Teachers NATE.
  • P. STOCKWELL and S. WHITELEY, eds., 2014. The Handbook of Stylistics. Cambridge University Press.

I welcome proposals for doctoral research in the broad area of literary linguistics. All of my previous research students not only completed their PhDs but also secured significant academic posts very soon after graduating. Many of them are now major figures in the field. My approach to doctoral supervision is to produce fully-rounded academics who will be regarded as important thinkers in literary linguistics.

Current Research

Visit my Academia page for full details of my research. You will be able to download some of my work there: most articles beyond a year or so ago, plus the full text of some books. Please do support publishers by recommending books and journals to your library.

I work in literary linguistics, which broadly covers the fields of stylistics, narratology, cognitive poetics, and the sociolinguistics of literary reading. View my vodcast about Literary Linguistics.

  • P. STOCKWELL, 2024. 'A new ecology of language'. In: M. DREWNIOK and M. KUZNIAK, eds., From Ego to Eco: Applied Cognitive Stylistics in the New Era
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2024. ‘Style in its contexts – the case of John Donne’. In: J. GAVINS and S. ZYNGIER, eds., Style as Motivated Choice: In Memory of Peter Verdonk (1934-2021) John Benjamins.
  • NOLETTO, I.A.C., NORLEDGE, J. and STOCKWELL, P., eds., 2024. Reading Fictional Languages Edinburgh University Press.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2024. 'Unspeakable languages'. In: I.A.C. NOLETTO, J. NORLEDGE and P. STOCKWELL, eds., Reading Fictional Languages Edinburgh University Press.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2023. 'Can children read irony? A cautionary tale'. In: A. CERMÁKOVÁ and M. MAHLBERG, eds., Children’s Literature and Childhood Discourses: Exploring Identity Through Fiction Bloomsbury.
  • GREGORY, R., NORLEDGE, J., STOCKWELL, P. and SZUDARSKI, P., 2022. Digital Teaching for Linguistics Routledge.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2022. 'Language, style and texture'. In: P.C. HOGAN, B. IRISH and L.P HOGAN, eds., The Routledge Companion to Literature and Emotion Routledge. 283-93
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2022. 'Mind-modelling literary personas' Journal of Literary Semantics. 51(2), 131-46
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2022. 'The iconicity of style in contemporary science fiction' English Studies. 103(3), 494-511
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2022. 'The principle of moments'. In: G. WATSON and S. ZYNGIER, eds., Pedagogical Stylistics in the 21st Century Palgrave Macmillan. 107-29
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2021. ‘In defence of introspection’. In: A. BELL, S. BROWSE, A. GIBBONS and D. PEPLOW, eds., Style and Reader Response: Minds, Media, Methods Benjamins. 165-78
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2021. ‘Re-cognising Free Indirect Discourse’. In: M. GIOVANELLI, C. HARRISON and L. NUTTALL, eds., New Directions in Cognitive Grammar and Style Bloomsbury. 17-34
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2021. ‘The cognition of impossible languages’ Вестник Московского университета. Серия 9 ФИЛОЛОГИЯ [Moscow University Bulletin. Series 9 Philology].
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2020. Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction Second edition. Routledge.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2020. ‘Chrysanthemums for Bill: on Lawrentian style and stylistics’. In: P. SIMPSON, ed., Style, Rhetoric and Creativity in Language: In Memory of Walter (Bill) Nash (1926-2015) 37-55
  • M. MAHLBERG, A. HENNESSEY, P. STOCKWELL and V. WIEGAND, 2020. ‘Speech-bundles in the 19th-century English novel’ Language and Literature. 28(4), 326-53
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2020. ‘Literary dialect as social deixis’ Language and Literature. 29(4), 358-72
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2019. 'Immersion and emergence in children’s literature'. In: B. NEUROHR and L. STEWART-SHAW, eds., Experiencing Fictional Worlds: Where Does a Text Take a Reader? 15-32
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2019. ‘Shelley’s dominion: subliminal and ambient tonal effects across a literary work’. In: C. HART, ed., Cognitive Linguistic Approaches to Text and Discourse: From Poetics to Politics Edinburgh University Press. 20-36
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2017. The Language of Surrealism Palgrave Macmillan.
  • M. MAHLBERG, P. STOCKWELL and V. WIEGAND, 2017. Corpus Stylistics: An Activity Book for Teachers NATE.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2017. 'Poe's Gothic ambience'. In: L. BARONE and A. AMENDOLA, eds., Edgar Allan Poe Across Disciplines, Genres and Languages Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 7-23
  • M. MAHLBERG, P. STOCKWELL and V. WIEGAND, 2017. 'Corpus Linguistics in action: the fireplace pose in 19th century fiction' The Programming Historian.
  • M. MAHLBERG and P. STOCKWELL, 2016. ‘Point and CLiC: teaching literature with corpus stylistic tools’. In: M. BURKE, O. FIALHO and S. ZYNGIER, eds., Scientific Approaches to Literature in Learning Environments John Benjamins. 251-67
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2016. ‘The texture of authorial intention’. In: J. GAVINS and E. LAHEY, eds., World Building: Discourse in the Mind Bloomsbury. 147-64
  • M. MAHLBERG, J. DE JOODE, C. SMITH, P. STOCKWELL and M. O'DONNELL, 2016. ‘CLiC Dickens – novel uses of concordances for the integration of corpus stylistics and cognitive poetics’ Corpora. 11(3),
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2016. ‘English Language Studies from Rhetoric to Applied English’. In: A. HEWINGS, L. PRESCOTT and P. SEARGEANT, eds., Futures for English Studies: Teaching Language, Literature and Creative Writing in Higher Education Palgrave Macmillan. 215-32
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2016. 'Texture'. In: V. SOTIROVA, ed., The Bloomsbury Companion to Stylistics Bloomsbury. 458-73
  • P. STOCKWELL and M. MAHLBERG, 2015. 'Mind-modelling with corpus stylistics in David Copperfield' Language and Literature. 24(2), 129-47
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2015. 'Cognitive stylistics'. In: R. JONES, ed., The Routledge Handbook of Language and Creativity Routledge. 218-30
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2015. 'Poetics'. In: E. DABROWSKA and D. DIVJAK, eds., The Handbook of Cognitive Linguistics. de Gruyter Mouton.
  • P. STOCKWELL and S. WHITELEY, 2014. 'Introduction'. In: The Cambridge Handbook of Stylistics Cambridge University Press.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2014. 'Creative reading, world and style in Ben Jonson's "To Celia"'. In: B. DANCYGIER, M. BORKENT and J. HINNELL, eds., Language in the Creative Mind. CSLI.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2014. 'War, worlds and Cognitive Grammar'. In: C. HARRISON, L. NUTTALL, P. STOCKWELL and W. YUAN, eds., Cognitive Grammar in Literature. Benjamins.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2014. 'Atmosphere and tone'. In: P. STOCKWELL and S. WHITELEY, eds., The Handbook of Stylistics. Cambridge University Press.
  • C. HARRISON, L. NUTTALL, P. STOCKWELL and W. YUAN, eds., 2014. Cognitive Grammar in Literature John Benjamins.
  • P. STOCKWELL and S. WHITELEY, eds., 2014. The Handbook of Stylistics. Cambridge University Press.
  • P. STOCKWELL, 2013. 'The positioned reader' Language and Literature. 22(3), 263-77
  • C. HARRISON and P. STOCKWELL, 2013. 'Cognitive poetics'. In: J. LITTLEMORE and J. TAYLOR, eds., The Companion to Cognitive Linguistics. de Gruyter Mouton.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'Textual analysis and stylistics'. In: CLAYTON, D., ed., Language: A Student Handbook on Key Topics and Theories English and Media Centre. 150-62
  • STOCKWEL, P.J., 2012. 'How to speak Venusian' Babel. 8-11
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. Ethics and imagination in literary reading. In: JONES, R.H., ed., Discourse and creativity Pearson.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'Peter Stockwell'. In: BUNGAARD, P.; NIELSEN, H.S. AND STJERNFELT, F., ed., Five Questions: Narrative Theories and Poetics
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'The reader's paradox'. In: BURKE, M. AND CSABI, S., ed., Current Trends in Pedagogical Stylistics Continuum.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'The surrealist experiments with language'. In: BRAY, J.; GIBBONS, A. AND MCHALE, B., ed., The Routledge Companion to Experimental Literature Routledge.
  • GAVINS, J., and STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'About the heart, where it hurt exactly, and how often' Language and Literature. 21(1), 33-50
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2012. 'The Aesthetics of Science Fiction'. In: The Oxford Handbook of Science Fiction Oxford University Press.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2011. 'Accommodating identity in cognitive sociolinguistics' Cahiers du CEL: Centre d'Etudes Linguistiques, Lyon.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2011. 'Authenticity and creativity in reading lamentation'. In: SWANN, J.; POPE, R. AND CARTER, R., ed., Creativity in Language Palgrave. 203-16
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2011. 'Changing minds in narrative' Style. 45(2), 299-91
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2011. Cognitive Poetics (Arabic translation) (Trans. Salwa Nugali). King Saud University Press.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. 'Language, knowledge and the stylistics of science fiction'. In: KRSTOVIC, J., ed., Short Story Criticism Gale Cengage.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. 'Humanity and the art of literary linguistics' Acta Linguistica Hafniensis: International Journal of Linguistics. 42(1), 103-16
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. The eleventh checksheet of the apocalypse. In: MCINTYRE, D. and BUSSE, B., eds., Language and style: in honour of Mick Short Palgrave Macmillan.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. 'Cognitive poetics'. In: HOGAN, P.C., ed., Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Language Sciences Cambridge University Press. 169-71
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. 'Review: Rajend Mesthrie, Joan Swann, Ana Deumert and William Leap's Introducing Sociolinguistics (EUP, 2009)' Journal of Sociolinguistics. 13(5), 698-701
  • JACKSON, H. AND STOCKWELL, P, 2010. An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language Second edition. Continuum.
  • MULLANY, L. J. & STOCKWELL, P.J., 2010. Introducing English Language: A Resource Book for Students London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2009. The cognitive poetics of literary resonance Language and Cognition. 1(1), 25-44
  • LLAMAS, C. and STOCKWELL, P.J., 2009. 'Sociolinguistics'. In: SCHMITT, N., ed., An Introduction to Applied Linguistics (second edition). Arnold.
  • STOCKWELL, P., 2009. Texture: a cognitive aesthetics of reading Edinburgh University Press.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'Review: Dan McIntyre's Point of View in Plays (Benjamins, 2006)' Language and Literature. 17(1), 99-101
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'Cartographies of cognitive poetics' Pragmatics and Cognition. 16(3), 587-98
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'The year's work in stylistics: 2007' Language and Literature. 17(4), 351-63
  • CARTER, R. and STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'Stylistics: retrospect and prospect'. In: CARTER, R AND STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., The Language and Literature Reader Routledge. 291-302
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'Kognitivna poetika a literarna teoria': (Slovak translation of 'Cognitive poetics and literary theory (2007)' Slovak Review of World Literature Research. 17, 51-66
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2008. 'Situating cognitive approaches to narrative analysis'. In: BRONE, G. AND VANDAELE, J., ed., Cognitive Poetics: Goals, Gains and Gaps Mouton de Gruyter. 119-23
  • CARTER, R. A. & STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., 2008. The Language and Literature Reader London: Routledge. (In Press.)
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2007. 'Cognitive poetics and literary theory' Journal of Literary Theory. 1(1), 135-52
  • LLAMAS, C., MULLANY, L. and STOCKWELL, P.J., 2007. 'Introduction'. In: The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics Routledge. xv-xviii
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2007. Sociolinguistics 2nd edition. London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J. & TRASK, L., 2007. Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts (3rd edition). London: Routledge.
  • LAMBROU, M. & STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., 2007. Contemporary Stylistics London: Continuum. (In Press.)
  • LLAMAS, C. and MULLANY, L. J. & STOCKWELL, P.J., eds., 2007. The Routledge Companion to Sociolinguistics London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2006. 'On cognitive poetics and stylistics'. In: VEIVO, H.; PETTERSON, B. AND POLVINEN, M., ed., Cognition and Literary Interpretation in Practice University of Helsinki Press. 267-82
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2006. 'On teaching literature itself'. In: WATSON, G. AND ZYNGIER, S., ed., Literature and Stylistics for Language Learners Palgrave. 15-24
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2006. Cognitive Poetics (Japanese translation) (trans. Sigeko Uchida). Tuttle-Mori.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2006. Poetyka Kognitywna: Wprowadzenie (Polish translation of Cognitive Poetics, by Edyta Podolska-Frej). Towarzystwo Autorow i Wydawcow Prac Naukowych Universitas.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2005. 'Stylistics: language and literature'. In: AARTS, B. AND MCMAHON, A., ed., The Handbook of English Linguistics Blackwell.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2005. 'Schema theory: stylistic applications'. In: BROWN, K., ed., The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (second edition). Elsevier.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2005. 'Invented language in literature'. In: BROWN, K., ed., The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (second edition). Elsevier.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2005. 'Texture and identification' European Journal of English Studies. 9(2), 143-53
  • ROBSON, M. & STOCKWELL, P.J., 2005. Language in Theory London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2004. 'Science fiction'. In: HERMAN, D.; JAHN, M. AND RYAN, M-L., ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2004. 'Surrealist narrative'. In: HERMAN, D.; JAHN, M. AND RYAN, M-L., ed., Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2003. 'Review: Linda Thomas and Sian Wareing's Language, Society and Power (Routledge, 1999)' Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2003. 'Surreal figures'. In: GAVINS, J. AND STEEN, G., ed., Cognitive Poetics in Practice Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2003. 'Schema poetics and speculative cosmology' Language and Literature. 12(3), 252-71
  • LLAMAS, C. and STOCKWELL, P.J., 2002. 'Sociolinguistics'. In: SCHMITT, N., ed., An Introduction to Applied Linguistics Arnold. 150-69
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2002. 'Miltonic texture and the feeling of reading'. In: CULPEPER, J. AND SEMINO, E., ed., Cognitive Stylistics Bernjamins.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2002. Sociolinguistics London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2002. Cognitive Poetics: An Introduction London: Routledge.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2002. 'A stylistics manifesto'. In: CSABI, S. AND ZERKOWITZ, J., ed., Textual Secrets: The Message of the Medium ELTE Press.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2001. 'Teaching the future' The English Teacher. 4(2), 3-17
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2000. 'Towards a critical cognitive linguistics?'. In: COMBRINK, A. AND BIERMANN, I., ed., Discourses of War and Conflict Potchefstroom University Press.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2000. 'Review: Cameron and Lowe's Researching and Applying Metaphor (Cambridge University Press, 1999)' Metaphor and Symbol. 4, 275-7
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2000. '(Sur)real stylistics: from text to contextualizing'. In: BEX, T.; BURKE, M. AND STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., Contextualized Stylistics Rodopi.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2000. 'Futuretalk: one small step towards a chronolinguistics' Nottingham Linguistic Circular. 15, 55-68
  • BEX, T.; BURKE, M. AND STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., 2000. Contextualized Stylistics Amsterdam: Rodopi.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 2000. The Poetics of Science Fiction New York: Longman.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1999. 'Review: Michael Toolan's Total Speech (Duke University Press, 1996)' Language and Literature. 8(1), 78-81
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1999. 'The inflexibility of invariance' Language and Literature. 8(2), 125-42
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1997. 'Review: Lesley Jeffries' The Language of Twentieth Century Poetry (Macmillan, 1993) Language and Literature. 6(1),
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1996. 'New wor(l)ds' UCE Papers in Language and Literature. 3,
  • LITTLEWOOD, D. & STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., 1996. Impossibility Fiction: Alternativity, Extrapolation, Speculation Amsterdam: Rodopi.
  • JACKSON, H. & STOCKWELL, P.J., 1996. An Introduction to the Nature and Functions of Language Cheltenham: Stanley Thornes.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1995. 'Review: Carter and McCarthy's Language as Discourse (Longman, 1994)' Language and Literature. 4(1),
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1994. 'How to create universes with words: referentiality and science fictionality' Journal of Literary Semantics. 23(3), 159-87
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1994. 'To be or not to be a phagocyte: procedures of reading metaphors'. In: SELL, R. AND VERDONK, P., ed., Literature and the New Interdisciplinarity: Poetics, Linguistics, History Rodopi. 65-78
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1994. 'Bad language: towards a poetics of ineptitude' UCE Papers in Language and Literature. 1, 47-57
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1992. 'Do androids dream of electric sheep? Isomorphic relations in reading science fiction' Language and Literature. 1(2), 79-99
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1992. 'George and the big Baghdad dragon: metaphors of the Gulf War' Liverpool Papers in Language and Discourse. 3,
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1992. 'The metaphorics of literary reading' Liverpool Papers in Language and Discourse. 4, 52-80
  • SHAW, P. & STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., 1991. Subjectivity and Literature from the Romantics to the Present Day: Creating the Self London: Pinter.
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1991. 'Language, knowledge and the stylistics of science fiction'. In: SHAW, P. AND STOCKWELL, P.J., ed., Subjectivity and Literature from the Romantics to the Present Day Frances Pinter. 101-12
  • STOCKWELL, P.J., 1990. 'Scripts, frames and nuclear discourse in the Washington superpower summit, December 1987' Liverpool Papers in Language and Discourse. 2, 18-39

School of English

Trent Building
The University of Nottingham
University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD

telephone: +44 (0) 115 951 5900
email: english-enquiries@nottingham.ac.uk