ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter canvases a new direction in Australian literary studies that has fruitfully embraced the cognitive turn in the last two decades. Cognitive Australian literary studies, succinctly defined as literary scholarship at the crossroads of Australian literature and cognitive literary studies, has been flourishing in the last eight years to the point of becoming an ever-expanding ripening discipline that needs to be assessed and mapped out.
This cognitive literary history essay looks into the emergence of the Australian neurohumanities, its potential and achievements. It then examines the synergistic field of cognitive-inspired Australian literary scholarship as it carves out space for itself in the abundant production of Australian literary studies. Finally, it examines why this field of critical enquiry is meeting with forms of resistance in Australian academia when it could find its place and pertinence in our increasingly brain-based society.
