Stefan Veleski

Doctoral student in English literature

Masaryk University

I am a doctoral student in English literature at the department of English and American Studies at Masaryk University. My dissertation research deals with the factors behind the divergent cultural longevity of late Victorian novels, with a focus on bestsellers and canonical novels. I am also interested in other applications of cultural evolution and biocultural criticism on all kinds of cultural products, ranging from “creepypasta” to Starcraft 2. This website will feature some of my attempts to cast some light on these aspects of contemporary popular culture.

Interests

Cultural evolution
Biocultural criticism
Cultural longevity and success

Education

PhD in English Literature, 2017-present

Masaryk Univesity, Brno
MA in English Literature, 2015-2017

Masaryk Univesity, Brno
BA in English Language and Literature, 2010-2014

Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje

Recent Posts

Research

Cognition and the reception of cultural products

How do cultural and biological factors influence our consumption of cultural products?

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Cultural anxieties in cultural production

What do cultural evolution and biocultural criticism have to say about the effect of cultural phenomena on cultural production?

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Cultural longevity and success

Why do some cultural products linger in our collective memory longer than others?

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Publications

Review of Cultural Evolution in the Digital Age, by Alberto Acerbi

A review that summarizes the main arguments in Acerbi’s book and weighs its potential to impact media and cultural studies.

Review of Cultural Evolution in the Digital Age, by Alberto Acerbi

Weak Negative Correlation between the Present Day Popularity and the Mean Emotional Valence of Late Victorian Novels

A conference paper testing the hypothesis that negativity bias has caused late Victorian novels with lower mean emotional valence to have higher cultural longevity. The hypothesis is confirmed, but the effect is weak (R=-0.087, p=0.038).

Weak Negative Correlation between the Present Day Popularity and the Mean Emotional Valence of Late Victorian Novels

Crisis and Transformation: The Aftermath of First Contact in Three Mid-20th Century Science Fiction Novels

An article exploring the trope of post first contact transformation prevalent in mid twentieth century science fiction. The article uses a mixed method of close reading and sentiment analysis, guided by insight from cultural evolution and biocultural criticism.

Crisis and Transformation: The Aftermath of First Contact in Three Mid-20th Century Science Fiction Novels

A Scientific Turn in the Genre of How-to Fiction Writing Manuals?

A review article of The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr and The Science of Screenwriting by Paul Joseph Gulino and Connie Shears, where I argue that these two recent science-heavy how-to fiction writing manuals may signal a scientific turn in the genre.

A Scientific Turn in the Genre of How-to Fiction Writing Manuals?

A Structural Approach to the Monomyth in Contemporary Action Cinema: Dredd, John Wick, and Mad Max: Fury Road

This is my M.A. thesis, where I argue that the structure of the Monomyth is predominately shaped by biological imperatives which make it inherently attractive and widespread in cultural production—-in this case contemporary action cinema.

A Structural Approach to the Monomyth in Contemporary Action Cinema: Dredd, John Wick, and Mad Max: Fury Road

Presentations

Sentiment Analysis of Late Victorian Novels: Opportunities and Challenges

A conference paper showing a variety of ways in which sentiment analysis can enrich the study of emotion in late Victorian fiction. The presentation shows the strengths of empirical, quantitative methods for large scale analyses, but concedes that close reading emotion is better served by a mixed approach.

Thu, Nov 26, 2020 — Fri, Nov 27, 2020 Durham, United Kingdom

Sentiment Analysis of Late Victorian Novels: Opportunities and Challenges

Weak Negative Correlation between the Present Day Popularity and the Mean Emotional Valence of Late Victorian Novels

A conference presentation testing the hypothesis that negativity bias has caused late Victorian novels with lower mean emotional valence to have higher cultural longevity. The hypothesis is confirmed, but the effect is weak (R=-0.087, p=0.038).

Wed, Nov 18, 2020 — Fri, Nov 20, 2020 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Weak Negative Correlation between the Present Day Popularity and the Mean Emotional Valence of Late Victorian Novels

Navigating 'Extremistan': Tracing the Factors behind the Divergent Cultural Longevity of Dracula and The Beetle

This paper argues that the inequality of the present day popularity enjoyed by the two novels is the result of small differences of literary quality, which were amplified by the dynamics of the market. The paper investigates both intratextual (e.g. the formal features of the texts, the presence of certain topics of contemporary interest) and extratextual aspects (e.g. the different fortunes of their adaptations in early cinema, the advertising strategies of their publishers) that might have contributed to the divergent cultural longevity of these two novels.

Thu, Nov 5, 2020 — Fri, Nov 6, 2020 Pardubice, Czech Republic

Navigating 'Extremistan': Tracing the Factors behind the Divergent Cultural Longevity of Dracula and The Beetle

'Doomed' from the Start: The Role of 'Cultural Pollutants' in the 'Cultural Death' of Late Victorian Bestsellers

The popularity of late Victorian novels in the present day is characterized by extreme inequality. This paper tests the hypothesis that some novels that were bestsellers upon publication failed to linger in the collective memory of subsequent generations of readers due to “cultural pollutants”, or “transmission blockers” — elements of the text filled with contemporary context that hinder the cultural transmission of the novels across time.

Wed, Aug 14, 2019 — Fri, Aug 16, 2019 Oulu, Finland

'Doomed' from the Start: The Role of 'Cultural Pollutants' in the 'Cultural Death' of Late Victorian Bestsellers

Mimicking the Other: The Aftermath of First Contact in Mid-20th Century Science Fiction Novels

First contact narratives in mid-20th century science fiction were not only commonplace, but displayed certain similarities. I argue that the interplay between Cold War cultural anxieties and certain cognitive biases contributed towards the popularity of a unique variation of the first contact trope.

Thu, Oct 25, 2018 — Fri, Oct 26, 2018 Krakow, Poland

Mimicking the Other: The Aftermath of First Contact in Mid-20th Century Science Fiction Novels

CV

My CV is available here. (Last updated: October 25, 2022)