Building Imaginary Worlds: The Theory and History of Subcreation

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
	World-building as a Human Activity
	Toward a Theory of Imaginary Worlds
1 Worlds within the World
	The Philosophy of Possible Worlds
	Imagination, Creation, and Subcreation
	Degrees of Subcreation
	Story vs. World: Storytelling and World-building
	Invention, Completeness, and Consistency
		Invention
		Completeness
		Consistency
	Immersion, Absorption, and Saturation
	World Gestalten: Ellipsis, Logic, and Extrapolation
	Catalysts of Speculation
	Connecting the Secondary World to the Primary World
2 A History of Imaginary Worlds
	Transnarrative Characters and Literary Cycles
	The Mythical and Unknown World
	Travelers’ Tales and the Age of Exploration
	Utopias and Dystopias
	The Genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy
		Science Fiction
		Fantasy
	The Rise of Mass Media
		Early Cinema and Comic Strips
		Oz: The First Great Transmedial World
		Pulp Magazines
		Developments in Cinema and Theater
		Radio and Television
		Developments in Literature
	The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien’s Influence
	New Universes and the Rise of the Media Franchise
	Interactive Worlds
	Into the Computer Age
	Worlds as Art and Thought Experiments
3 World Structures and Systems of Relationships
	Secondary World Infrastructures
	Maps
	Timelines
	Genealogies
	Nature
	Culture
	Language
	Mythology
	Philosophy
	Tying Different Infrastructures Together
4 More than a Story: Narrative Threads and Narrative Fabric
	Narrative Threads, Braids, and Fabric
	Backstory and World History
	Sequence Elements and Internarrative Theory
	Retroactive Continuity (Retcon) and Reboots
	Crossovers, Multiverses, and Retroactive Linkages
	Interactivity and Alternate Storylines
	The Story of the World: “Making Of ” Documentation
5 Subcreation within Subcreated Worlds
	Importance of the Word
	Self-reflexivity
	Subcreated Subcreators and Diegetic World-building
	Evil Subcreators
6 Transmedial Growth and Adaptation
	The Nature of Transmediality
	Windows on the World: Words, Images, Objects, Sounds, and Interactions
	Transmedial Expansion
		Description
		Visualization
		Auralization
		Interactivation
		Deinteractivation
	Encountering Transmedial Worlds
7 Circles of Authorship
	Open and Closed Worlds
	Levels of Canonicity
	Originator and Main Author
	Estates, Heirs, and Torchbearers
	Employees and Freelancers
	Approved, Derivative, and Ancillary Products
	Elaborationists and Fan Productions
	Participatory Worlds
	Creation, Subcreation, and the Imago Dei
Appendix: Timeline of Imaginary Worlds
Notes
Glossary
Index