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Taking as its point of departure Nelson Goodman's theory of symbol systems as delineated in his seminal book "Ways of Worldmaking", this volume gauges the possibilities and perspectives offered by the worldmaking approach as a model for the study of culture. Its main objectives are to explore the usefulness and scope of the approach for the study of culture and to supplement Goodman's philosophy of worldmaking with a number of complementary disciplinary perspectives, literary and cultural approaches, and new questions and applications. It focuses on three key issues or concepts which illuminate ways of worldmaking and their interdisciplinary relevance and ramifications, viz. (1) theoretical approaches to ways of worldmaking, (2) the impact of media on ways of worldmaking, and (3) narratives as ways of worldmaking. The volume serves to demonstrate how specific media and narratives affect the worlds that are created, and shows how these worlds are established as socially relevant. It also illustrates the extent to which ways of worldmaking are imbued with cultural values, and thus inevitably implicated in power relations.
About the author
Vera Nünning ist Professorin für Englische Philologie an der Universität Heidelberg mit den Forschungsschwerpunkt englische Literatur von der Renaissance bis zur Gegenwart.
Ansgar Nünning ist Professor für Englische und Amerikanische Literatur- und Kulturwissenschaft an der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen.
Birgit Neumann, (Dr. phil. habil.) ist Privatdozentin am Institut für Anglistik der Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen und Researcher am »International Graduate Centre for the Study of Culture«. Zu ihren Forschungsschwerpunkten gehören u.a. die britische Literatur und Kultur vom 18. bis zum 20. Jahrhundert, Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte des britischen Imperialismus, Literaturtheorien sowie kulturhistorische Narratologien.
