René Magritte, Golconda, 1953. The Menil Collection, Houston. © 2021 C. Herscovici / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
At a time when our conceptions of reality are shifting, how can (or should) fiction help us imagine what is possible?
| How does fiction model our understanding of what is possible, and how does our sense of what is possible constrain what is perceived to be possible or impossible in fictional worlds? |
This project builds on the intellectual exchanges begun by the Neubauer Collegium project “Fact and Fiction” (2016–17), while orienting them toward new research questions. The first project took the contested border between fact and fiction as the point of departure for a cross-disciplinary dialogue, in a moment where “alternative facts” and “post-truth” politics had become a central preoccupation in public discourse. The project leaders now turn to a different area in the study of fiction and fictionality: that of possibilities and impossibilities in and of fiction. Fiction has long been associated with possibility and plausibility—with the construction of plots that are governed by a certain causal logic. But how exactly does fiction model our understanding of what is possible in the real world? Conversely, how does our sense of what is possible in reality constrain what is perceived to be possible or impossible in fictional worlds? Finally, are certain subjects off-limits to fictional representation? If these questions are not new ones, they have taken on a renewed urgency in the twenty-first century: in a context where our “real-world” conceptions of possibility and predictability are shifting in the face of global crisis, how can (or should) fiction present current or future possibilities?
Professor of French Literature, and the College
University of Chicago
Alison James works on twentieth- and twenty-first-century French literature, with a particular focus on post–World War II experimental writing, representations of everyday life, chance and contingency in literature, and nonfiction narrative. What unites these interests is her enduring concern...
Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan
To learn about Akihiro Kubo's research and publications, please visit his profile page at Kwansei Gakuin University.
Professor and Chair, Comparative Literature
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3
Françoise Lavocat is Professor of French and Comparative Literature at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle–Paris 3, a senior member of the Institut universitaire de France, a member of the European Academy, and an honorary president of the French Society of General and Comparative Literature. In...
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Brian Richardson reflected on the concept of probability in fiction and the lack of a corresponding notion and portics of improbable fiction.
This roundtable paid homage to Thomas Pavel’s influential and varied contributions to the theory of fiction and literary studies.
At this talk Marie-Laure Ryan discussed texts that transgress our intuitive conceptions of time, space, and ontological boundaries.
Laurent Binet joined the Impossible Fictions research team for a wide-ranging discussion about his approach to novel writing.
Murray Smith (University of Kent) opened up a novel perspective on impossibility, encompassing logical contradictions, contingencies, and more.
This conference was presented as part of the Second International Congress of the International Society for Fiction and Fictionality Studies.
Françoise Lavocat presented the results of a survey conducted in France on the memory of fictional characters.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
Brian Richardson reflected on the concept of probability in fiction and the lack of a corresponding notion and portics of improbable fiction.
At this talk Marie-Laure Ryan discussed texts that transgress our intuitive conceptions of time, space, and ontological boundaries.
Murray Smith (University of Kent) opened up a novel perspective on impossibility, encompassing logical contradictions, contingencies, and more.
Françoise Lavocat presented the results of a survey conducted in France on the memory of fictional characters.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
This roundtable paid homage to Thomas Pavel’s influential and varied contributions to the theory of fiction and literary studies.
Laurent Binet joined the Impossible Fictions research team for a wide-ranging discussion about his approach to novel writing.
Carousel with 3 slides shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate, or the slide dot buttons at the end to jump to slides.
This conference was presented as part of the Second International Congress of the International Society for Fiction and Fictionality Studies.
