Revisiting Imaginary Worlds A Subcreation Studies Anthology

The concept of world and the practice of world creation have been with us since antiquity, but they are now achieving unequalled prominence. In this timely anthology of subcreation studies, an international roster of contributors come together to examine the rise and structure of worlds, the practice of world-building, and the audience's reception of imaginary worlds. Including essays written by world-builders A.K. Dewdney and Alex McDowell and offering critical analyses of popular worlds such as those of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and Minecraft, Revisiting Imaginary Worlds provides readers with a broad and interdisciplinary overview of the issues and concepts involved in imaginary worlds across media platforms.

ForewordRick CarterAcknowledgmentsIntroductionMark J. P. Wolf WORLDS ON THE RISEWhy Worlds Now?Marie-Laure Ryan Fictional World-Building as Ritual, Drama, and MediumLily AlexanderThe Past as an Imaginary World: The Case of MedievalismDimitra Fimi STRUCTUREThe Subcreation of J. R. R .Tolkien’s Middle-earth and How it Became Transmedial CultureLars KonzackSecondary World Infrastructures and Tabletop Fantasy GamesNeal BakerBattlestar Galactica and Caprica: Using Religion to Create Imagined WorldsErica Hurwitz AndrusReligious Impulse in Video Games: Implications for World-BuildingEdward CastronovaMinecraft: Transitional Objects and Transformational Experiences in an Imaginary WorldLori Landay PRACTICEA New Wonderland: The Source of It AllMichael O. Riley"All Over the Map": Building (and Rebuilding) OzHenry JenkinsDiscovering the PlaniverseA. K. DewdneyA Thousand Stories in a Day: Building Rilao and Reimagining LagosLaura Cechanowicz, Brian Cantrell, Geoffrey Long, Alex McDowell, Jeff Watson, and Ann Pendleton-Jullian RECEPTION‘The First Step into A Smaller World’: The Transmedia Economy of Star WarsWilliam Proctor and Matthew FreemanThe Hyper-enchantment of Visitin

Mark J. P. Wolf is a Full Professor and Department Chair of the Communication Department at Concordia University, Wisconsin. His books include Abstracting Reality, The Medium of the Video Game, Virtual Morality, The Video Game Explosion, Myst and Riven: The World of the D'ni, Before the Crash, Encyclopedia of Video Games, Building Imaginary Worlds, The LEGO Studies Reader, and Video Games Around the World. With Bernard Perron, he is the co-editor of The Video Game Theory Reader 1 and 2, and the Landmark Video Game book series.