Overview

The Routledge Handbook of Fiction and Belief offers a fresh reevaluation of the relationship between fiction and belief, surveying key debates and perspectives from a range of disciplines including narrative and cultural studies, science, religion, and politics. This volume draws on global, cutting edge research and theory to investigate the historically variable understandings of fictionality, and allows readers to grasp the role of fictions in our understanding of the world. This interdisciplinary approach provides a thorough introduction to the fundamental themes of: Theoretical and Philosophical Perspectives on Fiction Fiction, Fact, and Science Social Effects and Uses of Fiction Fiction and Politics Fiction and Religion Questioning how fictions in fact shape, mediate or distort our beliefs about the real world, essays in this volume outline the state of theoretical debates from the perspectives of literary theory, philosophy, sociology, religious studies, history, and the cognitive sciences. It aims to take stock of the real or supposed effects that fiction has on the world, and to offer a wide-reaching reflection on the implications of belief in fictions in the so-called “post-truth” era.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alison James ,  Akihiro Kubo ,  Françoise Lavocat
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   0.970kg
ISBN:  

9780367635176

ISBN 10:   0367635178
Pages:   500
Publication Date:   28 November 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Introduction Alison James, Akihiro Kubo, and Françoise Lavocat Part I: Believing in Fiction: Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives 1 Belief, Imagination, and the Nature of Fiction Stacie Friend 2 The “Willing Suspension of Disbelief”: The Long History of a Short Phrase Nicholas D. Paige 3 The Fictionality of Games and the Ludic Nature of Fiction: Make-Believe, Immersion, Play Marie-Laure Ryan 4 Fictional Emotions and Belief Eva-Maria Konrad 5 Fictional Characters and Belief Thomas Pavel 6 Fictionality, the Zone of Generic Fiction, and the Allure of Unreliable Narration James Phelan 7 Belief Is a Mess. That Makes It Good for Fiction. (A Perspective from Cognitive Literary Theory) Lisa Zunshine 8 Fiction and Historiography Annick Louis 9 Fiction and Scientific Knowledge Adam Toon 10 Learning from Fiction Gregory Currie, Heather Ferguson, Jacopo Frascaroli, Stacie Friend, Kayleigh Green, and Lena Wimmer Part II: From Fiction to Belief: Social and Political Effects 11 Do Fictions Impact People’s Beliefs? A Critical View Edgar Dubourg and Nicolas Baumard 12 The Impact of Fiction on Beliefs about Gender Vera Nünning 13 Implicit Bias, Fiction, and Belief Kris Goffin and Agnes Moors 14 Children’s Ideas about Stories and about Reality Ayse Payir and Paul L. Harris 15 From Suspension of Disbelief to Production of Belief: The Case of Alternate Reality Games Patrick Jagoda 16 Interactive Environments and Fictional Engagement Olivier Caïra 17 Fake News and Fictional News Jessica Pepp, Rachel Sterken, and Eliot Michaelson 18 Trust, Credulity, and Speech Philippe Roussin 19 Literature on Credit: Fiction and the Fiduciary Paradigm Emmanuel Bouju and Loïse Lelevé 20 Fifth-Generation Fictionality? Fiction, Politics, War Henrik Zetterberg-Nielsen 21 Uses of Fantasy Fiction in Contemporary Political Mobilization Anne Besson 22 Fiction, Belief, and Postcolonial Criticism Alok Yadav 23 Can Fictions Predict the Future? Anne Duprat 24 Dystopian Fictions and Contemporary Fears Jean-Paul Engélibert 25 Fiction, Belief, and Climate Change: Paratexts, Skeptics, and Objects of Care Erin James Part III: Fiction and Religious Belief 337 26 Greek Mythology: Discourse, Belief, and Ritual Action Claude Calame 27 Fiction and Belief: Approaching Medieval Latin Christendom Julie Orlemanski 28 Literary Fictions, “Fables,” and Unbelief in the West Nicolas Correard 29 Saints, Between Faith, Belief, and Fiction Barbara Selmeci Castioni 30 The Role of Fiction in Buddhist Hagiography: The Case of Shinran Markus Rüsch 31 Fiction and Belief in Ancient and Early Medieval India Isabelle Ratié 32 Fiction, Religion, and Premodern Arab-Islamic Literature (Eighth–Eighteenth Centuries) Aboubakr Chraïbi 33 Fiction against Belief and Belief in Fiction in Modern and Contemporary Arabic Literature Ève de Dampierre-Noiray 34 On Jewish Fiction and Belief: Duplicity, Parables, Confession Sarah Hammerschlag 35 Religious Uses of Fantasy Fiction Markus Altena Davidsen 36 Fake Cults, Hyper-Real Religions, Virtual Beliefs at the Crossroads of Fiction, the Sacred, and Technology Lionel Obadia

Reviews

Author Information

Alison James is Professor of French at the University of Chicago. Her research interests include the Oulipo group, the contemporary novel, theories and representations of everyday life, documentary literature, and questions of fact and fiction. Akihiro Kubo is Professor of French Literature at Kwansei Gakuin University. His research interests focus on twentieth-century French literature and theories of literature. Françoise Lavocat is Professor of Comparative Literature at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. She received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Chicago, and is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France as well as a member and section chair in the Academia Europaea.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions