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Schema Poetics and Speculative Cosmology

Peter Stockwell

University of Nottingham, UK, peter.stockwell{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Speculative cosmology is a sub-genre of science fiction that particularly focuses on the difficulties for the deployment of existing knowledge in reading. This article assesses the usefulness of competing models of world-monitoring in order to arrive at a usable framework for discussing the particular issues in science fictional reading. It is suggested that schema theory, while containing many flaws in general, nevertheless offers an appropriate degree of delicacy for the exploration of sf. Schema poetics - the application of the theory to the literary context - is used to discuss speculative cosmology, with a focus on the work of the Australian sf writer Greg Egan. The analysis investigates the connection between stylistic form and schema operation, and proposes an explanation of `plausibility'. Specifically, sf tends to provide a readerly counterpart in the text, and thereby dramatizes schema refreshment as if it were mere schema accretion.

Key Words: alternativity • Egan, Greg • informativity • plausibility • schema poetics • schemas • science fiction • speculative cosmology

Language and Literature, Vol. 12, No. 3, 252-271 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/09639470030123005
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