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Literary Criticism Comparative Literature

Histopias

From the Bible to Cloud Atlas

by (author) Dragos Moraru

Publisher
Universitas Press
Initial publish date
Dec 2015
Category
Comparative Literature, Semiotics & Theory, Science Fiction & Fantasy
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780993995156
    Publish Date
    Dec 2015
    List Price
    $23.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781988963150
    Publish Date
    Mar 2019
    List Price
    $99.00

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Description

The present monograph looks closely at and identifies a new subgenre, histopias. A (late) postmodernist phenomenon, histopias are fictional retellings of the history of the world. They often use utopian/dystopian scenarios, which are necessary as “world-historical effect”: the end and/or rebirth of the world offer the possibility of narrating the fate of all mankind. Whether novelists or playwrights, histopian authors use a structural pattern that mirrors the way in which the world tells itself: both continuous and discontinuous, in turn linear, cyclical, or radial.

About the author

Contributor Notes

Dragos Moraru has a PhD in Literary Studies. He is the co-editor of Dracula: The Postcolonial Edition.