Taking as its point of departure Nelson Goodman's theory of symbol systems as delineated in his
seminal book Ways of Worldmaking this volume gauges the possibilities and perspectives offered
by the worldmaking approach as a model for the study of culture. Its main objectives are to
explore the usefulness and scope of the approach for the study of culture and to supplement
Goodman's philosophy of worldmaking with a number of complementary disciplinary perspectives
literary and cultural approaches and new questions and applications. It focuses on three key
issues or concepts which illuminate ways of worldmaking and their interdisciplinary relevance
and ramifications viz. (1) theoretical approaches to ways of worldmaking (2) the impact of
media on ways of worldmaking and (3) narratives as ways of worldmaking. The volume serves to
demonstrate how specific media and narratives affect the worlds that are created and shows how
these worlds are established as socially relevant. It also illustrates the extent to which ways
of worldmaking are imbued with cultural values and thus inevitably implicated in power
relations.
