Truth in Fiction: Scientific Facts and Truth in Fiction

On Monday, February 6th, we had the first presentation from our collaboration on Climate Fiction. Mark Algee-Hewitt was be joined by other members of the project team, which includes Julia Brush (UConn), Aaron Hanlon (Colby), Mike Hill (SUNY Albany), Yohei Igarashi (UConn), and Sunghyun Lim (SUNY Albany), to present some of the preliminary results from their work.

Truth in Fiction: Scientific Facts and Truth in Fiction

The rise of “climate fiction,” or “cli-fi” has suggested the possibility that fiction can be more effective in convincing a skeptical public of the necessity of immediate action than well-intentioned science communication. Given the complicated relationship of fiction to truth, it has become more urgent than ever to understand the ways in which novels are able to couch fact within the fabric of their fiction. When so much science communication studies has been concerned with false or misleading narratives about climate change, how do we grapple with deliberately false accounts (fiction) that seek to spread pro-scientific messaging?