Démêlés avec le novum : démontages et remontages de la notion dans une perspective culturelle intermédiatique

From Suvin to Parrinder, Jameson, Spiegel (in English) or Saint-Gelais, Langlet, Bréan (in French), the concept of novum has served to define the logics of science fiction by linking them to the idea of strangeness, both a source of wonder and a conjectural trigger. The history of science fiction critical theories first shows that, despite the discussions of Suvin’s proposals, the term has imposed itself as an obligatory passage in the reflection on the mechanics of the genre. Second, this durability signals a persistent desire to understand science fiction through its fictional, poetic, and cognitive processes. Third, it highlights how the imprint of the literary mold has remained strong. We aim to disassemble and reassemble the notion, so that it serves a theorization of intermediality. To do this, the genesis of the notion of novum will first shed light on the ambitions of Suvin’s cognitive and political approach. We will then show that the semiotic and poetic frameworks have offered an intersemiotic analysis grid, provided that this passage into n-dimensions of media takes into account the structural diversity of expressive systems. Finally, we will see that a common cultural logic rules the fictional and formal deviations of the genre and articulates them with generic and media norms in interaction.