Reading Science Fiction

by Gunn, James; Barr, Marleen S.; Candelaria, Matthew

• ISBN13: 9780230527188
• ISBN10: 0230527183
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-11-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Science Fiction is illuminated by world class scholars and fiction writers, who introduce the history, concepts and contexts necessary to understanding the genre. Their groundbreaking approach provides insights into today's SF world and makes learning how to read Science Fiction an exciting collaborative process for teachers and students.

Author Biography

JAMES GUNN is Emeritus Professor of English at K.U.and has published more than a dozen novels and half a dozen collections of stories, and has edited more than a dozen and a half books. His best-known novels are The Immortals, The Dreamers, The Listeners, Kampus and The Joy Makers. The Immortals was filmed as The Immortal and became a TV series. His academic publications include Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction, The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the six-volume anthology The Road to Science Fiction, The Science of Science-Fiction Writing, Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction and Inside Science Fiction.

MARLEEN S BARR is known for her pioneering work in feminist science fiction and teaches in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University. She has won the Science Fiction Research Association Pilgrim Award for lifetime achievement in science fiction criticism. Barr is the author of Alien to Feminity: Speculative Fiction and Feminist Theory, Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond, Feminist Fabulation: Space/Postmodern Fiction and Genre Fission: A New Discouse Practice for Cultural Studies. Barr has edited many anthologies and co-edited the special science fiction issue of PMLA.

MATTHEW CANDELARIA received his PhD from the University of Kansas and has published articles on science fiction. He is recipient of the 2003 Golden Quill Award from the L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest and co-editor of Speculations on Speculation: Theories of Science Fiction.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Mapping Science Fiction Editor's Introduction Defining Science Fiction

What is Science Fiction - and How it Grew

Narrative Strategies in Science Fiction

Brian Stableford There is No Such Thing as Science Fiction

Reading Science Fiction in the Classroom Editor's Introduction The Protocols of Reading SF

Reading Joanna Russ in Context: Science, Utopia and Postmodernity

Reading Science Fiction's Interdisciplinary Conversation with Science and Technology Studies

Science Fiction and Popular Culture Editor's Introduction Video Games and Science Fiction

Card The Feedback Loop: Science Fiction and Television

Film and Science Fiction

Computers and Science Fiction

Theoretical Approaches Editor's Introduction Gender is a Problem That Can Be Solved

Science Fiction and Gender Theory

Postcolonial Approaches to Reading Science Fiction

International Science Fiction

Marxism and Science Fiction

Science Fiction and Diverse Disciplines Editor's Introduction Science Fiction and Neurobiology

Physics and Science Fiction

Science Fiction and the Evolution of Technology

Cyberspace and Science Fiction

Bibliography

Index

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