Science Fiction: A Guide for the Perplexed

ISBN-13: 9781441194602 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 208 str.

Sherryl Vint

Opis

From its beginnings in the works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne to the virtual worlds of William Gibson's Neuromancer and The Matrix, Science Fiction: A Guide to the Perplexed helps students navigate the often perplexing worlds of a perennially popular genre. Drawing on literature as well as example from film and television, the book explores the different answers that criticism has offered to the vexed question, 'what is science fiction?' Each chapter of the book includes case studies of key texts, annotated guides to further reading and suggestions for class discussion to help students master the full range of contemporary critical approaches to the field, including the scientific, technological and political contexts in which the genre has flourished. Ranging from an understanding of the genre through the stereotypes of 1930s pulps through more recent claims that we are living in a science fictional moment, this volume will provide a comprehensive overview of this diverse and fascinating genre.

Recenzje

Sherryl Vint is one of the sharpest science fiction critics of her generation. This is a taut, rigorous and very readable introduction to thinking historically, formally and theoretically about a genre that has steadily gained in prominence across all kinds of media over the last century. This is a fantastic start for those encountering science fiction for the first time, because it provides a tool-kit of critical resources to help formulate responses to a dynamic and exciting genre. Highly recommended. Roger Luckhurst, Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK

Spis treści

1. Introduction 2. Technologically Saturated Societies 3. Cognitive Estrangement 4. Megatext 5. Speculative Fiction 6. Culture/Community 7. Politics 8. Literature of Change 9. Conclusion Further Reading Index.

O autorze

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside, USA. She is editor of the journals Science Fiction Studies and Science Fiction Film and Television and Vice-President of the International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts. Her previous publications include Beyond Cyber Punk and, as co-editor, The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction.