Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction

Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction PDF Author: P. L. Thomas
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9462093806
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
Why did Kurt Vonnegut shun being labeled a writer of science fiction (SF)? How did Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin find themselves in a public argument about the nature of SF? This volume explores the broad category of SF as a genre, as one that challenges readers, viewers, teachers, and scholars, and then as one that is often itself challenged (as the authors in the collection do). SF, this volume acknowledges, is an enduring argument. The collected chapters include work from teachers, scholars, artists, and a wide range of SF fans, offering a powerful and unique blend of voices to scholarship about SF as well as examinations of the place for SF in the classroom. Among the chapters, discussions focus on SF within debates for and against SF, the history of SF, the tensions related to SF and other genres, the relationship between SF and science, SF novels, SF short fiction, SF film and visual forms (including TV), SF young adult fiction, SF comic books and graphic novels, and the place of SF in contemporary public discourse. The unifying thread running through the volume, as with the series, is the role of critical literacy and pedagogy, and how SF informs both as essential elements of liberatory and democratic education.

Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction

Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction PDF Author: P. L. Thomas
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9462093806
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 219

Get Book Here

Book Description
Why did Kurt Vonnegut shun being labeled a writer of science fiction (SF)? How did Margaret Atwood and Ursula K. Le Guin find themselves in a public argument about the nature of SF? This volume explores the broad category of SF as a genre, as one that challenges readers, viewers, teachers, and scholars, and then as one that is often itself challenged (as the authors in the collection do). SF, this volume acknowledges, is an enduring argument. The collected chapters include work from teachers, scholars, artists, and a wide range of SF fans, offering a powerful and unique blend of voices to scholarship about SF as well as examinations of the place for SF in the classroom. Among the chapters, discussions focus on SF within debates for and against SF, the history of SF, the tensions related to SF and other genres, the relationship between SF and science, SF novels, SF short fiction, SF film and visual forms (including TV), SF young adult fiction, SF comic books and graphic novels, and the place of SF in contemporary public discourse. The unifying thread running through the volume, as with the series, is the role of critical literacy and pedagogy, and how SF informs both as essential elements of liberatory and democratic education.

Science Fiction and Futurism

Science Fiction and Futurism PDF Author: Ace G. Pilkington
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476629552
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
Science and science fiction have become inseparable--with common stories, interconnected thought experiments, and shared language. This reference book lays out that relationship and its all-but-magical terms and ideas. Those who think seriously about the future are changing the world, reshaping how we speak and how we think. This book fully covers the terms that collected, clarified and crystallized the futurists' ideas, sometimes showing them off, sometimes slowing them down, and sometimes propelling them to fame and making them the common currency of our culture. The many entries in this encyclopedic work offer a guided tour of the vast territories occupied by science fiction and futurism. In his Foreword, David Brin says, "Provocative and enticing? Filled with 'huh!' moments and leads to great stories? That describes this volume."

Putting the Science in Fiction

Putting the Science in Fiction PDF Author: Dan Koboldt
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440353387
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Science and technology have starring roles in a wide range of genres--science fiction, fantasy, thriller, mystery, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of technical subjects in literature, film, and television are pure fiction. A basic understanding of biology, physics, engineering, and medicine will help you create more realistic stories that satisfy discerning readers. This book brings together scientists, physicians, engineers, and other experts to help you: • Understand the basic principles of science, technology, and medicine that are frequently featured in fiction. • Avoid common pitfalls and misconceptions to ensure technical accuracy. • Write realistic and compelling scientific elements that will captivate readers. • Brainstorm and develop new science- and technology-based story ideas. Whether writing about mutant monsters, rogue viruses, giant spaceships, or even murders and espionage, Putting the Science in Fiction will have something to help every writer craft better fiction. Putting the Science in Fiction collects articles from "Science in Sci-fi, Fact in Fantasy," Dan Koboldt's popular blog series for authors and fans of speculative fiction (dankoboldt.com/science-in-scifi). Each article discusses an element of sci-fi or fantasy with an expert in that field. Scientists, engineers, medical professionals, and others share their insights in order to debunk the myths, correct the misconceptions, and offer advice on getting the details right.

Narratives at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium

Narratives at the Beginning of the 3rd Millennium PDF Author: Jessica Homberg-Schramm
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443855545
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
This volume offers a cross-disciplinary approach to narratives in the 21st century, in response to the growing scholarly concern with the decreasing explanatory capacity of theoretical concepts and narrative configurations originating in postmodernism. The essays collected here meet this conceptual gap by offering cutting-edge research from a variety of disciplines, such as literary studies and design and media studies, as well as social sciences, all of which employ narrative models to explore the distinctive patterns which shape contemporary conceptions of the 3rd millennium.

The Grasp That Reaches beyond the Grave

The Grasp That Reaches beyond the Grave PDF Author: Venetria K. Patton
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438447388
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
The Grasp That Reaches beyond the Grave investigates the treatment of the ancestor figure in Toni Cade Bambara's The Salt Eaters, Paule Marshall's Praisesong for the Widow, Phyllis Alesia Perry's Stigmata and A Sunday in June, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Tananarive Due's The Between, and Julie Dash's film, Daughters of the Dust in order to understand how they draw on African cosmology and the interrelationship of ancestors, elders, and children to promote healing within the African American community. Venetria K. Patton suggests that the experience of slavery with its concomitant view of black women as "natally dead" has impacted African American women writers' emphasis on elders and ancestors as they seek means to counteract notions of black women as somehow disconnected from the progeny of their wombs. This misperception is in part addressed via a rich kinship system, which includes the living and the dead. Patton notes an uncanny connection between depictions of elder, ancestor, and child figures in these texts and Kongo cosmology. These references suggest that these works are examples of Africanisms or African retentions, which continue to impact African American culture.

The Trouble with Speculation

The Trouble with Speculation PDF Author: Christine Mortimer
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 1529244234
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Bringing together contributors from Europe, North America and Australia, this book questions the purpose and outcomes of speculation in practical settings. In the context of interrelated and complex global challenges, speculation is not just useful but necessary. The chapters in this book present a cross-disciplinary dialogue of people that are developing work in speculation and interrogates its practices and ethical and political charges. Through these discussions, the book explores the potential of speculation in addressing issues such as climate change, urban futures and new political practices.

Understanding Recognition

Understanding Recognition PDF Author: Piotr Kulas
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100062689X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
As the concept of recognition shifts from philosophical theory to other fields of the humanities and social sciences, this volume explores the nature of this border category that exists in the space between sociological and philosophical considerations, related as it is to concepts such as status, prestige, the looking-glass self, respect, and dignity - at times being used interchangeably with these terms. Bringing together work from across academic disciplines, it presents theoretical conceptualizations of recognition, demonstrates its operationalization in historical and literary research, considers recognition as a fundamental problem of sociological theory and examines the concept as a marker of social distances and redistribution. An examination and demonstration of the full potential of recognition as a category, Understanding Recognition: Conceptual and Empirical Studies explores the contemporary meanings and manifestations of recognition and sheds light on its capacity to complement the notions of status, class or prestige. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology and social theory, philosophy, history and literary studies.

Margaret Atwood: An Introduction to Critical Views of Her Fiction

Margaret Atwood: An Introduction to Critical Views of Her Fiction PDF Author: Gina Wisker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0230357954
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Margaret Atwood is an internationally renowned, highly versatile author whose work creatively explores what it means to be human through genres ranging from feminist fable to science fiction and Gothic romance. In this timely new study, Gina Wisker reassesses Atwood's entire fictional output to date, providing both original analysis and a lively overview of the criticism surrounding her work. Margaret Atwood: An Introduction to Critical Views of Her Fiction: - Covers all of Atwood's novels as well as her short stories. - Surveys the critical reception of her fiction and the fascinating debates developed by key Atwood critics. - Explores the main approaches to reading Atwood's work and examines issues such as her interventions in genre writing and ecology, as well as her feminism, post-feminism and narrative usage, both conventional and experimental. Concise and approachable, this is an ideal volume for anyone studying the fiction of this major contemporary writer.

When Highbrow Meets Lowbrow

When Highbrow Meets Lowbrow PDF Author: Peter Swirski
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349951684
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
This book examines nobrow, a cultural formation that intertwines art and entertainment into an identifiable creative force. In our eclectic and culturally turbocharged world, the binary of highbrow vs. lowbrow is incapable of doing justice to the complexity and artistry of cultural production. Until now, the historical power, aesthetic complexity, and social significance of nobrow “artertainment” have escaped analysis. This book rectifies this oversight. Smart, funny, and iconoclastic, it scrutinizes the many faces of nobrow, throwing surprising light on the hazards and rewards of traffic between high entertainment and genre art.

The Cambridge Companion to American Literature and the Body

The Cambridge Companion to American Literature and the Body PDF Author: Travis M. Foster
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108841929
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
This volume offers a rigorous yet accessible overview of the key questions and intersectional approaches pertaining to American literature and the body. The chapters have been written in an accessible style, making them useful for undergraduates as well as for more experienced researchers.