Familiar Aliens

Familiar Aliens PDF Author: Mark Caldwell Walker
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1425905528
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 646

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Book Description
They are like us but they are differentnot in an incompatible way, but in ways that defy the assumptions humans in most world cultures take for granted. Their village technology and culture are almost aboriginal, but their language is intricate and efficient. The people of the planet Nenmar, on the other side of the galaxy from Earth, possess what many humans strive for: a deep self-assurance and corresponding acceptance of others. The offspring of a Nenmaran mother and human father, through a natural yearning to know their family history, find themselves immersed in the things of Earth. Of all their questions, the main one is what will happen when Nenmaran openness meets human xenophobia.

Familiar Aliens

Familiar Aliens PDF Author: Mark Caldwell Walker
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1425905528
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 646

Get Book Here

Book Description
They are like us but they are differentnot in an incompatible way, but in ways that defy the assumptions humans in most world cultures take for granted. Their village technology and culture are almost aboriginal, but their language is intricate and efficient. The people of the planet Nenmar, on the other side of the galaxy from Earth, possess what many humans strive for: a deep self-assurance and corresponding acceptance of others. The offspring of a Nenmaran mother and human father, through a natural yearning to know their family history, find themselves immersed in the things of Earth. Of all their questions, the main one is what will happen when Nenmaran openness meets human xenophobia.

The Familiar, Volume 1

The Familiar, Volume 1 PDF Author: Mark Z. Danielewski
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0375714952
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 890

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Book Description
From the author of the international best seller House of Leaves and National Book Award–nominated Only Revolutions comes a monumental new novel as dazzling as it is riveting. The Familiar (Volume 1) ranges from Mexico to Southeast Asia, from Venice, Italy, to Venice, California, with nine lives hanging in the balance, each called upon to make a terrifying choice. They include a therapist-in-training grappling with daughters as demanding as her patients; an ambitious East L.A. gang member contracted for violence; two scientists in Marfa, Texas, on the run from an organization powerful beyond imagining; plus a recovering addict in Singapore summoned at midnight by a desperate billionaire; and a programmer near Silicon Beach whose game engine might unleash consequences far exceeding the entertainment he intends. At the very heart, though, is a twelve-year-old girl named Xanther who one rainy day in May sets out with her father to get a dog, only to end up trying to save a creature as fragile as it is dangerous . . . which will change not only her life and the lives of those she has yet to encounter, but this world, too—or at least the world we think we know and the future we take for granted. (With full-color illustrations throughout.) Like the print edition, this eBook contains a complex image-based layout. It is most readable on e-reading devices with larger screen sizes.

The Ethics of the Environment

The Ethics of the Environment PDF Author: Robin Attfield
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351890417
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 640

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Book Description
This book brings together over thirty of the foremost contributions to environmental ethics, from pioneering papers to recent work at the cutting edge of thought in this field. It also unites them through an innovative introductory essay which appraises both strengths and weaknesses and presents a distinctive view of the subject. Areas covered include the land ethic, Deep Ecology, biocentric approaches, environmental virtue ethics, feminist contributions, debates on equity and on the interests and representation of future generations, preservation, sustainability and sustainable development. The importance of attempts to discover a comprehensive ethic relevant both to the environment and other key areas of ethical debate is highlighted. Robin Attfield has been working in this field for thirty years, and has published several related collections and monographs, of which the latest is Environmental Ethics: An Overview for the Twenty-First Century, published by Polity in 2003. The Ethics of The Environment complements that work, from which it incorporates a significant extract about the considerable practical difference that environmental ethics is capable of making.

Aliens

Aliens PDF Author: George Edgar Slusser
Publisher: SIU Press
ISBN: 9780809313754
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
How and when does there come to be an "an­thropology of the alien?” This set of essays, written for the eighth J. Lloyd Eaton Confer­ence on Fantasy and Science Fiction, is con­cerned with the significance of that question. "[Anthropology] is the science that must desig­nate the alien if it is to redefine a place for itself in the universe,” according to the Introduction. The idea of the alien is not new. In the Re­naissance, Montaigne’s purpose in describing an alien encounter was excorporation--man­kind was the "savage” because the artificial devices of nature controlled him. Shake­speare’s version of the alien encounter was in­corporation; his character of Caliban is brought to the artificial, political world of man and incor­porated into the body politic "The essays in this volume . . . show, in their general orientation, that the tribe of Shakespeare still, in literary studies at least, outnumbers that of Montaigne.” These essays show the interrelation of the excorporating pos­sibilities to the internal soundings of the alien encounter within the human mind and form. This book is divided into three parts: "Searchings: The Quest for the Alien” includes "The Aliens in Our Mind,” by Larry Niven; "Effing the Ineffable,” by Gregory Benford; "Border Patrols,” by Michael Beehler; "Alien Aliens,” by Pascal Ducommun; and "Metamorphoses of the Dragon,” by George E. Slusser. "Sightings: The Aliens among Us” includes "Discriminating among Friends,” by John Huntington; "Sex, Superman, Sociobiology,” by Joseph D. Miller; "Cowboys and Telepaths,” by Eric S. Rabkin; "Robots,” by Noel Perrin; "Aliens in the Supermarket,” by George R. Guffey; and "Aliens 'R’ U.S.,” by Zoe Sofia. "Soundings: Man as the Alien” includes "H. G. Wells’ Familiar Aliens,” by John R. Reed; "Inspiration and Possession,” by Clayton Koelb; "Cybernauts in Cyberspace,” by David Porush; "The Human Alien,” by Leighton Brett Cooke; "From Astarte to Barbie,” by Frank McConnell; and "An Indication of Monsters;” by Colin Greenland.

Principles of Creature Design

Principles of Creature Design PDF Author: Terryl Whitlatch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781624650215
Category : Anatomy, Artistic
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Designing a captivating creature simply for it to exist against a white background and going no further is a purely academic exercise. Designing a creature that can survive in a world, interact with its own and other species, and go on to make an impact, is designing with intent. This is the end goal of creature design and what you will witness in this latest book from industry expert Terryl Whitlatch. With decades of experience in the entertainment industry, developing creatures for Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace and Beowulf, among other films, Whitlatch offers an abundance of valuable advice throughout the Principles of Creature Design. For Whitlatch, there's not limit to what can be imagined with an open mind, though the journey may not always be an easy one. It's what she calls "Chasing the unicorn." We will surely enjoy joining her on her journey, filled with creatures so vivid, whimsical, and elaborate that we will wish -- or wonder -- if they are real."--Back cover.

Doing Animal Studies with Androids, Aliens, and Ghosts

Doing Animal Studies with Androids, Aliens, and Ghosts PDF Author: David P. Rando
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350356131
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 217

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Book Description
Exploring what can be learnt when literary critics in the field of animal studies temporarily direct attention away from representations of nonhuman animals in literature and towards liminal figures like androids, aliens and ghosts, this book examines the boundaries of humanness. Simultaneously, it encourages the reader both to see nonhuman animals afresh and to reimagine the terms of our relationships with them. Examining imaginative texts by writers such as Octavia Butler, Philip K. Dick, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jeanette Winterson and J. M. Coetzee, this book looks at depictions of androids that redefine traditional humanist qualities such as hope and uniqueness. It examines alien visions that unmask the racist and heteronormative roots of speciesism. And it unpacks examples of ghosts and spirits who offer posthumous visions of having-been-human that decenter anthropocentrism. In doing so, it leaves open the potential for better relationships and futures with nonhuman animals.

Invasive Species in a Changing World

Invasive Species in a Changing World PDF Author:
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 9781597263375
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 480

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Book Description
"Invasive Species in a Changing World provides readers with the background and knowledge they need to begin developing strategies to combat the invasive species problem, and it is essential reading for anyone concerned with the impact of invasive species on ecosystem health and functioning."--BOOK JACKET.

Aliens and Others

Aliens and Others PDF Author: Jenny Wolmark
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 9780877454472
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description


Ways of Being Alive

Ways of Being Alive PDF Author: Baptiste Morizot
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1509547223
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 165

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Book Description
The ecological crisis is a very real crisis for the many species that face extinction, but it is also a crisis of sensibility – that is, a crisis in our relationships with other living beings. We have grown accustomed to treating other living beings as the material backdrop for the drama of human life: the animal world is regarded as part of ‘nature’, juxtaposed to the world of human beings who pursue their aims independently of other species. Baptiste Morizot argues that the time has come for us to jettison this nature─human dualism and rethink our relationships with other living beings. Animals are not part of a separate, natural world: they are cohabitants of the Earth, with whom we share a common ancestry, the enigma of being alive and the responsibility of living decent lives together. By accepting our identity as living beings and reconnecting with our own animal nature, we can begin to change our relationships with other animals, seeing them not as inferior lifeforms but as living creatures who have different ways of being alive. This powerful plea for a new understanding of our relationships with other animals will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the ecological crisis and the future of different species, including our own.

Alien Legacies

Alien Legacies PDF Author: Nathan Abrams
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197556027
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
The 1979 film Alien has left an indelible mark on popular culture. Directed by Ridley Scott, at the time known primarily for making advertisements, and starring then-unknown actor Sigourney Weaver in the lead role, it transcended its humble origins to shock and disturb audiences upon its initial release. Its success has led to three direct sequels, two prequels, one "mashup" franchise, a series of comic books, graphic novels, novelizations, games, and an enormous and devoted fanbase. For forty years, Alien and its progeny have animated debate and discussion among critics and academics from a wide variety of fields and methodological perspectives. This book brings together scholars from diverse disciplinary backgrounds to explore Alien through a contemporary lens. The chapters here demonstrate the extent to which its effects and reception are deeply multifaceted, with the Alien franchise straddling the lines between "high" and "low" culture, playing with generic categories, crossing media boundaries, and animating theoretical, critical, and political debates. Chapters touch on female agency and motherhood, the influence of H.R. Giger, the viscerality of Alien's body horror, the narrative tradition of the Female Gothic, the patriarchal gaze in the Alien video games, and the rise of in-universe online marketing campaigns. In so doing, the volume aims to debate Alien's legacy, consider its current position within visual culture, and establish what the series means--and why it still matters--forty years since its birth.