Science Fiction, Alien Encounters, and the Ethics of Posthumanism

Elana Gomel is an Associate Professor at the Department of English and American Studies at Tel-Aviv University, Israel. She is the author of four books and numerous articles on subjects ranging from postmodernism, narrative theory, and science fiction to Dickens and Victorian culture.

• Acknowledgements Preface Introduction: Why Do We Need Aliens? PART I: CONFRONTATION 1. 'The Force That Gives Us Meaning': Alien Invasion and Search for Redemption 2. Idylls of the Same: Soviet SF, Cosmic Humanism, and Escape from History PART II: ASSIMILATION 3. The Contagion of Posthumanity: Alien Infestation and the Paradox of Subjectivity 4. Human Skins, Alien Masks: Allegories of Postcolonial Guilt PART III: TRANSFORMATION 5. The Human Trinity: What Makes Us Other? 6. Stanislaw Lem and the Holocaust of Humanism Conclusion Bibliography Index

"Provocative, forcefully written, and methodical in approach, Gomel's study of alien encounters is both an important work of science fiction criticism and a timely intervention in cultural theory." Patrick Parrinder, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Reading, UK"As [Gomel] indicates, 'It is the greatness of good science fiction that it makes one think rather than emote and that it respects the reader's capacity to buckle the book's argument and to come up with alternatives of his/her own' (ix). The greatness ofGomel's book is that it does the same, inviting us to leave the shackles of our vainglorious humanism behind. The book belongs on the shelf of universities and colleges that have programs focusing on either SF or ethics and would be quite at home in public libraries that are building a collection of SF critical texts." Kevin Pinkham, SFRA Review