Science Fiction and the Two Cultures

Essays on Bridging the Gap Between the Sciences and the Humanities

Häftad, Engelska, 2009

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Essays in this volume demonstrate how science fiction can serve as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities. The essays show how early writers like Dante and Mary Shelley revealed a gradual shift toward a genuine understanding of science; how H.G. Wells first showed the possibilities of combining scientific and humanistic perspectives; how writers influenced by Gernsback's ideas, like Isaac Asimov, illustrated the ways that literature could interact with science and assist in its progress; and how more recent writers offer critiques of science and its practitioners.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2009-06-01
Mått152 x 229 x 15 mm
Vikt399 g
FormatHäftad
SpråkEngelska
SerieCritical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Antal sidor290
FörlagMcFarland & Co Inc
ISBN9780786442973

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Gary Westfahl, a professor emeritus at the University of La Verne, California, has authored, edited, or co-edited 31 books about science fiction and fantasy, and hundreds of articles and reviews. In 2003, he received the Science Fiction Research Association’s Pilgrim Award for his lifetime contributions to science fiction and fantasy scholarship. George Slusser is a professor emeritus of comparative literature at the University of California, Riverside. The longtime curator of the famed Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, he also earned the Pilgrim Award for his numerous scholarly books.

Table of ContentsIntroduction: Science Fiction at the Crossroads of Two CulturesGARY WESTFAHL I. OVERVIEWS: SCIENCE FICTION IN THE CONTEXT OF TWO CULTURES1. Science Fiction and the Two Cultures: Reflections after the Snow-Leavis ControversyCARL FREEDMAN 2. Science Fiction, Mediating Agent between C.P. Snow’s Two Cultures: A Historical InterpretationBRADFORD LYAU 3. Fighting Out of Context: Culture Wars Within and Without Science Fiction, from Snow to SokalHOWARD V. HENDRIX 4. A Tale of Two Cultures: Science Studies and Science FictionSTEPHEN POTTS 5. The Rich and the Poor: Science Fiction and the Other Two CulturesGARY WESTFAHL 6. The Science of Fiction and the Fiction of Science: A Storytelling Animal in an Inhospitable WorldFRANK MCCONNELL 7. Dimorphs and Doubles: J. D. Bernal’s “Two Cultures” and the Transhuman PromiseGEORGE SLUSSER II. CASE STUDIES: SCIENCE FICTION AS AN EXPRESSION OF TWO CULTURES8. Discontinuity: Spaceships at the AbyssCAROL MACKAY and KIRK HAMPTON 9. Gregory Benford’s Against Infinity and the Literary, Historical and Geometric Formation of the Encyclopedic Circle of KnowledgePEKKA KUUSISTO 10. Utopia and Utopianism in the Life, Work, and Thought of H. G. WellsJOHN S. PARTINGTON 11. The Alien Eye: Imperialism and Otherness in H. G. Wells’s The First Men in the MoonGARETH DAVIES-MORRIS 12. Killer Robots, Laws of Robotics, and Pernicious HumansGEORGE ATKINS 13. Philip K. Dick’s Conversion NarrativeNOAH MASS 14. The Terror of Nature Not Understood: Science, Mysticism, and the Unknowable in Don DeLillo’s Ratner’s Star/I>JAKE JAKAITIS 15. When the Caesura Ceases: Two Romanian Authors Gauge the Place of Writers in the Age of ComputersSHARON D. KING 16. A Creature of Double VisionGREGORY BENFORD Afterword: Science Fiction and the Playing Fields of EatonGARY WESTFAHL Bibliography of Works Related to Science Fiction and the Two Cultures Debate Bibliography of Other Works Cited in the Text About the Contributors Index