Del i serien Bloomsbury Studies in Popular Fiction and Religious Dynamics

Speculative Orientalism: Asian Religions in New Wave Science Fiction

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

AvSang-Keun Yoo,Alana Vincent,Nina Fischer

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Examining the works of prominent New Wave science fiction authors from the 1950-1960s, Sang-Keun Yoo highlights the underexplored connection between American science fiction and Asian religions, such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.The book considers how the major world wars of the 20th century—Second World War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War— repositioned Asian culture in relation to the science fiction genre in the period.Underpinning this study, Sang-Keun Yoo argues that “Speculative Orientalism” emerged in American science fiction during the 1950s and 60s. This concept adopted various aspects of Asian religions to envision alternative worlds, unburdened by the constraints of colonialism, totalitarianism, racism, and sexism present in contemporary American society.Bringing fresh perspectives to the works of William S. Burroughs, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin and Samuel R. Delany, this book offers an insightful examination of the role of Asian religions in American science fiction and their impact on the genre's history.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2025-09-18
Mått158 x 236 x 20 mm
Vikt680 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieBloomsbury Studies in Popular Fiction and Religious Dynamics
Antal sidor248
FörlagBloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN9781350447899

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Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur
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List of IllustrationsAcknowledgementsSeries PrefaceIntroduction: Speculative Orientalism and New Wave Science Fiction1. The Birth of Speculative Orientalism: British New Wave Science Fiction2. First Encounter with Asia: The Impact of War Propaganda on American New Wave Science Fiction3. The Prototype of Speculative Orientalism: William S. Burroughs’s Poststructuralist Chinese4. The Evolution of Speculative Orientalism: From Goods to Religion in Philip K. Dick’s Short Stories 1950–19705. An Afro-Orientalist Version of Speculative Orientalism: Samuel R. Delany’s Dhalgren6. Beyond Speculative Orientalism: The Taoist Temporalities in Ursula K. Le GuinConclusion: Speculative Orientalism NowIndex

Through wide-ranging readings of major New Wave SF writers, Sang-Keun Yoo reveals how imaginations about “Asian civilization” have functioned as a signifier of radical alterity and racialized futurity in what is arguably the most critically significant period of American and British science fiction. Bridging postcolonial theory, Asian American studies, and critical SF studies, this rigorous book reframes the global politics of genre fiction and expands the critical horizons of both ethnic and Asian studies. Speculative Orientalism is essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural politics of science fiction, the racial imaginaries of empire, and the shifting place of traditional religion in speculative world-building