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The Utopian Fantastic
Selected Essays from the Twentieth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
The Utopian Fantastic
Selected Essays from the Twentieth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts
Description
Utopia forms a major aspect of human desire, one that is as important as religion. Understanding utopia and the ways in which it can collapse into dystopia is crucial in many disciplines. Fantastic literature (including science fiction and fantasy) is the only form of literature that takes utopia/dystopia seriously. Therefore, analysis of these works provides a basis for serious experimentation in social science.
In this volume, critics analyze contemporary literary thought experiments such as 1984 and We. They show how utopian experiments can easily slide into dystopia. Exploring these fictional sociocultural, political experiments gives us new ways to think about our lives and culture. While literature, history, and political science professors may find this book useful, it can also serve as a call to arms to anyone dedicated to maintaining freedom and humane living in the world today.
Table of Contents
Dark Shadows and Bright Lights: Generators and Maintainers of Utopias and Dystopias by Roger Schlobin
Mapping Utopias: Spatial and Temporal Sites of Meaning by John C. Hawley
We Are Marching to Utopia: Kurt Vonnegut's "Player Piano" by Donald E. Morse
David Mamet's "The Water Engine": The Utopian Ideal as Social Control by Jeanne Beckwith
Kim Stanley Robinson's Martian Vision by Carl Swindorski
Women and Mad Science: Women as Witnesses to the Scientific Recreation of Humanity by Cherilyn Lacy
Digital Ambivalence: Utopia, Dystopia, and the Digital Cosmos by Dennis M. Weiss
Apprehending Identity in the Alldera Novels of Suzy McKee Charnas by Bill Clemente
You Can't Go Home Again: "Kirinyaga" by Mike Resnick by Lynn F. Williams and Martha A. Bartter
"Momutes": Momentary Utopias in Tepper's Trilogies by Robin Anne Reid
Of Dystopias and Icons: Brin's "The Postman" and Butler's "Parable of the Sower" by Oscar De Los Santos
Beyond Personal Introspection: Classroom Response to Sherri Tepper's "The Gate to Women's Country" by Tamara Wilson
The Nature of "Outsider Dystopias": Atwood, Starhawk, and Abbey by Sharon Stevenson
News from Somewhere: A Case for Romance-Tradition Fantasy's Reformist Poetic by Kelly Searsmith
Product details
| Published | Apr 30 2004 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (PDF) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 168 |
| ISBN | 9780313072611 |
| Imprint | Praeger |
| Series | Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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