Science Fiction Its Criticism And Teaching

This book, first published in 1980, examines issues such as the definition of the genre, its function as social criticism and as an embodiment and critique of the scientific outlook. In order to work towards a more comprehensive view of the genre, the author analyses science fiction by turns as a mode of popular literature, as a socially responsible and quasi-realistic form of writing, and as a home for a fantastic and parodic use of language. How much are ‘future histories’, to name but one type of SF, the answer to a frustration of the epic impulse? These questions and more are closely examined in this lively and informative book.

First published in 1979. This volume presents Science Fiction as a coherent system, not as a collection of facts or random sequence of individual voices. The contributors are concerned with less with surveying the bare facts of the genre than with interpretating their significance. They attempt to establish the common properties of Science Fiction writing whether in the treatment of a theme or in SF of a given period or nationality.

First Published in 2002. This volume is about Science Fiction, its criticisms and teaching and covers the rise of science-fiction as a study and genre, looking at the work of H.G Wells, and the themes of epic, fable, language, cultures, its sociology, as a romance, and of a working daydream.

This book, first published in 1979, presents a portrait of science fiction as a distinct form of serious and creative literature. Contributors are drawn from Britain, America and Europe, and range from well-known academic critics to young novelists. The essays establish the common properties of science fiction writing, and assess the history and significance of a field in which critical judgements have often been unreliable. The material ranges from the earliest imaginative journeys to the moon, to later developments of British, American and European science fiction.

Teaching Science Fiction is the first text in thirty years to explore the pedagogic potential of that most intellectually stimulating and provocative form of popular literature: science fiction. Innovative and academically lively, it offers valuable insights into how SF can be taught historically, culturally and practically at university level.

First Published in 2002. This volume is about Science Fiction, its criticisms and teaching and covers the rise of science-fiction as a study and genre, looking at the work of H.G Wells, and the themes of epic, fable, language, cultures, its sociology, as a romance, and of a working daydream.

The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is a comprehensive overview of the history and study of science fiction. It outlines major writers, movements, and texts in the genre, established critical approaches and areas for future study. Fifty-six entries by a team of renowned international contributors are divided into four parts which look, in turn, at: history – an integrated chronological narrative of the genre’s development theory – detailed accounts of major theoretical approaches including feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, postcolonialism, posthumanism and utopian studies issues and challenges – anticipates future directions for study in areas as diverse as science studies, music, design, environmentalism, ethics and alterity subgenres – a prismatic view of the genre, tracing themes and developments within specific subgenres. Bringing into dialogue the many perspectives on the genre The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and the future of science fiction and the way it is taught and studied.

Explores the first appearance of 'science fiction' in the pages of late nineteenth-century general interest periodicals.