Acknowledgments Notes on Contributors Introduction Nick Hubble 1 The Historical Context of Science Fiction Nick Hubble 2 An Annotated Science Fiction Timeline Joseph Norman 3 Major Science Fiction Authors Nick Hubble, Emma Filtness and Joseph Norman 4 Case Studies in Reading 1: Key Primary Literary Texts Christopher Daley 5 Case Studies in Reading 2: Key Theoretical and Critical Texts in Science Fiction Studies Jessica Langer 6 Key Critical Concepts, Topics and Critics David M. Higgins and Roby Duncan 7 The Science Fiction Film Aris Mousoutzanis 8 Science Fiction Criticism Andrew M. Butler 9 Changes in the Canon Adam Roberts 10 Issues of Gender, Sexuality and Ethnicity Pat Wheeler 11 Mapping the Current Critical Landscape Sherryl Vint Index 255
A complete and comprehensive guide to the science fiction (sf) field for literature students.
Nick Hubble is Head of English Literature at Brunel University, London, UK. Aris Mousoutzanis is Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies, University of Brighton, UK.
Science Fiction sets out to imagine different worlds and futures.
Its own future is at every moment being changed by the real world –
often painfully, but for the better. This book is a welcome, and
welcoming, introduction and contribution to that uneven
progress.
*Morning Star*
The book is designed to present an overview of the history of both
literary SF and scholarly analysis of the same, while acknowledging
the debt cinema owes to it as well. The anticipated readership is
clearly those engaging at an undergraduate level in the literary
analysis of the SF genre. As such, the work is written so as to be
accessible to non-specialists, although serious scholars will
likely find the chapters worth perusing as well.
*Reference Reviews 28:8*
This will be a satisfying book for teachers and students of science
fiction. The nonlinear structure allows readers to select material
that meets their needs, but the entire book is a worthy resource.
Particularly fruitful are chapters describing changes in the canon
and issues of gender, sexuality, and ethnicity; these offer
theoretically oriented assessments of the growing inclusion of
nonwhite male authors, characters, and perspectives in science
fiction. Though scholarly in tone, this collection is clearly
written and accessible to all audiences. Summing Up: Recommended.
All readers.
*CHOICE*
This is a valuable new guide to an important body of literature
central to our culture. It combines the functions of chronology,
history and critical commentary in ways which are accessible to the
reader, tracing out the origins and continuing evolution of science
fiction as one of the most engaged cultural forms of our time.
*David Seed, Professor of English, Liverpool University, UK*
Chapter by chapter, The Science Fiction Handbook builds a picture
of sf’s history and a critical guide to thinking about the genre.
Culminating in a snapshot of where sf studies is right now, it is a
really, really useful introduction to the defining literature of
the 20th and 21st centuries.
*Dr Mark Bould, Reader in Film & Literature, University of the West
of England, UK*
This is an excellent introduction to science fiction and its key
texts, authors, theories and concepts. It is the ideal companion to
the study of the genre at undergraduate level and I will be
recommending it to my own students. It will also be very useful for
the reader or fan of science fiction who wishes to deepen their
critical interest in the subject. The book is very well organised,
written by some of the most incisive critics of science fiction in
a scholarly but accessible style. The Handbook is organised through
thematic chapters, with very clear internal structures and with
excellent, up-to-date reading lists. I anticipate that the Handbook
will become a go-to text for the study of science fiction at
undergraduate level and beyond.
*Dr Brian Baker, Lecturer in English Literature and Creative
Writing, Lancaster University, UK*
This is a very useful overview of the genre, key concepts and
recent scholarship.
*Dr Paul March-Russell, University of Kent, UK*
Ask a Question About this Product More... |