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Analyzes utopian and dystopian political systems through works of fantastic literature.

Table of Contents

Not So Blind Hope: An Introduction by Thomas Morrisey 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

About the Author

MARTHA BARTTER is Professor of English, Division of Language and Literature, Truman State University.

Reviews

[R]eading it will provoke throught, the utopian aim of all scholars. - Science Fiction Studies

By taking a long historical view of this genre which has become especially popular in today's technological, futuristic age as well as in-depth critical views on some of the most popular and influential works, the collected articles bring a new appreciation of the utopian fantastic literature. It is no longer seen as essentially escapism or fantasy, but as central to the modern psyche. - Reviewer's Bookwatch/The Midwest Book Review

"...highly recommended not only for those interested in utopian, fantastic, or dystopian fiction, but to all students who find it difficult to cope with the variety of theoretical approaches. . . . For those who are well versed in these theories and do not need such an aid, the book will provide ample entertainment and inspiration." - Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies