Russell Blackford
Encyclopedia
Russell Blackford is an Australia
n writer, philosopher, and critic, based for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, and grew up in Lake Macquarie
district, near Newcastle, NSW. He moved to Melbourne in 1979, but returned to Newcastle to live and work in 2009.
, fantasy
and horror fiction
. His work includes four novels published by iBooks, three of them forming an original trilogy (The New John Connor Chronicles) set in the world of the Terminator movies.
His non-fiction work frequently deals with issues involving science and society, particularly philosophical bioethics
, cyberculture
, transhumanism
, and the history and current state of the science fiction genre
. His work has appeared in many magazine, journals, and reference books, and has been featured most prominently in Quadrant
, a monthly journal of literature and policy. It draws on his academic qualifications in a number of fields.
and University of Melbourne
respectively. He also holds a Ph.D, also from Newcastle
, on the return to myth in modern fictional narrative (as postulated by Northrop Frye
). More recently, he completed a Master of Bioethics and a second Ph.D program (in philosophy), both at Monash University
. According to his web site, he has sought to gain greater academic credibility in the debates in which he has become immersed, relating to emerging technologies and the human future.
. He was a speaker at the 2010 Global Atheist Convention
and a contributor to The Australian Book of Atheism
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n writer, philosopher, and critic, based for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, and grew up in Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie
The City of Lake Macquarie is a Local Government Area in New South Wales, Australia, approximately north of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to the city of Newcastle and was proclaimed as a city from 7 September 1984.-The City of Lake Macquarie:...
district, near Newcastle, NSW. He moved to Melbourne in 1979, but returned to Newcastle to live and work in 2009.
Writing career
As a fiction writer, Blackford specialises in science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
and horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. His work includes four novels published by iBooks, three of them forming an original trilogy (The New John Connor Chronicles) set in the world of the Terminator movies.
His non-fiction work frequently deals with issues involving science and society, particularly philosophical bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
, cyberculture
Cyberculture
Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...
, transhumanism
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
, and the history and current state of the science fiction genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
. His work has appeared in many magazine, journals, and reference books, and has been featured most prominently in Quadrant
Quadrant (magazine)
Quadrant is an Australian literary and cultural journal. The magazine takes a conservative position on political and social issues, describing itself as sceptical of 'unthinking Leftism, or political correctness, and its "smelly little orthodoxies"'. Quadrant reviews literature, as well as...
, a monthly journal of literature and policy. It draws on his academic qualifications in a number of fields.
Education
Blackford graduated with First Class Honours degrees in both Arts and Law from the University of NewcastleUniversity of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
and University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
respectively. He also holds a Ph.D, also from Newcastle
University of Newcastle, Australia
The University of Newcastle is an Australian public university that was established in 1965. The University's main and largest campus is located in Callaghan, a suburb of Newcastle in New South Wales...
, on the return to myth in modern fictional narrative (as postulated by Northrop Frye
Northrop Frye
Herman Northrop Frye, was a Canadian literary critic and literary theorist, considered one of the most influential of the 20th century....
). More recently, he completed a Master of Bioethics and a second Ph.D program (in philosophy), both at Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
. According to his web site, he has sought to gain greater academic credibility in the debates in which he has become immersed, relating to emerging technologies and the human future.
Recent activities
Since 2008, he has also been a Fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging TechnologiesInstitute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies was founded in 2004 by philosopher Nick Bostrom and bioethicist James Hughes. Incorporated in the United States as a non-profit 501 organization, the IEET is a self-described "technoprogressive think tank" that seeks to contribute to understanding...
. He was a speaker at the 2010 Global Atheist Convention
2010 Global Atheist Convention
The 2010 Global Atheist Convention was an international meeting of atheists in Melbourne, Australia, sponsored by the Atheist Foundation of Australia and Atheist Alliance International. It took place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 12 to 14 March 2010...
and a contributor to The Australian Book of Atheism
Novels
- The Tempting of the Witch King, Melbourne, Cory & Collins, 1983, ISBN 0-909117-18-7
- The New John Connor Chronicles:
- Dark Futures: Book One of Terminator 2Terminator 2: Judgment DayTerminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
: The New John Connor Chronicles, iBooks, August 2002, 336p, ISBN 0-7434-4511-2 - An Evil Hour: Book Two of Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, iBooks, May 2003, 368p, ISBN 0-7434-5863-X
- Times of Trouble: Book Three of Terminator 2: The New John Connor Chronicles, iBooks, September 2003, 384p, ISBN 0-7434-7483-X
- Dark Futures: Book One of Terminator 2
- Kong Reborn, ibooks, Inc. November 2005, 320p, ISBN 1-59687-133-4
Non-fiction books
- Hyperdreams: Damien Broderick's Space/Time Fiction , Originally published in 1998 as chapbook 8 in the Babel Handbooks series on Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers. Review of the writings of SF author Damien BroderickDamien BroderickDamien Francis Broderick is an Australian science fiction and popular science writer. His science fiction novel The Judas Mandala is sometimes credited with the first appearance of the term "virtual reality," and his 1997 popular science book The Spike was the first to investigate the...
. - Strange Constellations: A History of Australian Science Fiction (with Van Ikin and Sean McMullenSean McMullenSean Christopher McMullen is an Australian science fiction and fantasy author.-Biography:McMullen has a degree in physics and history from Melbourne University , a postgraduate degree in library and information science, and a PhD in Medieval Literature...
), Greenwood Press, Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction and Fantasy, May 1999, 264p, ISBN 0-313-25112-6- Reviewed in: *"Science Fiction in Australia", by Michael Levy (Science Fiction Studies 27:1 (March,2000) "Russell Blackford ... among Australia’s most widely respected critics"
Editor
- 50 Voices of Disbelief: Why We Are Atheists, co-editor with Udo Schuklenk, 2009. ISBN 978-1405190459
- Urban Fantasies, anthology of 13 stories, edited with David King, Ebony, 1985. ISBN 978-0959065510
- Contrary Modes, proceedings of the academic track of Aussiecon 243rd World Science Fiction ConventionThe 43rd World Science Fiction Convention , also known as Aussiecon Two, was held 22 – 26 August 1985 at the Southern Cross, Victoria, and Sheraton Hotels in Melbourne, Australia.The chairman was David Grigg....
, edited with Jenny Blackford, Lucy Sussex and Norman Talbot, 1985. ISBN 978-0959065527
Academic articles
- "Judicial Power, Political Liberty and the Post-Industrial State." Australian Law Journal 71 (1997): 267-93.
- "Thinking about Cloning: A Reply to Judith Thomson." Journal of Law and Medicine 9 (2001): 238-50.
- "Stranger Than You Think: Arthur C. Clarke's Profiles of the Future." Prefiguring Cyberculture: An Intellectual History. Ed. Darren Tofts, Annemarie Jonson, and Alessio Cavellaro. Sydney: Power Publications, 2002; co-published Boston: MIT Press, 2003: 252-63.
- "Try the Blue Pill: What's Wrong with Life in a Simulation?" Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation. Ed. Matthew KapellMatthew KapellMatthew Wilhelm Kapell is an historian and anthropologist best best known for four edited academic volumes on popular culture, film, and television. The first, is Jacking In to the Matrix Franchise: Cultural Reception and Interpretation . The second is and adds Wilhelm to his name...
and William Doty. New York: Continuum, 2004: 169-82. - "Should We Fear Death? Epicurean and Modern Arguments." Immortality Institute, ed. The Scientific Conquest of Death: Essays on Infinite Lifespans. Buenos Aires: LibrosEnRed, 2004: 257-69.
- "Human Cloning and 'Posthuman' Society." Monash Bioethics Review 24 (2005): 10-26.
- "Stem cell research on other worlds, or why embryos do not have a right to life." Journal of Medical Ethics 32 (2006): 177-80.
Short stories
- "The Load on Her Mind", WesterlyWesterly (Australian literary magazine)Westerly is a literary magazine that is produced at the University of Western Australia English Department since 1956. It is currently publishes two issues a year....
Volume 27, (1982). - "Crystal Soldier" (1983) in Dreamworks: Strange New Stories (ed. David King) ISBN 978-0909106119
- "Glass Reptile Breakout" (1985) in Strange attractors: Original Australian speculative fiction (ed. Hale and Iremonger) ISBN 978-0868062082
- "The Sword of GodThe Sword of God (novelette)-Background:"The Sword of God" was first published in Australia in 1996 in Paul Collins' Dream Weavers by Penguin Books. It was published alongside 12 other stories by the authors Tony Shillitoe, Melinda Ross, Sean McMullen, Jane Routley, Cadmus Evans, Shannah Jay, Howard Goldsmith, Paul Collins,...
" (1996) in Dream WeaversDream Weavers (anthology)Dream Weavers is a 1996 fantasy anthology edited by Paul Collins.-Background:Dream Weavers was first published in September 1996 by Penguin Books in trade paperback format. It was a short-list nominee for the 1997 Ditmar Award for best long fiction but lost to Lucy Sussex' The Scarlet Rider. Dream...
(ed. Paul CollinsPaul Collins (fantasy writer)Paul Collins is an Australian writer and editor who specializes in science fiction and fantasy.Collins has written many books for younger readers...
) - "Lucent Carbon" (1997) in Eidolon, #25/26
- "The Soldier in the Machine" (1998) in Dreaming Down-UnderDreaming Down-UnderDreaming Down-Under is a 1998 speculative fiction anthology edited by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb-Background:Dreaming Down-Under was first published in Australia in November 1998 by Voyager Books in trade paperback format....
(ed. Jack DannJack DannJack Dann is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-editor of story anthologies in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres...
, Janeen WebbJaneen WebbJaneen Webb is an Australian writer, critic, and editor working mainly in the field of science fiction and fantasy.-Biography:...
) - "Byzantium vs Republic of Australia" (1998) in AurealisAurealisAurealis is a Australian speculative fiction magazine published by Chimaera Publications. The magazine was launched in September 1990 to provide a market for speculative fiction writers, with a particular emphasis on raising the profile of Australian authors.In 1995 the magazine instituted the...
#20/21 - "The King with Three Daughters" (2000) in Black Heart, Ivory Bones (ed. Ellen DatlowEllen DatlowEllen Datlow is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist.-Biography:Datlow was the fiction editor of Omni magazine and Omni Online from 1981 through 1998, and edited the ten associated Omni anthologies...
, Terri WindlingTerri WindlingTerri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. Windling has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Award, the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award...
) ISBN 978-0380786237 - "Two Thousand Years" (2000) in Eidolon #29/30
- "Smoke City" (2003) in Gathering the Bones (ed. Ramsey CampbellRamsey CampbellJohn Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
, Jack DannJack DannJack Dann is an American writer best known for his science fiction, an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, in the majority of cases as editor or co-editor of story anthologies in the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres...
, Dennis EtchisonDennis EtchisonDennis William Etchison , is an American writer and editor of fantasy and horror fiction. Etchison refers to his own work as “rather dark, depressing, almost pathologically inward fiction about the individual in relation to the world.”Stephen King has called Dennis Etchison “one hell of a fiction...
) ISBN 978-0732280680 - "The Name of the Beast Was Number" (2004) in Microcosms (ed. Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
) ISBN 978-0756401719