Science fiction studies
Encyclopedia
This article is about the field of science fiction studies. For the journal of the same title, please see Science Fiction Studies
.
Science fiction studies is the common name for the academic discipline
that studies and researches the history, culture, and works of science fiction
and, more broadly, speculative fiction
.
, a subdiscipline of cultural studies
, and film
and literature
studies. Because of the ties with futurism and utopian works, there is often overlap with these fields as well. The field also has spawned subfields, such as feminist science fiction
studies.
However, the field's roots go back much further, to the earliest commentators who studied representations of the sciences in the arts and literature, and explorations of utopian and social reform impulses in fantastic and visionary works of art and literature.
Modern science fiction criticism may have started with Dorothy Scarborough
, who in 1917 included a chapter on "Supernatural Science" in her doctoral dissertation, published as The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction.
As the pulp
era progressed, shifting science fiction ever further into popular culture, groups of writers, editors, publishers, and fans (often scientists, academics, and scholars of other fields) systematically organized publishing enterprises, conferences, and other insignia of an academic discipline. Much discussion about science fiction took place in the letter columns of early SF magazines
and fanzines, and the first book of commentary on science fiction in the US was Clyde F. Beck's Hammer and Tongs, a chapbook
of essays originally published in a fanzine.
The 1940s saw the appearance of three full-scale scholarly works that treated science fiction and its literary ancestors: Philip Babcock Gove's The Imaginary Voyage in Prose Fiction (1941), J. O. Bailey's Pilgrims Through Space and Time (1948), and Marjorie Hope Nicholson's Voyages to the Moon (1949).
Peter Nicholls
credits Sam Moskowitz
with teaching "what was almost certainly the first sf course in the USA to be given through a college": a non-credit course in "Science Fiction Writing" at City College of New York
in 1953. The first regular, for-credit courses were taught by Mark Hillegas (at Colgate
) and H. Bruce Franklin (at Stanford
) in 1961. During the 1960s, more science fiction scholars began to move into the academy, founding academic journal
s devoted to the exploration of the literature and works of science fiction. The explosion of film studies
and cultural studies
more broadly granted the nascent discipline additional credibility, and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mainstream scholars such as Susan Sontag
turned their critical attention to science fiction.
The 1990s saw the first academic programs and degree-granting programs established, and the field shows continued steady growth.
General journals:
Review journals:
Conferences:
Significant scholarship awards:
, the University of Kansas
, the Toronto Public Library
, and the University of California, Riverside
(the Eaton collection
).
See Science fiction libraries and museums
for a comprehensive list and description of relevant collections and research institutes.
Science Fiction Studies
Science Fiction Studies is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R.D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year by DePauw University. As the name implies, the journal publishes articles and book reviews on science fiction, but also occasionally on fantasy and horror when the topic...
.
Science fiction studies is the common name for the academic discipline
Academic discipline
An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined , and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to...
that studies and researches the history, culture, and works of science fiction
Science 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...
and, more broadly, speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
.
History of the field as a discipline
The modern field of science fiction studies is closely related to popular culture studiesPopular culture studies
Popular culture studies is the academic discipline studying popular culture from a critical theory perspective. It is generally considered as a combination of communication studies and cultural studies....
, a subdiscipline of cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
, and film
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
and literature
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
studies. Because of the ties with futurism and utopian works, there is often overlap with these fields as well. The field also has spawned subfields, such as feminist science fiction
Feminist science fiction
Feminist science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction which tends to deal with women's roles in society. Feminist science fiction poses questions about social issues such as how society constructs gender roles, the role reproduction plays in defining gender and the unequal political and...
studies.
However, the field's roots go back much further, to the earliest commentators who studied representations of the sciences in the arts and literature, and explorations of utopian and social reform impulses in fantastic and visionary works of art and literature.
Modern science fiction criticism may have started with Dorothy Scarborough
Dorothy Scarborough
Dorothy Scarborough was an American writer who wrote about Texas, folk culture, cotton farming, ghost stories and a woman's life in the Southwest.-Early life:...
, who in 1917 included a chapter on "Supernatural Science" in her doctoral dissertation, published as The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction.
As the pulp
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
era progressed, shifting science fiction ever further into popular culture, groups of writers, editors, publishers, and fans (often scientists, academics, and scholars of other fields) systematically organized publishing enterprises, conferences, and other insignia of an academic discipline. Much discussion about science fiction took place in the letter columns of early SF magazines
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard copy periodical format or on the Internet....
and fanzines, and the first book of commentary on science fiction in the US was Clyde F. Beck's Hammer and Tongs, a chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...
of essays originally published in a fanzine.
The 1940s saw the appearance of three full-scale scholarly works that treated science fiction and its literary ancestors: Philip Babcock Gove's The Imaginary Voyage in Prose Fiction (1941), J. O. Bailey's Pilgrims Through Space and Time (1948), and Marjorie Hope Nicholson's Voyages to the Moon (1949).
Peter Nicholls
Peter Nicholls (writer)
Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ....
credits Sam Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz
Sam Moskowitz was an early fan and organizer of interest in science fiction and, later, a writer, critic, and historian of the field.-Biography:...
with teaching "what was almost certainly the first sf course in the USA to be given through a college": a non-credit course in "Science Fiction Writing" at City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
in 1953. The first regular, for-credit courses were taught by Mark Hillegas (at Colgate
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
) and H. Bruce Franklin (at Stanford
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
) in 1961. During the 1960s, more science fiction scholars began to move into the academy, founding academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
s devoted to the exploration of the literature and works of science fiction. The explosion of film studies
Film studies
Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to films. It is sometimes subsumed within media studies and is often compared to television studies...
and cultural studies
Cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field grounded in critical theory and literary criticism. It generally concerns the political nature of contemporary culture, as well as its historical foundations, conflicts, and defining traits. It is, to this extent, largely distinguished from cultural...
more broadly granted the nascent discipline additional credibility, and throughout the 1970s and 1980s, mainstream scholars such as Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
turned their critical attention to science fiction.
The 1990s saw the first academic programs and degree-granting programs established, and the field shows continued steady growth.
Degree-granting programs
- Florida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Atlantic UniversityFlorida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
, MA in Literature & Theory with a concentration in Science Fiction and Fantasy - University of GlamorganUniversity of GlamorganThe University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...
(Wales), BSc (Hons) in Science and Science Fiction (program analyzes relationship between science and the arts) - University of KansasUniversity of KansasThe University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, Center for the Study of Science Fiction - University of LiverpoolUniversity of LiverpoolThe University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, M.A. in Science Fiction Studies (Liverpool program description and courses) (program looks at leading writers in the field)
Significant SF scholars (in roughly chronological order)
|
Darko Suvin Darko Ronald Suvin, FRSC is a Yugoslav-born academic and critic of Jewish descendance, who became a Professor at McGill University in Montreal — now emeritus... Alexei Panshin Alexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works:Panshin... Larry McCaffery Lawrence F. "Larry" McCaffery Jr. is a literary critic, editor, and retired professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University... Samuel R. Delany Samuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein... Gary K. Wolfe Gary K. Wolfe is a science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Pilgrim Award, the Eaton Award, BSFA award and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book. He has had a monthly review column in Locus since 1991... Brian Attebery Brian Attebery is an academic writer on science fiction and fantasy fiction. He is professor of English at Idaho State University. His 1979 doctorate from Brown University was in American Civilization... Brian Stableford Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford... John Clute John Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."... Andrew Sawyer Andrew "Andy" Sawyer is a librarian, critic and editor, as well as an active part of science fiction fandom... |
Principal journals, conferences, societies, awards
Societies:- Science Fiction Research AssociationScience Fiction Research AssociationThe Science Fiction Research Association , founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media...
(SFRA) - Society for Utopian Studies
- International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA)
General journals:
- ExtrapolationExtrapolation (journal)Extrapolation is an American academic journal covering speculative fiction. It was founded in 1959 by Thomas D. Clareson and was initially published at the College of Wooster. In 1979 it moved to the Kent State University Press. A decade later, Clareson stepped down as editor and was succeeded by...
- Science-Fiction Studies
- Foundation: The International Review of Science FictionFoundation - The International Review of Science FictionFoundation: The International Review of Science Fiction is a critical peer-reviewed literary journal founded in 1972 that publishes articles and reviews about science fiction. It is published triannually by the Science Fiction Foundation and the editor in chief is Graham Sleight.-See...
Review journals:
- Internet Review of Science Fiction (IROSF)
- New York Review of Science Fiction (NYRSF)
Conferences:
- Science Fiction Research AssociationScience Fiction Research AssociationThe Science Fiction Research Association , founded in 1970, is the oldest, non-profit professional organization committed to encouraging, facilitating, and rewarding the study of science fiction and fantasy literature, film, and other media...
annual convention - International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA) annual convention
- WisconWisConWiscon or WisCon, the Wisconsin Science Fiction Convention, is often called the world's leading feminist-oriented science fiction convention and conference. It was first held in Madison, Wisconsin in February 1977, and is held annually throughout the four day weekend of Memorial Day...
(hybrid academic science fiction conference/science fiction conventionScience fiction conventionScience fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
, with an extensive academic programming track concentrating on issues of gender, sexuality and class) - Mythcon (Mythopoeic SocietyMythopoeic SocietyThe Mythopoeic Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study of mythopoeia, fantasy and mythic literature. The group focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on works written by J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and C. S. Lewis. These authors were members of The Inklings, an...
annual convention)
Significant scholarship awards:
- "Pilgrim AwardPilgrim AwardThe Pilgrim Award is presented by the Science Fiction Research Association for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship. It was created in 1970 and was named after J. O. Bailey’s pioneering book Pilgrims Through Space and Time. Fittingly, the first award was presented to...
", Science Fiction Research Association - Pioneer AwardSFRA Pioneer AwardThe Pioneer Award is given by the Science Fiction Research Association to the writer or writers of the best critical essay-length work of the year.Previous winners:*1990 - Veronica Hollinger, "The Vampire and the Alien: Variations on the Outsider"*1991 - H...
for Outstanding Scholarship, Science Fiction Research Association - "Distinguished Scholar Award", International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts
- J. Lloyd Eaton Memorial Award for the best critical book of the year focusing on science fiction
Significant works
- Kingsley AmisKingsley AmisSir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
. New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction. New York: Harcourt, 1960. - Attebery, Brian. Decoding Gender in Science Fiction. New York: RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, 2002. - Marleen BarrMarleen BarrMarleen Barr teaches communication and media studies at Fordham University, New York City. She is notable for her significant contributions to science fiction studies, for which she won a Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in 1997...
, Alien to Femininity. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1987. (Definitive first book-length work of feminist science fictionFeminist science fictionFeminist science fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction which tends to deal with women's roles in society. Feminist science fiction poses questions about social issues such as how society constructs gender roles, the role reproduction plays in defining gender and the unequal political and...
scholarship.) - Marleen S. Barr and Carl FreedmanCarl FreedmanCarl Freedman is the founder of Carl Freedman Gallery . He previously worked as a writer and a curator, initially with Damien Hirst, to help pioneer the Young British Artists phenomenon.-Life and work:...
, eds. PMLA: Special Topic: Science Fiction and Literary Studies: The Next Millennium. Vol. 119, No. 3, May 2004. - Neil BarronNeil BarronRichard Neil Barron is a science fiction bibliographer and scholar. His training was as a librarian. He is perhaps best known for his book Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction. He won the Pilgrim Award for Lifetime Achievement in the field of science fiction scholarship in 1982...
, ed. Anatomy of Wonder: Science Fiction. New York: Bowker, 1976 (first ed.); numerous editions since. - Mark Bould and China MiévilleChina MiévilleChina Tom Miéville is an award-winning English fantasy fiction writer. He is fond of describing his work as "weird fiction" , and belongs to a loose group of writers sometimes called New Weird. He is also active in left-wing politics as a member of the Socialist Workers Party...
, eds. Red Planets: Marxism and Science Fiction. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University PressWesleyan University PressWesleyan University Press is a university press that is part of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. The Press is currently directed by Suzanna Tamminen, a published poet and essayist...
, 2009. - Algis BudrysAlgis BudrysAlgis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names "Frank Mason", "Alger Rome", "John A. Sentry", "William Scarff", and "Paul Janvier."-Biography:...
, "Paradise Charted" (1980); "Nonliterary Influences on Science Fiction"; and "Literatures of Milieux" - Seo-Young Chu. Do Metaphors Dream of Literal Sleep? A Science-Fictional Theory of Representation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010.
- Samuel Gerald Collins. All Tomorrow's Cultures: Anthropological Engagements with the Future. New York: Berghahn, 2008.
- John CluteJohn CluteJohn Frederick Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who has lived in Britain since 1969. He has been described as "an integral part of science fiction's history."...
and Peter NichollsPeter Nicholls (writer)Peter Nicholls is an Australian literary scholar and critic. He is the creator and a co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ....
, eds. The Encyclopedia of Science FictionThe Encyclopedia of Science FictionThe Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is an English language reference work on science fiction.- Publication history :The first edition, edited by Peter Nicholls with John Clute and Brian Stableford appeared in 1979, published by Granada. It was retitled The Science Fiction Encyclopedia in the US...
. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. - Robert Crossley. Imagining Mars: A Literary History. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2011.
- Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr. The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction. Wesleyan, 2008.
- Samuel R. DelanySamuel R. DelanySamuel Ray Delany, Jr., also known as "Chip" is an American author, professor and literary critic. His work includes a number of novels, many in the science fiction genre, as well as memoir, criticism, and essays on sexuality and society.His science fiction novels include Babel-17, The Einstein...
. The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction. Elizabethtown, New York: Dragon, 1977. - Lester del ReyLester del ReyLester del Rey was an American science fiction author and editor. Del Rey was the author of many of the Winston Science Fiction juvenile SF series, and the editor at Del Rey Books, the fantasy and science fiction branch of Ballantine Books, along with his fourth wife Judy-Lynn del Rey.-Birth...
. The World of Science Fiction, 1926-1976: The History of a Subculture. New York: Garland, 1976. Rpt. New York: Ballantine, 1979. - Carl FreedmanCarl FreedmanCarl Freedman is the founder of Carl Freedman Gallery . He previously worked as a writer and a curator, initially with Damien Hirst, to help pioneer the Young British Artists phenomenon.-Life and work:...
. Critical Theory and Science Fiction. Wesleyan University Press, 2000. - Hugo GernsbackHugo GernsbackHugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
. Evolution of Modern Science Fiction. New York, 1952. - Hugo GernsbackHugo GernsbackHugo Gernsback , born Hugo Gernsbacher, was a Luxembourgian American inventor, writer, editor, and magazine publisher, best remembered for publications that included the first science fiction magazine. His contributions to the genre as publisher were so significant that, along with H. G...
. "The Rise of Scientifiction." Amazing Stories Quarterly 1 (Spring 1928): 147. - James GunnJames GunnJames Gunn may refer to:*Sir James Gunn of Scotland, explorer, member of Henry Sinclair's survey expedition in the 14th century*James Gunn , US Senator from Georgia...
. Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction. NY: Oxford UP, 1982. Rev. Ed. 1996. - Donna HarawayDonna HarawayDonna J. Haraway is currently a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz, United States...
. "A CyborgCyborgA cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century." 1985. (Established cyborgCyborgA cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
feminism.) - N. Katherine HaylesN. Katherine HaylesN. Katherine Hayles is a postmodern literary critic, most notable for her contribution to the fields of literature and science, electronic literature, and American literature. She is professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Program in Literature at Duke University. -Background:Hayles was...
. How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature and Informatics. University Of Chicago Press, 1999. - Edward JamesEdward JamesEdward William Frank James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement.-Early life and marriage:...
and Farah MendlesohnFarah MendlesohnFarah Mendlesohn is a Hugo Award-winning British academic and writer on science fiction. In 2005 she won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, which she edited with Edward James....
, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003. - Fredric JamesonFredric JamesonFredric Jameson is an American literary critic and Marxist political theorist. He is best known for his analysis of contemporary cultural trends—he once described postmodernism as the spatialization of culture under the pressure of organized capitalism...
. Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions. London: Verso, 2005. - Brooks Landon. Science Fiction After 1900: From the Steam Man to the Stars. Studies in Literary Themes and Genres No. 12. New York: Twayne, 1997.
- Rob Latham. Consuming Youth: Vampires, Cyborgs, and the Culture of Consumption. Chicago: U Chicago Press, 2002.
- Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction. New York: Perigee, 1980. - Roger Luckhurst. Science Fiction. Polity, 2005.
- Carl Malmgren. Worlds Apart: Narratology of Science Fiction. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 1991.
- Brian McHaleBrian McHaleBrian G. McHale is an American literary theorist who writes on a range of fiction and poetics, mainly those relating to postmodernism and narrative theory.-Career:...
. Postmodernist Fiction. New York: Methuen, 1987. - Farah MendlesohnFarah MendlesohnFarah Mendlesohn is a Hugo Award-winning British academic and writer on science fiction. In 2005 she won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, which she edited with Edward James....
. Rhetorics of Fantasy. Wesleyan, 2008. - Sam MoskowitzSam MoskowitzSam Moskowitz was an early fan and organizer of interest in science fiction and, later, a writer, critic, and historian of the field.-Biography:...
. The Immortal Storm: A History of Science Fiction Fandom. Atlanta: Atlanta Science Fiction Organization, 1954; reprinted Westport, CT: Hyperion Press, 1974. - Peter Y. Paik. From Utopia to Apocalypse: Science Fiction and the Politics of Catastrophe. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota P, 2010.
- Alexei PanshinAlexei PanshinAlexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works:Panshin...
. Heinlein in Dimension. Advent Publishers, 1972. - Alexei PanshinAlexei PanshinAlexis Adams Panshin is an American author and science fiction critic. He has written several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award-winning novel Rite of Passage and the 1990 Hugo Award winning study of science fiction The World Beyond the Hill .-Other works:Panshin...
and Cory Panshin, The World Beyond the HillThe World Beyond the HillThe World Beyond the Hill: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence is a book about the history of science fiction, written by Alexei Panshin and Cory Panshin....
: Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence. New York: TARCHER, 1990. - Eric S. Rabkin. The Fantastic in Literature. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1976.
- Adam RobertsAdam RobertsAdam Roberts is an academic, critic and novelist. He also writes parodies under the pseudonyms of A.R.R.R. Roberts, A3R Roberts and Don Brine....
. Science Fiction (The New Critical Idiom). Routledge, 2000, 2006. - Joanna RussJoanna RussJoanna Russ was an American writer, academic and feminist. She is the author of a number of works of science fiction, fantasy and feminist literary criticism such as How to Suppress Women's Writing, as well as a contemporary novel, On Strike Against God, and one children's book, Kittatinny...
. To Write Like a Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction. Indiana University Press, 1995. - Robert ScholesRobert ScholesRobert E. Scholes is an American literary critic and theorist. He is known for his ideas on fabulation and metafiction.He graduated from Yale University. Since 1970 he has been a Professor at Brown University....
. Structural Fabulation: An Essay on Fiction of the Future. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, 1975. - Norman SpinradNorman SpinradNorman Richard Spinrad is an American science fiction author.Born in New York City, Spinrad is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science. In 1957 he entered City College of New York and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree as a pre-law major. In 1966 he moved to San Francisco,...
. Science Fiction in the Real World. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 1990. - Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, "Preface," in Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology New York: Arbor, 1986. (Defined the term cyberpunkCyberpunkCyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
). - Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
. "SlipstreamSlipstreamA slipstream is a region behind a moving object in which a wake of fluid is moving at velocities comparable to the moving object . The term slipstream also applies to the similar region adjacent to an object with a fluid moving around it...
." Science Fiction Eye 1.5 (July 1989): 77-80. - Darko SuvinDarko SuvinDarko Ronald Suvin, FRSC is a Yugoslav-born academic and critic of Jewish descendance, who became a Professor at McGill University in Montreal — now emeritus...
. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1979. (Introduced the concept of cognitive estrangement.) - Sherryl Vint. Animal Alterity: Science Fiction and the Question of the Animal. Liverpool: Liverpool UP, 2010.
- Gary WestfahlGary WestfahlGary Westfahl is a scholarly author and reviewer of science fiction. He has written reviews for the Los Angeles Times, Internet Review of Science Fiction and Locus Online. He is a professor at the University of California in Riverside....
. Cosmic Engineers: A Study of Hard Science Fiction. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996. - Gary K. WolfeGary K. WolfeGary K. Wolfe is a science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Pilgrim Award, the Eaton Award, BSFA award and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book. He has had a monthly review column in Locus since 1991...
. Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Glossary and Guide to Scholarship. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1986. (work in librarianship establishing a thesaurusThesaurusA thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning , in contrast to a dictionary, which contains definitions and pronunciations...
) - Gary K. WolfeGary K. WolfeGary K. Wolfe is a science fiction editor, critic and biographer. He is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Pilgrim Award, the Eaton Award, BSFA award and been nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Related Book. He has had a monthly review column in Locus since 1991...
. Evaporating Genres: Essays on Fantastic Literature. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2011.
Significant research resources, databases, and archives
A number of significant research collections and archives in SF studies have been developed in the past three to four decades. These include academic collections at the University of LiverpoolUniversity of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, the Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
, and the University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
(the Eaton collection
Eaton collection
The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy, formerly known as the J. Lloyd Eaton Collection of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and Utopian Literature, is the largest cataloged and publicly-accessible collection of science fiction, fantasy, horror and utopian and dystopian literature in...
).
See Science fiction libraries and museums
Science fiction libraries and museums
With the growth of science fiction studies as an academic discipline as well as a popular media genre, a number of libraries, museums, archives, and special collections have been established to collect and organize works of scholarly and historical value in the field.-Key collections:The Merril...
for a comprehensive list and description of relevant collections and research institutes.
Important databases and portals
- SF Hub, the University of Liverpool Library's "Science Fiction Foundation" collection
- Center for the Study of Science Fiction, University of KansasUniversity of KansasThe University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
- ISFDB, the Internet Speculative Fiction DataBase
- Locus Index to Science Fiction (1984-1999)