literature sf genre overview Flashcards
might wanna skip cards that just list a bunch of names/tv shows but they're there if u want them
prior to pulp magazines, what was the state of the SF genre?
it was not separated from mainstream fiction, but there were many texts containing SF elements
progressive era (of literature)
literature speculated on technologies that were altering the pace of modern life (steamboat, photography, telegraph, etc.)
Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley
frequently classified as romantic or gothic, though Brian Aldiss and Brian Stableford (Critics) recognize it as the first SF novel. Shelley’s book was published by a small London publishing house.
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
many understand this as the first post-apocalyptic novel
The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz (1616)
John Crowley claims this is first SF novel because it’s about the possibilites of science & not just an allegory/thought-experiment. many disagree because the “Science” in this book is mostly renaissance alchemy, which is more fantastical
damon knight
a critic who claims anything he points to as sf IS sf
why wouldn’t Frankenstein be the first sf novel?
some critics say it is too “Destabilizing” of a text to be confined to one genre
Symzonia: A voyage of discovery by John Cleeve Symmes
Paul Collins claims this is the first SF novel. but, that blatantly ignores non-american lit like Frankenstein which proceeded Symzonia. Symzonia also relies on pseudoscience, specifically the hollow earth theory
The Unparalleled Adventures of One Hans Pfaall by Edgar Alan Poe
19th century short-story that imagined a hot air balloon trip to the moon
The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne
19th century short-story, features a pseudoscientists who tries to remove a wine-colored birth mark from his wife’s face and achieve human perfection
Bartleby the Scrivener By Herman Melville
19th century short-story, considers how modern labor practices degrade humanity (famously ends with lament:
“ah, humanity!”
why aren’t bartleby, the birth mark, and the Hans Pfaall story considered SF? :(
published before the age of pulps and lack actual scientific methodology
when did SF emerge as a “general force”?
the 1930s; age of pulps
what are pulp magazines?
cheaply produced and distributed magazines that garnered a lot of public attention for SF
when (roughly) was the golden age of SF?
1938 to late 1940s
who were the “Old Guards of the Golden age”?
Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, John Campbell, and Alfred Bester
popular pulp magazines
Amazing Stories, Astounding, Wonder Stories
what were the early pulp stories like?
space conquering male heroes; not much attention to lit devices
radio-programs that popularized SF
Buck Rogers & Flash Gordon
which two pulps are still alive?
Asimov Magazine & Analog (originally branded as Astounding Stories of super science)
what displaced pulps from the 1940s to 60s?
mass-produced paper backs
what were popular SF tv programs in the 60s?
Star Trek, The Jetsons, My Mother the Car, Mr. Ed, My Favorite Martian, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and The Time Tunnel
what else was going on during the golden age of SF…
the cold war, which led to events such as the Kitchen Debate and the Post-Sputnik Space Race
when did the “New Wave” movement in SF begin?
1960s to 70s
New Wave SF
movements like the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement ushered diverse voices into the SF genre; this was a time period of radical social change
New wave authors
Ursula K Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Samuel “chip” Delaney, Joanna Russ, Kate Wilhelm, James Tiptree
what did New Wave SF introduce to the genre (besides diverse voices)?
psychological depth, ambiguity, irony, female characters & characters of color
authors who followed the New Wave and its left-leaning approach
Octavia E. Butler, Vonda
N. McIntyre, Ed Bryant, Eileen
Gunn, and Joe Haldeman
cyberpunk
overtook the New Wave in the more conservative 80s. Neo-liberal and dystopian; commonly features a clash between the well off and the poor. represents high-tech corporatism as exploitative
what is the foundational text for Cyberpunk?
Neuromancer (1984) by William Gibson
what was the readership like for cyberpunk?
white and male
cyberpunk authors
William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Rudy Rucker, Neal Stephenson, Cory Doctorow, Pat Cadigan, Melissa Scott
steampunk
combines past and present aspects of technology and fashion
when did the label “steampunk” first appear?
- Kevin Jeter’s letters to the SF magazine Locus.he used “steampunk” to distinguish his works from the more neoliberal works of cyberpunk
what is the steampunk aesthetic inspired by?
fashions of victorian england, French Belle Epoque, Civil war era in the US
what are some common themes in 21st century SF?
climate change, multigenerational starships, space opera, gender complexities
what texts introduced themes of gender/gender fluidity to sf?
The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) by Ursula K Leguin and The Female Man (1971) by Joanna Russ
what is the trend in political persuasions within 21st century sf?
socialist to communist, but on the other hand neo-reactionary conservative also
what have many 21st century sf authors addressed through their works?
the racist underpinings of “golden-age” sf
21st century SF authors
Kazuo Ishiguro, Rivers Solomon, Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemison, Nisi Shawl, and Nnendi Orkorofor,
solarpunk
optimistic; envisions nature and humanity living in balance with technology
themes of “contemporary” SF
established modes of sustainability, identity structures, governance
new-delivery technologies and SF
new-delivery technologies such as podcasts and blogs continue to expand SF to international/diverse writers & readers
contemporary SF works
Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves (2017), Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood
and Bone (2018), and Micaiah Johnson’s The Space
Between Worlds (2020)
what’s the “purist” and “tribalist” definition of SF
only SF authors can write SF. others want to widen the genre to include fantasy, spy-stories, and horror
according to the resource guide, what is integral to SF despite contested definitions?
the fact that it reflects scientific inquiries, curiosities, and fantasies (e.g. how Poe’s Hans Pfaall imagined flying human beings after Da Vinci first prototyped a human flying machine)
why is the difference between sf and mainstream fic so contested?
because the boundaries between the two are “intellectually flimsy”
what award did Leguin receive that recognized her not just as a SF writer, but as a talented writer in general?
the 2014 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters
which of Leguin’s works have been republished by the Library of America?
Annals of the Western Shores, Dangerous People: The Complete Text of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Kesh Novella, Always Coming Home, The Hainish Novels & Stories Volumes 1 and 2, Five Ways to Forgiveness,
and The Complete Orsinia.
