Lab Lit

Olga A. Pilkington is Assistant Professor of English at Dixie State University.The late Ace G. Pilkington was professor of English and history at Dixie State University.

This unique collection of contributed essays explores the cultural representation of science and scientists through literary texts. Its chapters provide creative, thought-provoking, and carefully curated observations about lab lit, bookended by a welcoming introduction to the genre by Olga Pilkington (Dixie State Univ.): "There is humor ... drama ... suspense ... [and] there is love—a life of science is a full one," she asserts. The final essay ("Illuminating a Hidden World through the Medium of Fiction") offers a case study, recounting contributor Rohn's decision to "name the nameless genre" through creation of the related website (http://www.lablit.com/), and featuring a short piece of the author's fiction ("Latent"), with a thoughtful afterword reflecting on the investigation of viruses, cautioning that "science is not ... confined to the laboratory," but that "the messages soon escape," evidently into literature. In conclusion, Pilkington rightly observes that while lab lit offers "possible ways into science" for the uninitiated, "just as a bridge can be crossed in either direction, lab lit works as an introduction to literature for scientists" as well. With her caveat that it is "not intended as a teacher's guide," Pilkington frames this collection as a direct invitation, beckoning new readers to the lab lit genre itself. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

• Preface, Olga A. Pilkington and Ace G. PilkingtonIntroduction: What’s in a Name?, Olga A. PilkingtonChapter 1: Frankenstein, Scientism, and the Cultural Reception of Discovery, Amanda ScottChapter 2: Female Scientists Under Strain: Transitions From Lab To Lit To Screen, Dean Conrad and Lynne MagowanChapter 3: Lab Lit and Science Fiction: Similarities and Separations, Ace G. PilkingtonChapter 4: Lab Lit and Popular Science, Olga A. PilkingtonChapter 5: Where Science Meets Fiction: A History and Theory of Laboratory Production, Matt HadleyChapter 6: The Use of Forensic Techniques to Uncover Social Disorder in Caleb Carr’s Alienist Novels, Kimberley H. IdolChapter 7: Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior: The Sciences in a Post-Fact World, Theda WredeChapter 8: The Short Fiction of Andrea Barrett: Lab Lit as Sociology of Science, Stephanie ChidesterChapter 9: The Honest Look at Science and Poetry, Elaine PearceChapter 10: Addressing the Gender Gap in STEM through Theatre, Eileen Trauth and Suzanne TrauthChapter 11: Using Science in Writing Mystery Novels, Beverly ConnorCase Study: Lab Lit: Illuminating a Hidden World through the Medium of Fiction, Jennifer RohnConclusionAbout the Contributors