Michael Pitts – författare

This penetrating work, the first book-length study of Kate Smith to appear in print, offers a candid look at the life and show business career of one of the most beloved women of our time. Through her work as an entertainer, Kate Smith touched the pulse of the American public. The scope of her influence is chronicled in this book, which includes a biographical study, a discography, a filmography, a song index, lists of her stage and media appearances, sheet music and song books, and an annotated bibliography of works by and about Kate Smith.

Through a comprehensive analysis of popular contemporary science fiction television series, this book underscores the genre's unique potential to both reflect and shape cultural perceptions of masculinity.Each of its essays, written by a host of international contributors, analyse key series ranging from Firefly (2002) to Star Trek: Picard (2020-23). Employing anti-patriarchal and pro-feminist perspectives, they scrutinize the limited diversity among male characters in science fiction television, shedding light on the underrepresentation of non-heteronormative, non-white, and transmasculine characters, while also highlighting notable exceptions such as Altered Carbon (2018-20), Doom Patrol (2019), and The Umbrella Academy (2019).Against the backdrop of current discussions regarding toxic masculinity, this book highlights the ways in which divergent masculinities shape and are shaped by the science fiction genre. In doing so, it argues the significant role played by the genre in ongoing discourse surrounding traditional and alternative forms of masculinity.

Alternative Masculinities in Feminist Speculative Fiction: A New Man traces efforts within American feminist utopias to imagine healthier conceptions of manhood. As this analysis illuminates, feminist works envisioning the improved society and its attending masculinities constitute an overlooked site for mining new masculinities. During the years in which such utopias gained popularity —the early 1970s to the mid-2010s—these novels grew more complex, challenging essentialist conceptions of masculinity and female experience. These texts vary in their focus but share an interest in replacing patriarchal masculinities with an alternative informed by second wave and intersectional feminism. This book analyzes the centrality of alternative masculinities to these ideal societies and the ways feminist writers present new conceptions of manhood pivotal to discussions surrounding the ongoing crisis of American masculinity.