Science fiction has always challenged readers with depictions of the future. Can the genre actually provide glimpses of the world of tomorrow? This collection of fifteen international and interdisciplinary essays examines the genre''s predictions and breaks new ground by considering the prophetic functions of science fiction films as well as SF literature. Among the texts and topics examined are classic stories by Murray Leinster, C. L. Moore, and Cordwainer Smith; 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels, Japanese anime and Hong Kong cinema; and electronic fiction.

The J. Lloyd Eaton Conferences on Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature--long held at the University of California, Riverside--have been a major influence in the study of science fiction and fantasy for thirty years. The conferences have attracted leading scholars whose papers are published in Eaton volumes found in university libraries throughout the world.

This collection brings together 22 of the best papers--most with new afterwords by the authors--presented in chronological order to show how science fiction and fantasy criticism has evolved since 1979.

Despite the growing importance of economics in our lives, literary scholars have long been reluctant to consider economic issues as they examine key texts. This volume seeks to fill one of these conspicuous gaps in the critical literature by focusing on various connections between science fiction and economics, with some attention to related fields such as politics and government. Its seventeen contributors include five award-winning scholars, five science fiction writers, and a widely published economist.

Three topics are covered: what noted science fiction writers like Robert A. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Kim Stanley Robinson have had to say about our economic and political future; how the competitive and ever-changing publishing marketplace has affected the growth and development of science fiction from the nineteenth century to today; and how the scholars who examine science fiction have themselves been influenced by the economics of academia. Although the essays focus primarily on American science fiction, the traditions of Russian and Chinese science fiction are also examined. A comprehensive bibliography of works related to science fiction and economics will assist other readers and critics who are interested in this subject.

 By examining important aspects of science fiction in the twentieth century, this book explains how the genre evolved to its current state. Close critical attention is given to topics including the art that has accompanied science fiction, the subgenres of space opera and hard science fiction, the rise of SF anthologies, and the burgeoning impact of the marketplace on authors.

Included are in-depth studies of key texts that contributed to science fiction''s growth, including Philip Francis Nowlan''s first Buck Rogers story, the first published stories of A. E. van Vogt, and the early juveniles of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.

While students and general readers typically cannot relate to esoteric definitions of science fiction, they readily understand the genre as a literature that characteristically deals with subjects such as new inventions, space, robot and aliens. This book looks at science fiction in precisely this manner, with twenty-one chapters that each deal with a subject that is repeatedly addressed in science fiction of recent centuries. Based on a packet of original essays that the author assembled for his classes, the book could serve as a supplemental textbook in science fiction classes, but also contains material of interest to science fiction scholars and others devoted to the genre.

In some cases, chapters offer thorough surveys of numerous works involving certain subjects, such as imagined vehicles, journeys beneath the Earth and undersea adventures, discovering intriguing patterns in the ways that various writers developed their ideas. When comprehensive coverage of ubiquitous topics such as robots, aliens and the planet Mars is impossible, chapters focus on major themes referencing selected texts. A conclusion discusses other science fiction subjects that were omitted for various reasons, and a bibliography lists additional resources for the study of science fiction in general and the topics of each chapter.

Science fiction films and television programs about space travel have undergone a significant transformation since their inception. In contrast to the early depictions of small spaceship crews on exploratory missions, recent film and television portrayals depict much larger societies in space as well as the obstacles that arise with them.

This collection of essays examines many aspects of making space travel films, from the process of screenwriting to the impact of Greek myth on modern film, with illuminating commentary on contemporary problems including class distinction, racism, and sexism. Contributors to this volume, including several extensively published scholars and science fiction writers, analyze a wide variety of relevant science fiction films and television programs ranging from Star Trek, Silent Running, the Alien films and Japanese anime to more recent works like Battlestar Galactica, Avatar, Elysium, The Martian, Passengers, and Ad Astra.

Science fiction represents a diverse community of writers and readers that spans the entire world. This collection provides a global tour of the genre, with essays about Latin American, European, African, Arabic, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese science fiction providing insights about how writers around the world have explored and reinvigorated the genre. Essays by prominent critics from five continents inform about particular cultures and analyze representative texts by authors such as Tobias S. Buckell, Lourenco Mutarelli, Stanislaw Lem, Masande Ntshanga, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Anil Menon, and Cixin Liu.

The contributing scholars examine how national experiences have shaped these narratives, which often differ strikingly from Anglo-American science fiction. An introductory survey of foreign-language science fiction in the United States endeavors to explain why so many of these texts have remained unknown to Anglophone readers. An extensive bibliography lists numerous resources for further study of science fiction from various parts of the world.

Science fiction has always challenged readers with depictions of the future. Can the genre actually provide glimpses of the world of tomorrow? This collection of fifteen international and interdisciplinary essays examines the genre''s predictions and breaks new ground by considering the prophetic functions of science fiction films as well as SF literature. Among the texts and topics examined are classic stories by Murray Leinster, C. L. Moore, and Cordwainer Smith; 2001: A Space Odyssey and its sequels, Japanese anime and Hong Kong cinema; and electronic fiction.

The J. Lloyd Eaton Conferences on Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature--long held at the University of California, Riverside--have been a major influence in the study of science fiction and fantasy for thirty years. The conferences have attracted leading scholars whose papers are published in Eaton volumes found in university libraries throughout the world.

This collection brings together 22 of the best papers--most with new afterwords by the authors--presented in chronological order to show how science fiction and fantasy criticism has evolved since 1979.

Despite the growing importance of economics in our lives, literary scholars have long been reluctant to consider economic issues as they examine key texts. This volume seeks to fill one of these conspicuous gaps in the critical literature by focusing on various connections between science fiction and economics, with some attention to related fields such as politics and government. Its seventeen contributors include five award-winning scholars, five science fiction writers, and a widely published economist.

Three topics are covered: what noted science fiction writers like Robert A. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Kim Stanley Robinson have had to say about our economic and political future; how the competitive and ever-changing publishing marketplace has affected the growth and development of science fiction from the nineteenth century to today; and how the scholars who examine science fiction have themselves been influenced by the economics of academia. Although the essays focus primarily on American science fiction, the traditions of Russian and Chinese science fiction are also examined. A comprehensive bibliography of works related to science fiction and economics will assist other readers and critics who are interested in this subject.

 By examining important aspects of science fiction in the twentieth century, this book explains how the genre evolved to its current state. Close critical attention is given to topics including the art that has accompanied science fiction, the subgenres of space opera and hard science fiction, the rise of SF anthologies, and the burgeoning impact of the marketplace on authors.

Included are in-depth studies of key texts that contributed to science fiction''s growth, including Philip Francis Nowlan''s first Buck Rogers story, the first published stories of A. E. van Vogt, and the early juveniles of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.

While students and general readers typically cannot relate to esoteric definitions of science fiction, they readily understand the genre as a literature that characteristically deals with subjects such as new inventions, space, robot and aliens. This book looks at science fiction in precisely this manner, with twenty-one chapters that each deal with a subject that is repeatedly addressed in science fiction of recent centuries. Based on a packet of original essays that the author assembled for his classes, the book could serve as a supplemental textbook in science fiction classes, but also contains material of interest to science fiction scholars and others devoted to the genre.

In some cases, chapters offer thorough surveys of numerous works involving certain subjects, such as imagined vehicles, journeys beneath the Earth and undersea adventures, discovering intriguing patterns in the ways that various writers developed their ideas. When comprehensive coverage of ubiquitous topics such as robots, aliens and the planet Mars is impossible, chapters focus on major themes referencing selected texts. A conclusion discusses other science fiction subjects that were omitted for various reasons, and a bibliography lists additional resources for the study of science fiction in general and the topics of each chapter.

Science fiction films and television programs about space travel have undergone a significant transformation since their inception. In contrast to the early depictions of small spaceship crews on exploratory missions, recent film and television portrayals depict much larger societies in space as well as the obstacles that arise with them.

This collection of essays examines many aspects of making space travel films, from the process of screenwriting to the impact of Greek myth on modern film, with illuminating commentary on contemporary problems including class distinction, racism, and sexism. Contributors to this volume, including several extensively published scholars and science fiction writers, analyze a wide variety of relevant science fiction films and television programs ranging from Star Trek, Silent Running, the Alien films and Japanese anime to more recent works like Battlestar Galactica, Avatar, Elysium, The Martian, Passengers, and Ad Astra.

Science fiction represents a diverse community of writers and readers that spans the entire world. This collection provides a global tour of the genre, with essays about Latin American, European, African, Arabic, Indian, Japanese, and Chinese science fiction providing insights about how writers around the world have explored and reinvigorated the genre. Essays by prominent critics from five continents inform about particular cultures and analyze representative texts by authors such as Tobias S. Buckell, Lourenco Mutarelli, Stanislaw Lem, Masande Ntshanga, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Anil Menon, and Cixin Liu.

The contributing scholars examine how national experiences have shaped these narratives, which often differ strikingly from Anglo-American science fiction. An introductory survey of foreign-language science fiction in the United States endeavors to explain why so many of these texts have remained unknown to Anglophone readers. An extensive bibliography lists numerous resources for further study of science fiction from various parts of the world.