As you have probably noticed, science fiction addresses many “big questions.” Ursula K. Le Guin observes that “American SF has been full of stories tackling totalitarianism,
nationalism, overpopulation, pollution, prejudice, racism, sexism, militarism, and so on” (“On Teaching Science Fiction” 24). Le Guin's list reminds me of topics I have often seen my students
write about in composition classes. If we as teachers want to provide subjects for our students to write and think critically about, we could possibly do no better than to have them read science fiction. Arguing for the inclusion of literary texts in composition classes, Dominic DelliCarpini suggests asking students “to see connections, rather than hierarchies, among literary and other texts” (28). Science fiction can aid in this.
Science fiction, like horror and fantasy, presents a set of connections that are already in place. Because the tropes of science fiction are well-known in popular culture and indeed, in everyday experience (the internet and smart phones are examples that come to mind; anyone my age will remember when things like this appeared mostly in comic books), students have a base of knowledge which allows them to enter the conversations inherent in science fiction. At the risk of being overly dramatic, I would suggest that studying the conversations in science fiction is more important today than ever, because we are facing ever-accelerating technological changes. As a friend of mine pointed out to me, we seem to adapt to these changes rather well; there is no “future shock.” I am not sure he is totally correct, but even if we do adapt well to our technological advances, we may not be thinking about them enough.
5.3 Glossary: Key Terms for Teachers
The terms I have selected here come from three sources: conversations with writers, editors, and fans of science fiction; critical works on science fiction; and science fiction itself. In my experience, these are the topics that often come up in conversations about science fiction or in critical works on science fiction. They are primarily intended for teachers, in order to
introduce them to unfamiliar terms that they may encounter during background reading of primary or secondary texts. Also, students may be familiar with some of these terms, and
instructors will want to be able to talk intelligently about them if students bring them up in classroom discussions.
These terms can also be used as search words for research, or a useful way to identify the focus of a critical source that may be otherwise unfamiliar. For example, if you happen across a paper on FTL in fiction, you will know that it deals with space travel.
Finally, you may want to distribute an edited version of this glossary to your students to fit the needs of your course. In fact, because speculative fiction has a dynamic and ever-changing vocabulary, you may ask your students to research and add to the glossary you provide. A recent search for “science fiction” on the MLA database alone yielded over 9000 results, many of which will use the specialized terms I list here. You may also want to explore the Center for the Study of Science Fiction page at www.sfcenter.ku.edu, which links to essays and other resources which will use many of these terms and new ones as they develop as well.
ALTERNATE HISTORY
Alternate history is arguably a sub-genre of science fiction dealing with speculation about historical events occurring differently from how they actually happened. For example, a popular theme in alternate history is the “what if the Nazis had won?” idea. Competing with the Nazis is the “what if the South had won?” theme. Philip K. Dicks' The Man in the High Castle (1962) explores the former, while Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series of novels (1997-2007) explore the latter. Often, but not always, the trope of time travel appears in these texts to explain the deviation from history. An interesting sub-sub-genre, which could be called alternate fictional history, has been refined by Kim Newman, whose Anno Dracula series (1992-1998) uses
history of the late 19th and 20th centuries.
CYBERPUNK
Cyberpunk is a movement within science fiction that began in the early 1980s; the leading authors/proponents of the movement at the time were William Gibson, John Shirley, and Bruce Sterling. The term “cyberpunk was coined by Bruce Bethke in his 1983 short story “Cyberpunk”; the name evokes recent technology (cybernetics) and the rebellious music and attitude of punk rock. Influenced by comics (Heavy Metal, for instance), B movies, hard-boiled detective fiction, and author such as William S. Burroughs and Philip K. Dick, cyberpunk writers explored themes such as the rise of mega-corporations, virtual reality/drug use/altered consciousness,
media/fame/pop culture, and the invasion of the body by technology. Some authors associated with cyberpunk include Pat Cadigan, K.W. Jeter, r.u. Sirius, Paul Di Filippo, and of course Gibson, Shirley, and Sterling. Key cyberpunk texts include Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) and Sterling's 1986 Mirrorshades anthology.
FTL (FASTER THAN LIGHT TRAVEL)
Put simply, faster-than-light travel. A staple of science fiction texts and a contested concept within the scientific community. According to Einstein, the speed of light is the upper limit for the universe; some theorists posit that there may be ways to get around this. The theories are too complicated to approach here, but fictional explorations of the ramifications of FTL include Dan Simmons' Hyperion (1989) and The Fall of Hyperion (1990) and Ursula K. Le Guin's short stories “The Shobies' Story” (1990) and “Dancing to Ganam” (1993), which may be found in her
collection A Fisherman of the Inland Sea.
GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION
The Golden Age of science fiction is dated from roughly the late 1930s to the 1960s. John W. Campbell's assumption of editorship at Astounding is generally considered to be the starting point for the Golden Age. Previously, the field had been dominated by Hugo Gernsback and the magazine Amazing Stories, but when Campbell became editor of Astounding in 1938, he almost singlehandedly eliminated purple prose from the field of science fiction. He wanted written by writers who understood both people and science. Campbell's influence was such that he could make or break the careers of aspiring science fiction writers. The work of this period is
characterized by attention to scientific plausibility, especially in the “hard” sciences of physics and biology. Space travel figures prominently in science fiction of this period. The Golden Age ushered in the careers of many authors we consider classic today, including Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, and many others.
HARD SCIENCE FICTION
Often associated with the Golden Age and its authors, hard science fiction places emphasis on the accuracy of its scientific content and foregrounds “hard sciences” such as physics,
engineering, etc. in its plots. The works of Larry Niven, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and Kim Stanley Robinson often fall into the category of hard science fiction.
NEW WAVE
The term “New Wave” comes from nouvelle vague, which was originally used to describe the work of French avant-garde filmmakers of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Long before the term was applied to 1970s and 1980s pop music, Judith Merril used New Wave in a 1966 essay in F&SF to describe a new group of writers, most of whom were regular contributors to the British magazine New Worlds. Michael Moorcock had become editor of the magazine in 1964, and he ushered in a counter-revolution against traditional SF. New Wave SF usually emphasized inner rather than outer space; its authors employed stylistic techniques that had previously been reserved for more mainstream literature, and those authors were not afraid to include sexual content. In the U.S., Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions (1967) introduced new authors and new styles of SF to readers and was credited for inspiring the American arm of New Wave. Merril's New Wave anthology England Swings appeared the next year. Some authors associated with New Wave (many of whom have disavowed it at some point on their careers) include Robert Silverberg, Thomas Disch, Brian Aldiss, J.G. Ballard, Joanna Russ, and Samuel Delaney.
SINGULARITY
As described by futurists, the singularity (a term coined by science fiction author Vernor Vinge) refers to a point in technological progress when artificial intelligence (AI) exceeds the capacity of human comprehension. It is believed that, because true AI would be so alien to human consciousness, humans would no longer be able to predict or even comprehend future events. The hypothesis is that AI would create more AI, and the successive generations would become more intellectually powerful and alien to humans. This in turn might lead to the intelligences eradicating the human species, accidentally, incidentally, or on purpose. Nonfiction sources for information on the singularity include Ray Kurzweil's 2005 book The Singularity is Near and
Bill Joy's article “Why the future doesn't need us” in the April 2004 issue of Wired. The singularity has been fodder for many fictional texts; I collect some of these in the Singularity theme/genealogy included in this chapter.
SOFT SCIENCE FICTION
A counterpart of hard science fiction, soft science is sometimes called sociological science fiction. It usually deals more with character, philosophy, or social issues than hard science fiction, but the terms are not necessarily opposites; they merely refer to the emphasis on hard or soft science issues found within a given text. Ursula K. Le Guin's character-driven science fiction is a good example of soft science fiction.
STEAMPUNK
Steampunk can be considered a sub-genre of alternate history. The term describes fiction usually set in the 19th century, but with advanced technology along the lines of that found in the works of H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. The technology is usually Victorian-era and steam-driven, hence the name, which was coined by cyberpunk writer K.W. Jeter. The first popular novel in the
steampunk genre was William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine (1990), which featured steam-powered computers. Other steampunk works include China Mieville's Perdido Street Station (2000), Joe Lansdale's Zeppelins West (2001), and Cherie Priest's Dreadnought (2010).
5.4 Genealogies for Science Fiction: Themes and Annotated Bibliographies for