
Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction
Living on the Edge of Burnout
Caroline Alphin(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 31. December 2020
Book
Hardback
136 pages
978-0-367-49099-7 (ISBN)
Description
Caroline Alphin presents an original exploration of biopolitics by examining it through the lens of cyberpunk science fiction.
Comprised of five chapters, Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction is guided by four central themes: biopolitics, intensification, resilience, and accelerationism. The first chapters examine the political possibilities of cyberpunk as a genre of science fiction and introduce one kind of neoliberal subject, the self-monitoring cyborg. These are individuals who join fitness/health tracking devices and applications to their body to "self-cultivate". Here, Alphin presents concrete examples of how fitness trackers are a strategy of neoliberal governmentality under the guise of self-cultivation. Moving away from Foucault's biopolitics to themes of intensity and resilience, Alphin draws largely from William Gibson's Neuromancer, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, along with the film Blade Runner to problematize notions of neoliberal resilience. Alphin returns to biopolitics, intensity, and resilience, connecting these themes to accelerationism as she engages with biohacker discourses. Here she argues that a biohacker is, in part, an intensification of the self-monitoring cyborg and accelerationism is in the end another form of resilience.
Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction is an invaluable resource for those interested in security studies, political sociology, biopolitics, critical IR theory, political theory, cultural studies, and literary theory.
Comprised of five chapters, Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction is guided by four central themes: biopolitics, intensification, resilience, and accelerationism. The first chapters examine the political possibilities of cyberpunk as a genre of science fiction and introduce one kind of neoliberal subject, the self-monitoring cyborg. These are individuals who join fitness/health tracking devices and applications to their body to "self-cultivate". Here, Alphin presents concrete examples of how fitness trackers are a strategy of neoliberal governmentality under the guise of self-cultivation. Moving away from Foucault's biopolitics to themes of intensity and resilience, Alphin draws largely from William Gibson's Neuromancer, Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Richard K. Morgan's Altered Carbon, along with the film Blade Runner to problematize notions of neoliberal resilience. Alphin returns to biopolitics, intensity, and resilience, connecting these themes to accelerationism as she engages with biohacker discourses. Here she argues that a biohacker is, in part, an intensification of the self-monitoring cyborg and accelerationism is in the end another form of resilience.
Neoliberalism and Cyberpunk Science Fiction is an invaluable resource for those interested in security studies, political sociology, biopolitics, critical IR theory, political theory, cultural studies, and literary theory.
Reviews / Votes
"Intense burn out is ironically the goal of neoliberal biopolitics - this innovative book on Cyberpunk explores the temporality between the promises and the failures letting people slowly die in the accelerating shadows..."Geoffrey Whitehall, Acadia University
"Caroline Alphin's book is on the leading edge of international political theory. It aptly tells the story of how neoliberalism produces new forms of social, technological, and embodied existence. Alphin pushes the reader to ask difficult questions about the taken for granted ways in which neoliberalism perpetuates itself via mechanisms ranging from the fitbit to the biohacker. It is an impressive book, which should be read by anyone interested in understanding the politics of modern cityscapes."
Jessica Auchter, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Tennessee Chattanooga
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
373 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-367-49099-7 (9780367490997)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Additional editions

Book
06/2022
1st Edition
Routledge
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Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
12/2020
1st Edition
Routledge
€59.49
Available for download

E-Book
12/2020
1st Edition
Routledge
€59.49
Available for download
Person
Caroline Alphin is an English Instructor at Radford University. Her research interests include biopolitics, science fiction, genre studies, feminist theory, and studies of neoliberalism.
Content
Introduction: Living on the Edge of Burnout 1. The Neoliberal Science Fictions of Cyberpunk 2. Self-Monitoring as Instrumentalized Self-Cultivation 3. Subtle State Killing as a Mode of Neoliberal Governmentality 4. Cyberpunk Necroscapes and Necro-temporality in Blade Runner 5. Reframing the Biohacker Within the Logic of Intensity 6. Conclusion: Defamiliarizing Neoliberalism Through Cyberpunk Science Fiction