
Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene
Jonathan Hay(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Published on 26. December 2024
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-350-46595-4 (ISBN)
Description
With science fiction stories imagining futures and worlds vastly different from our own, and posthuman philosophies radically reconceptualising our species' place within our own world, this book is a deep dive into the similarities between science fiction studies and critical posthumanism and how they can be read together. Both fields fantasise about future technologies, envisage alienness through conversation with everyday life and both anticipate the Anthropocene as a dire source of rupture from the present. Drawing inspiration from these and other consonances, this book establishes a common theoretical ground between the two fields, upon which the two currents of future-oriented thought can meet and begin to share a common language.
An investigation that draws critical currency from the everyday condition of our species in relation to technology and our perilous situation in the Anthropocene, the book observes posthumanism not just as a theoretical framework that may be applied to science fictional ideas, but also as an integral part of how it is that science fiction is generated.
Featuring case studies of the work of prominent authors Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin and Kim Stanley Robinson, alongside the BBC television series Doctor Who and the cult videogame Outer Wilds, Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene formulates a new critical paradigm which recognises the value of such works to posthumanist thought. Addressing those with an interest in either academic discipline, it demonstrates that urgent discourses around our shared future are more imperative now than ever before.
An investigation that draws critical currency from the everyday condition of our species in relation to technology and our perilous situation in the Anthropocene, the book observes posthumanism not just as a theoretical framework that may be applied to science fictional ideas, but also as an integral part of how it is that science fiction is generated.
Featuring case studies of the work of prominent authors Isaac Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin and Kim Stanley Robinson, alongside the BBC television series Doctor Who and the cult videogame Outer Wilds, Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene formulates a new critical paradigm which recognises the value of such works to posthumanist thought. Addressing those with an interest in either academic discipline, it demonstrates that urgent discourses around our shared future are more imperative now than ever before.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
14 bw illus
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
520 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-350-46595-4 (9781350465954)
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
Other editions
Additional editions

Jonathan Hay
Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene
E-Book
12/2024
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€94.49
Available for download

Jonathan Hay
Science Fiction and Posthumanism in the Anthropocene
E-Book
12/2024
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Academic
€94.49
Available for download
Person
Dr. Jonathan Hay is Lecturer in English Literature and Data Science, University of Chester, UK. An Environmental Humanities researcher, they have guest edited two issues of the science fiction journal Helice on speculative landscapes and are Book Reviews Editor at Journal of Posthumanism. They are also co-editor of Talking Bodies Volume II: Bodily Languages, Selfhood and Transgression (2020).
Content
Foreword
Introduction
Chapter 1 - 'What's a little monotony?': Isaac Asimov's Foundation Universe
Chapter 2 - 'What we do daily': Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle
Chapter 3 - 'Palimpsests of the daily routine': Kim Stanley Robinson's oeuvre
Chapter 4 - 'Can I use the toilet?': Science Fiction and New Media
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Chapter 1 - 'What's a little monotony?': Isaac Asimov's Foundation Universe
Chapter 2 - 'What we do daily': Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle
Chapter 3 - 'Palimpsests of the daily routine': Kim Stanley Robinson's oeuvre
Chapter 4 - 'Can I use the toilet?': Science Fiction and New Media
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index