Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization, and the Academy
Published on 30. January 2002
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-313-32064-4 (ISBN)
Description
Science fiction occupies a peculiar place in the academic study of literature. For decades, scholars have looked at science fiction with disdain and have criticized it for being inferior to other types of literature. But despite the sentiments of these traditionalists, many works of science fiction engage recognized canonical texts, such as the Odyssey, and many traditionally canonical works contain elements of science fiction. More recently, the canon has been subject to revision, as scholars have deliberately sought to include works that reflect diversity and have participated in the serious study of popular culture. But these attempts to create a more inclusive canon have nonetheless continued to marginalize science fiction. This book examines the treatment of science fiction within the academy.
The expert contributors to this volume explore a wide range of topics related to the place of science fiction in literary studies. These include academic attitudes toward science fiction, the role of journals and cultural gatekeepers in canon formation, and the marginalization of specific works and authors by literary critics. In addition, the volume gives special attention to multicultural and feminist concerns. In discussing these topics, the book sheds considerable light on much broader issues related to the politics of literary studies and academic inquiry.
The expert contributors to this volume explore a wide range of topics related to the place of science fiction in literary studies. These include academic attitudes toward science fiction, the role of journals and cultural gatekeepers in canon formation, and the marginalization of specific works and authors by literary critics. In addition, the volume gives special attention to multicultural and feminist concerns. In discussing these topics, the book sheds considerable light on much broader issues related to the politics of literary studies and academic inquiry.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
458 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-313-32064-4 (9780313320644)
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
Gary Westfahl | George Slusser
Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization, and the Academy
E-Book
01/2002
1st Edition
Praeger Publishers Inc
€65.99
Available for download
Persons
Gary Westfahl is adjunct professor at the University of La Verne, CA. His previous books include No Cure for the Future (2002), Unearthly Visions (2002), Worlds Enough and Time (2002), Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization, and the Academy (2002), Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture (2000), Space and Beyond (2000), and Cosmic Engineers (1996), all available from Greenwood Press.
George Slusser is professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Riverside. He has written several books about science fiction authors and coedited numerous scholarly studies.
George Slusser is professor of comparative literature at the University of California, Riverside. He has written several books about science fiction authors and coedited numerous scholarly studies.
Content
Introduction by Gary Westfahl Overviews: Science Fiction and the Academy Literary Gatekeepers and the Fabril Tradition by Tom Shippey Seven Types of Chopped Liver: My Adventures in the Genre Wars by Frank McConnell The Things Women Don't Say by Susan Kray Why the Academy Is Afraid of Dragons: The Suppression of the Marvelous in Theories of the Fantastic by Jonathan Langford Mechanisms of Canonization The Arthur C. Clarke Award and Its Reception in Britain by Edward James Popes or Tropes: Defining the Grails of Science Fiction by Joseph D. Miller Science Fiction Eye and the Rebellion Against Recursion by Stephen P. Brown Authority, Canons, and Scholarship: The Role of Academic Journals by Arthur B. Evans Case Studies in Marginalization Multiculturalism and the Cultural Dynamics of Classic American Science Fiction by George Slusser Science Fiction in the Academies of History and Literature; Or, History and the Use of Science Fiction by Farah Mendlesohn (E)raced Visions: Women of Color and Science Fiction in the United States by Elyce Rae Helford Hard Magic, Soft Science: The Marginalization of Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason's Assemblers of Infinity and Bruce Boston's Stained Glass Rain by Howard V. Hendrix White Men Can't...:(De)centering Authority and Jacking into Phallic Economies in William Gibson's Count Zero by Joseph Childers, Townsend Carr, and Regna Meenk