ABSTRACT

The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is a comprehensive overview of the history and study of science fiction. It outlines major writers, movements, and texts in the genre, established critical approaches and areas for future study. Fifty-six entries by a team of renowned international contributors are divided into four parts which look, in turn, at:

  • history – an integrated chronological narrative of the genre’s development
  • theory – detailed accounts of major theoretical approaches including feminism, Marxism, psychoanalysis, cultural studies, postcolonialism, posthumanism and utopian studies
  • issues and challenges – anticipates future directions for study in areas as diverse as science studies, music, design, environmentalism, ethics and alterity
  • subgenres – a prismatic view of the genre, tracing themes and developments within specific subgenres.

Bringing into dialogue the many perspectives on the genre The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction is essential reading for anyone interested in the history and the future of science fiction and the way it is taught and studied.

part |2 pages

Part I HISTORY

chapter 1|10 pages

THE COPERNICAN REVOLUTION

chapter 2|10 pages

NINETEENTH-CENTURY SF

chapter 3|9 pages

FICTION, 1895–1926

chapter 4|10 pages

SF TOURISM

chapter 5|10 pages

FILM, 1895–1950

chapter 6|10 pages

FICTION, 1926–1949

chapter 7|9 pages

GOLDEN AGE COMICS

chapter 9|10 pages

FICTION, 1950–1963

chapter 10|12 pages

FILM AND TELEVISION, 1960–1980

chapter 11|10 pages

FICTION, 1964–1979

chapter 12|11 pages

MANGA AND ANIME

chapter 13|11 pages

SILVER AGE COMICS

chapter 14|10 pages

FILM SINCE 1980

chapter 15|9 pages

TELEVISION SINCE 1980

chapter 16|10 pages

FICTION, 1980–1992

chapter 17|11 pages

COMICS SINCE THE SILVER AGE

chapter 18|9 pages

FICTION SINCE 1992

part |2 pages

Part II THEORY

chapter 19|9 pages

CRITICAL RACE THEORY

chapter 20|10 pages

CULTURAL HISTORY

chapter 21|10 pages

FAN STUDIES

chapter 22|11 pages

FEMINISMS

chapter 23|11 pages

LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS

chapter 24|10 pages

MARXISM

chapter 25|10 pages

NUCLEAR CRITICISM

chapter 26|11 pages

POSTCOLONIALISM

chapter 27|12 pages

POSTHUMANISM AND CYBORG THEORY

chapter 28|9 pages

POSTMODERNISM

chapter 29|10 pages

PSYCHOANALYSIS

chapter 30|10 pages

QUEER THEORY

chapter 31|9 pages

UTOPIAN STUDIES

chapter 32|12 pages

VIRTUALITY

part |2 pages

Part III ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

chapter 33|10 pages

ANIMAL STUDIES

chapter 34|9 pages

DESIGN FOR SCREEN SF

chapter 36|11 pages

EMPIRE

chapter 37|9 pages

ENVIRONMENTALISM

chapter 38|11 pages

ETHICS AND ALTERITY

chapter 39|10 pages

MUSIC

chapter 40|10 pages

PSEUDOSCIENCE

chapter 41|10 pages

SCIENCE STUDIES

chapter 42|10 pages

SPACE

chapter 44|9 pages

YOUNG ADULT SF

part |2 pages

Part IV SUBGENRES

chapter 45|5 pages

ALTERNATE HISTORY

chapter 46|5 pages

APOCALYPTIC SF

chapter 47|5 pages

ARTHOUSE SF FILM

chapter 48|5 pages

BLOCKBUSTER SF FILM

chapter 49|5 pages

DYSTOPIA

chapter 50|6 pages

EUTOPIA

chapter 51|5 pages

FEMINIST SF

chapter 52|5 pages

FUTURE HISTORY

chapter 53|6 pages

HARD SF

chapter 54|5 pages

SLIPSTREAM

chapter 55|5 pages

SPACE OPERA

chapter 56|7 pages

WEIRD FICTION