Religion in Science Fiction: The Evolution of an Idea and the Extinction of a Genre
Ebook
Religion in Science Fiction investigates the history of the representations of religion in science fiction literature. Space travel, futuristic societies, and non-human cultures are traditional themes in science fiction. Speculating on the societal impacts of as-yet-undiscovered technologies is, after all, one of the distinguishing characteristics of science fiction literature. A more surprising theme may be a parallel exploration of religion: its institutional nature, social functions, and the tensions between religious and scientific worldviews.
Steven Hrotic investigates the representations of religion in 19th century proto-science fiction, and genre science fiction from the 1920s through the end of the century. Taken together, he argues that these stories tell an overarching story-a 'metanarrative'-of an evolving respect for religion, paralleling a decline in the belief that science will lead us to an ideal (and religion-free) future.
Science fiction's metanarrative represents more than simply a shift in popular perceptions of religion: it also serves as a model for cognitive anthropology, providing new insights into how groups and identities form in a globalized world, and into how crucial a role narratives may play. Ironically, this same perspective suggests that science fiction, as it was in the 20th century, may no longer exist.
Investigates the history of the representations of religion in science fiction literature, as a test case for the cognitive science of religion.
Addresses the conflict between religion and science with an innovate case study
First book to attempt a history of the whole genre from a religious studies perspective
Research intersects a number of hot topics in religious studies
Introduction
Part I
1. The Rules
2. The Raw Materials of Science Fiction
3. Uncertain Paternity
Part II
4. Gernsback and the Pulps
5. Campbell's "Social Science Fiction"
6. The Rise of the Novel
7. Poli-Sci-Fi
Part III
8. The Need to Believe
9. The Humanity of God (and Vice Versa)
10. Acceptance
Part IV
11. The Extinction of SF (or, at least, gSF)
12. Cultural Evolution
References
Hrotic's disciplinary standpoint as a cognitive anthropologist, as opposed to a literary critic or philosopher, marks his intervention as usefully distinct from our field's usual patterns of inquiry; the approach is quite different from what we usually do, and quite usefully so, and the book surely worth reading.
Religion in Science Fiction serves as an introduction both into the origins and the history of the genre ... It is a must-read for those doing research on the subject,but it also provides highly relevant insights for all those interested in the possible ways of reconciling science and religion in our modern societies.
This book teaches you not only about the important role writers of science fiction play in leading us to novel insights into religion, but also about the relationship between scientific and religious approaches to the world-and especially the usefulness of cognitive science in explaining the life of the imagination.
This is an illuminating and well-researched volume ... which teaches us much about the relationship between religious and scientific approaches to the world.
A delightful read that fills a much needed gap in the study of religion's occasionally ambiguous relationship with science fiction. Hrotic takes us on a lovely ride through a wide variety of imagined futures. Highly recommended.
I started reading Religion in Science Fiction with the intention to review it - and ended up just devouring the book. Hrotic's study is a learned, intelligent, often original, and highly readable contribution to research; in short: unputdownable.
The narrow focus allows Hrotic to make a sustained argument about this community. … Each chapter features summaries of the stories (without ruining their endings) and clear arguments about how these stories illustrate the evolving metanarrative of religion. This book would be a fascinating read for a non-academic audience of science fiction fans.
Religion is a major preoccupation of science fiction, though this has not always been acknowledged. Steve Hrotic has constructed a persuasive narrative about the different ways in which genre SF writers have approached religion, considered primarily as a special type of social system.
- Title: Religion in Science Fiction: The Evolution of an Idea and the Extinction of a Genre
- Author: Steven Hrotic
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2014
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781472534279, 9781474273176, 1474273173, 1472534271
- Resource ID: LLS:9781472534279
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-09T10:43:51Z
Steven Hrotic is a cognitive anthropologist, currently teaching and writing at the University of Vermont, USA.