Description
Book SynopsisIn Between Science and Society: Charting the Space of Science Fiction, Douglas A. Van Belle uses interviews with 24 science fiction authors to analyze the conceptual space that science fiction occupies between science and society. Using these interviews, Van Belle studies the similarities and differences between the academic and professional understandings of the genre. Between Science and Society argues that, for authors, all of the aspects of the genre that are emphasized by academics, such as science communication and depictions of scientists, are secondary to the artistic effort to entertain through storytelling. Through his interviews, Van Belle explores both the genre’s place in relation to science and society and key elements to surviving as a professional science fiction author. Van Belle creates a definition of science fiction based on the creative ideals expressed by these authors and compared to those that arise from the academic perspective, showing that academics are struggling to engage one of the two central ideals of the genre.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Heresy as Method
Chapter 1: The Interviews
Chapter 2: Kevin J. Anderson
Chapter 3: Steven Barnes
Chapter 4: Greg Bear
Chapter 5: Gregory Benford
Chapter 6: Ben Bova
Chapter 7: David Brin
Chapter 8: Brenda Cooper
Chapter 9: Stephen R. Donaldson
Chapter 10: Eric Flint
Chapter 11: David Gerrold
Chapter 12: Joe Haldeman
Chapter 13: Ian Irvine
Chapter 14: Nancy Kress
Chapter 15: Jack McDevitt
Chapter 16: Rebeccas Moesta
Chapter 17: Simon Morden
Chapter 18: Larry Niven
Chapter 19: Robert J. Sawyer
Chapter 20: Karl Schroeder
Chapter 21: Melinda Snodgrass
Chapter 22: Stephen Michael (S.M.) Sterling
Chapter 23: Charles Stross
Chapter 24: Vernor Vinge
Chapter 25: Connie Willis
Chapter 26: Charting the Space of Science Fiction
Chapter 27: Storytelling as the Essential, Defining Element of Science Fiction
Chapter 28: Science as the Rules of the Game
Chapter 29: The Science Fiction Community and a Sketch of the Science Fiction Ecosystem
Chapter 30: The Academic Implications of How the Creators of Science Fiction Define Science Fiction
