Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Fiction Notes
Contemporary
Literature
Mrs. Prange
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Introduction
These slides will outline a brief history of
the science fiction genre and mention a
number of significant authors who
established sci-fi as a legitimate form of
writing.
This information will be important as a
foundation for the rest of the semester.
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Topics of Discussion
1. Definition of science fiction
2. A brief history of the formation of the
genre
3. A brief outline of the major contributors to
science fiction
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Topic One – Definition of Science
Fiction
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Topic Two – History of Science
Fiction
Term “science fiction” was first used in 1851 but
roots of the genre go back 2000 years
Greek epic poetry featured superhuman beings,
one-eyed monsters, travel to distant lands, and
creatures who swallowed ships
Lucian - Syrian writer who wrote the first
science fantasy story in the 2nd century A.D.
Story was called The True History and featured
a shipload of companions who were transported
to the moon where an interplanetary battle was
being fought.
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
Development of the compass and advances in
shipbuilding in the late 15th century make
voyaging a more real possibility
Copernicus’ earth-shattering book On the
Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, written in
1540, states that the universe is vast and does
not revolve around the earth
The telescope is created in the 17th century
making the observation of other planets
possible.
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
Technological advances became commonplace in the
17th century, making it possible for people to start
envisioning a very different future. Prior to this, there
had never been a fiction set in a future period of human
history
Science Fiction stories in the 17th century:
Somnium (1634) – Johannes Kepler – novel set on the moon
The Man in the Moon (1638) – Francis Godwin – utopian society
living on the moon
Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon and Sun
(1659) – Cyrano de Bergerac – marvelous inventions such as
solar energy and talking machines
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
During the 18th century, some authors took a
bleak view of technological and social change:
Gulliver’s Travels (1726) – Jonathan Swift – parodied
experimental science and included a vision of a
terrifying superweapon: a flying island used by its
rulers to crush any opposition
Micromegas (1732) – Voltaire – first known story of
visitors from other planets: two giant, one from Saturn
and one from a planet of the star Sirius, who mock the
follies of the tiny earthlings
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
Science was not to be halted by warnings and
ridicule.
The following year (1733) Benjamin Franklin reported
his control of electricity
Within 30 years the Industrial Revolution began
The Year 2440 (1770) - Louis-Sebastian Mercier –
forsees a marvelous society that worships science,
with the telescope and the microscope central to each
youth’s first communion
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
By the end of the 18th century and the beginning
of the 19th century, capitalism and modern
science were beginning their conquest of the
world
Under industrial capitalism, a vast number of
people were working their lives away for a small
number of owners – these workers became from
their products, from nature, and from each other
Human creativity now appeared in the form of
monstrous alien forces exerting ever-growing
power of the people who created them
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
From this background came Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein (1818), widely recognized as the
originator of modern science fiction
Mary Shelley also wrote The Last Man (1826),
one of the first science fiction novels to envision
the end of the world
The 19th century was a time period that was
marked by incredible technological advances
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
Technological Advances in the 19th century:
Locomotive • Cash register
Airship • Stock ticker
Airplane • Industrial steel
Steamboat • Vulcanized rubber
Screw propeller • Portland cement
Bicycle • Dynamite
Automobile • Rapid-fire pistol
Harvester • Repeating rifle
Disc cultivator • Barbed wire
Reaper • Machine gun
Mowing machine • Photography
Electric battery • Phonograph
Electromagnet • Fountain pen
Cathode ray tube • Typewriter
Magnetic tape recorder • Telegraph
• Adding machine • Radio
• Punch time clock • Telephone
• Movie machine
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History of Science Fiction – cont.
After the Civil War, a newly literate mass
audience of boys and young men formed who
were intrigued by the opportunities of fame and
fortune in science and technology
The “dime” novel was aimed at this group of
people. The first example was Edward Ellis’s
The Steam Man of the Prairie (1865).
The dime novel was the most popular form of
entertainment between the Civil War and World
War I, and the science fiction dime novels had a
very formative influence on modern science
fiction.
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Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
Jules Verne (1828-1905)
• Recognized as the father of science
fiction
• Verne wrote about cosmic,
atmospheric, and underwater travel
before they were possible
• He is the third most translated author
in the world
• Considered almost a prophetic French
author
• Famous works include:
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864)
• From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
• Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873)
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Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
H.G. Wells (1866-1946)
• British writer known for his science
fiction
• He was an outspoken socialist and his
books all have a social or political
message
• Prolific writer who wrote in nearly
every genre including short stories and
non fiction
• Famous novels include:
• The Time Machine (1895)
• The Island of Dr. Moreaux (1896)
• The Invisible Man (1897)
• The War of the Worlds (1898)
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Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
Ray Bradbury (1920 – present)
• Born in Waukegan, Illinois
• Not strictly a science fiction writer
– also writes science fantasy and
has dabbled in other genres
• Has won numerous awards
including the National Medal of
Arts and he also has a star on
Hollywood’s walk of fame
• Famous works include:
• Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
• The Martian Chronicles (1950)
• Something Wicked This Way
Comes (1963)
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