viii, 62 p. / Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are the most prolific Soviet science fiction writers, who focused, above all, on the social themes and with satire discussed the political and social agendas in the Soviet society. This thesis explores the contribution of the Brothers Strugatsky to the genre of Russian science fiction and looks into the main themes of their most famous novels. At the beginning, I present a short overview of the history of Russian science fiction. Further on, I explore the Brothers Strugatsky's role in the development of science fiction in the Soviet Union and single out the two phases of their literary career: utopian and anti-utopian. Furthermore, I examine the Strugatskys' most prominent novels and their main themes: human nature and Soviet bureaucracy. Finally, I analyze to what extent the Strugatskys' novels fit into the Soviet reality and how they shape the genre of science fiction in Russia. / Committee in charge: Susanna Lim, Chair; Yelaina Kripkov, Member; Katya Hokanson, Member

This thesis explores the intersection of folkloric ritual theory and popular culture, expressed in science fiction television. The three-part rite of passage model established by folklorist Arnold van Gennep and later expounded upon by anthropologist Victor Turner is used as an analytical tool to establish the themes and structures of two popular television programs, Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who. Both contain structures that resemble a rite of passage and exhibit a particular feature of the liminal stage of a rite of passage: ludic recombination. In the discussion of Battlestar Galactica, the plot arc of the entire series is analyzed as a rite of passage. On Doctor Who, the ritual model is examined as a structural component of the "companion" character. The structure and features of rites of passage allow science fiction narratives to explore sociocultural issues and existential themes in a meaningful way.

While studies of lesbian, gay, and transgender communities and cultural production have dramatically increased, research on bisexuality remains highly undervalued in humanities and social science disciplines. To challenge this lack of scholarship, this doctoral dissertation applies both textual and ethnographic methods to examine bisexual representation in non-realistic or “speculative” narratives and to explore the insider perspectives of bisexual people who are also science fiction fans. The overall trajectory of chapters follows a progression from grounded research and analysis to theory and application. First, I explore bisexual worldviews through ethnographic research in overlapping sexual and fan communities and through textual analysis of a 1980s bisexual fanzine. Next, I establish theoretical and methodological foundations for a new sexual paradigm, called dimensional sexuality, and work to intervene in interpretive methods that may restrict readings of sexuality in cinematic narratives. And finally, I test dimensional sexuality as an interpretive mode by offering dimensional readings of science fiction television and novels. From one direction, the project seeks to understand bisexuality as a position from which to theorize sexual knowledge. A major claim is that bisexual epistemology offers an alternative to dominant monosexual frameworks. Specifically, the multivalent logic of bisexuality refutes the “either-or” structure of heterosexuality and homosexuality. By embracing the logic of “both-and,” bisexuality as a category of knowledge enables the reorganization of sexuality within a non-binary, non-gender based multidimensional framework. From another direction, the project demonstrates the productive textual and social spaces offered by speculative narratives for questioning what we “know” about gender, sex, sexuality, and other intersections of social identities. Science fiction bears a deep structural affinity with the dialectical thinking found in critical theory. By asking “what if” questions that challenge our assumptions about “what is,” non-realistic narratives estrange us from the “known” world, interrogate our assumptions about the world, and make visible ideas and experiences outside of the norms we use to interpret what is “real” in a particular social and historical moment. As such, speculative narratives enable us to imagine sexual and gender possibilities beyond the episteme of the moment.

Orientador: Karin Volobuef / Banca: Aparecido Donizete Rossi / Banca: Renata Philippov / Resumo: Na dissertação de mestrado "Topofilia e topofobia na Londres de Neil Gaiman", pretendemos analisar a construção do espaço no romance Lugar Nenhum e a relação que o protagonista estabelece com ele. Na narrativa, Richard Mayhew, um escocês residente em Londres, torna-se invisível não apenas para as pessoas, mas também para os objetos que fazem parte da rotina da cidade, após ajudar uma estranha moradora de rua, que estava ferida. A única pessoa a notar sua presença é um mendigo que lhe apresenta uma alternativa para seu estado desesperador: passar a viver nos túneis e esgotos que formam uma cidade escondida sob Londres. Nesta cidade subterrânea, que seus moradores chamam de Londres de Baixo - em oposição à Londres de Cima, a Londres por nós conhecida - ele consegue reencontrar a moça que resgatara e que fora o estopim para esse novo modo de vida. Richard embarca em uma jornada em busca do responsável pelo assassinato de toda a família da moça, que se chama Door, juntamente com o marquês de Carabas e Hunter, seus protetores. Na Londres de Baixo, embora muitos locais preservem os mesmos nomes a que Richard estava habituado na Londres de Cima, ele descobre que nem tudo é o que parece e que o tempo e o espaço se configuram de forma muito diferente do que ele tinha como certo. Richard tem que se familiarizar com a nova cidade e com os hábitos de seus moradores. E ao estudo dessa espécie de conexão ou "relação de afeto" que se cria entre protagonista e espaço chamamos de topofilia. Além disso, para que se crie a conexão pautada no afeto e a sensação de segurança e pertencimento ao espaço, é preciso que Richard enfrente os medos que nele se escondem: a esta relação com os medos do espaço chamamos topofobia. Pretendemos discutir como topofobia e topofilia se interconectam no romance para criar a familiarização do protagonista - e,... / Abstract: In this Master's thesis "Topophilia and topophobia in Neil Gaiman's London", we intend to analyse the creation of space in the novel Neverwhere and the relation established between its main character and space. In this novel, Richard Mayhew is a Scottish man living in London, who suddenly becomes invisible not only to the people, but also to the objects that are part of the city's routine, after helping a strange homeless girl whom he found wounded on the sidewalk. The only person who sees Richard is a homeless man, who gives him an alternative solution to his despairing state: to live in a city hidden in the tunnels and sewers under London. In that city, called by its inhabitants London Below - in opposition to London Above, the London we know as "real" - he manages to meet once again the girl he rescued, whose name is Door. Accompanied by her and her protectors, the marquis de Carabas and Hunter, Richard starts a journey to find the responsible for the murder of the girl's entire family. In London Below, though many places carry the same names to which Richard was used in London Above, he finds out that not all is what it seems and that time and space occur in very different ways. Richard has to familiarize himself with the new city and its inhabitants' habits:we call the study of this relation of affection between character and space topophilia. Also, to create the affection and the sense of security and belonging to space, it is necessary that Richard face the fears hidden there: we call this relation with those fears in space topophobia. We intend to demonstrate, through the analysis of passages of the novel, how topophobia and topophilia relate to create the familiarization of the main character - and, consequently, the reader's - with the fictional space, and how this familiarization is essential to turn Richard from an ordinary London worker into... / Mestre

Orientador: Eric Mitchell Sabinson / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T10:04:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fauza_MichelJalil_M.pdf: 1004106 bytes, checksum: a8b2913e4ec383b24cc704f1c55a01e0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Este trabalho tem a intenção de propor um estudo sobre a peça teatral R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), escrita pelo autor checo Karel Capek em 1920 e especialmente importante por introduzir, na literatura moderna, a figura do robô do modo que hoje a concebemos. A princípio, apresentamos de maneira breve alguns dos autômatos retratados pela literatura fantástica do século XIX, de forma a distinguir a nova abordagem de Capek sobre o tema. Posteriormente, destacamos passagens da peça, ato a ato, relacionando-as a teóricos da filosofia e da crítica literária, de modo a sugerir novas possibilidades de leitura que se distanciem das interpretações comuns surgidas desde a época de sua publicação e primeiras representações. Para o êxito de tal tarefa, devemos repensar o significado do robô dentro do contexto ficcional de R.U.R. e as implicações geradas pelo seu surgimento. / Abstract: This work examines the theatrical play R.U.R. (Universal Rossum's Robots), written by the Czech author Karel Capek in 1920, and its particular importance for introducing, in modern literature, the figure of the robot as we conceive of it today. Initially, we briefly present some of automatons realized in fantastic literature of the XIX century, distinguishing Capek's new approach. Later, we point out parts of the play, act by act, suggesting relationships to particular philosophers and commenting the criticism on the play, in order to suggest new possibilities of reading different from the common interpretations since its publication and first production. For the success of such task, we need to rethink the meaning of the robot, inside the fictional context of R.U.R., and the implications generated by its appearance. / Mestrado / Historia e Historiografia Literaria / Mestre em Teoria e História Literária

Det finns inte många kvinnliga huvudpersoner inom sf‐spel. Undersökningens resultat är tänkt att ge en inblick i vilka egenskaper som föredras vid val av en kvinnlig karaktär för ett sf‐spel. Utifrån en genrestudie av science fiction skapades tre egenskapsgrupper: könsneutral, sexualiserad och aktiv. Tillsammans med romananalyser utgjorde dessa grupper utgångspunkt för karaktärsskapandet. De tre konceptillustrationerna reflekterade en egenskapsgrupp var. När konceptillustrationerna var färdiga utfördes en enkätundersökning och en fokusgrupp. Undersökningen gav resultatet att egenskaper som föredrogs för en kvinnlig karaktär i ett sf spel var aktiv, smidig, intelligent och mystisk, karaktären ska också passa in i kontexten. Svaren skiljde sig åt, anledningen kan vara att respondenterna troligen uppfattar sf‐genren olika. Vidare arbete kan göras med en omarbetad enkätundersökning med 1000 respondenter. Möjligen kan karaktärer gestaltas från slutsatserna och därefter utvärderas. Alternativt kan karaktärerna och bakgrunden stå separat i en undersökning, möjligen kan ett arbete skapas där endast visuella egenskaper grupperas.

This thesis is an investigation of the representation of gender in the many American fiction television programmes dealing with the theme of apocalypse that debuted in the post-9/11 period, specifically between September 2002 and August 2012. It is the first study of this cycle of programmes, as well as the first overview of gender in twenty-first-century American telefantasy. The thesis takes a broadly cultural studies approach, mainly employing close textual analysis as its methodology. The aim of the thesis is, firstly, to point out some of the recurring narrative patterns and motifs relating to gender in the 25 programmes which fall within its remit and, secondly, to consider to what extent it is possible to draw links between the representation of gender in these programmes and contemporary events, especially 9/11 and the ‘war on terror.’ In particular, it aims to discern whether the series in question show the same reversion to traditional notions of masculinity and femininity that critics such as Susan Faludi (2007) have identified in American factual media of the same period. Following the introduction and literature review, Chapter One examines two archetypes of masculinity that were widely invoked by the American media in the aftermath of 9/11, the cowboy and the superhero, as they are respectively portrayed in The Walking Dead (2010- ) and Heroes (2006-2010). Chapter Two explores the representation of father-son relationships in a number of apocalyptic programmes and suggests that they tend to follow a narrative pattern which I refer to as the ‘Prince Hal narrative.’ Chapter Three examines the typical perpetrators of the apocalypses in these shows, patriarchal conspiracies, and the gendered dynamics between the conspirators, their victims and the heroes that attempt to stop them. It focuses on Jericho (2006-2008) and Dollhouse (2009-2010). Chapter Four looks at the conspiracies’ primary victims: young women who have been turned, against their will, into human ‘weapons.’ Finally, the conclusion notes the continuing popularity of apocalypse as a theme on American television, reiterates the previous chapters’ conclusions and draws some more general ones before indicating possible areas for further study.

FACILITY 47 is a psychological horror novel set in Germany just after the end of World War II. The novel is written in a naturalistic style that seeks to ground paranormal genre elements in a believable world. The story follows a group of Americans, led by Michael Powell, as they seek out and become trapped within an abandoned Nazi research facility in the Harz Mountains that contains a very dangerous secret; an unknown force capable of controlling people’s actions and forcing them to destroy themselves. FACILITY 47 focuses on a character driven by greed, moral outrage at dubious American postwar policy, and a desire to create a world for himself where he is in control. In the end of the novel, Michael learns that the obsessive quest for control can have catastrophic consequences, but this discovery is made too late to save himself or his friends from the mysterious power inside the facility.

L’utopie constitue l’un des genres de prédilection de la littérature féministe et queer, parce qu’elle permet de redéfinir certaines catégories, comme celle des représentations de sexe et de genre. La science-fiction, mégagenre dans lequel, selon moi, s’inscrit l’utopie, fait appel à une « distanciation cognitive » [cognitive estrangement] (Suvin, 2010 : 68), concept qui, dans le cas de l’utopie féministe et queer, participe à la déconstruction du binarisme dans le genre : elle introduit ce que l’on peut nommer un novum, un élément qui a pour socle la réalité créée par l’auteur, partagée par le lecteur, et qui vise à déstabiliser (Suvin, 2010 : 68). Le novum constitue un procédé narratologique qui domine la fiction à un point tel que tout aspect narratif de chaque oeuvre de science-fiction dérive de celui-ci (Csicsery-Ronay, Jr, 2008 : 49); le novum possède une influence, par le fait même, sur le plan traductif, puisque la traduction doit l’inscrire dans un contexte différent de celui du départ. Alors que le peu d’études disponibles sur la traduction de la science-fiction queer sont en général consacrées à la réception des stratégies traductives utilisées (Bérard, 2015), le présent mémoire se situe dans une perspective performative de la traduction. L’acte traductif est performatif, non neutre, et ainsi octroie une existence, une viabilité identitaire au texte, selon le contexte d’arrivée. En prenant pour exemple le roman de science-fiction queer A Paradigm of Earth (2001) de l’auteure canadienne Candas Jane Dorsey, mon mémoire a pour objectif d’examiner, en s’inspirant de la généalogie de la traduction féministe (Lotbinière-Harwood, 1991; Simon, 1996; Von Flotow, 1997 et 1999) et des travaux sur la traduction du queer (Louar, 2008; Larkosh, 2011; Casagranda, 2013), de quelle manière s’effectuent certains changements de paradigme sur le plan traductif. La réflexion sur les désignations de genre dans le roman de Dorsey découle de Blou, l’alien au genre indéterminé, qui personnifie en quelque sorte le novum. D’où l’intérêt de proposer une approche performative de la traduction visant à faire éclater le binarisme de la langue française. / Abstract : Utopia is often used in feminist and queer literature, because it is a genre which questions some categories such as sex and gender representations. Science fiction concerns utopia since it provides cognitive estrangement, a concept that deconstructs gender binarism in feminist and queer utopias. Cognitive estrangement introduces a novum, a destabilizing element based on the author’s created reality, and shared by the reader (Suvin, 2010 : 68). The novum is a narratological device that so dominates its fiction that every science fiction narrative aspect derives from it (Csicsery-Ronay, Jr, 2008 : 49); this novum influences the translation process because the translator must reinsert it in a new context. Since the only studies which can be found today on translation in queer science fiction are generally dedicated to the reception of translation strategies (Bérard, 2015), this work situates translation within a performative approach. Translation is performative; it provides a viability to the text in another language-culture, another context. In studying an excerpt of Canadian Candas Jane Dorsey’s queer science fiction novel A Paradigm of Earth (2001), as well as my translation of it, my objective with this thesis is to consider how some translation paradigm shifts can be made according to feminist (Lotbinière-Harwood, 1991; Simon, 1996; Von Flotow, 1997 et 1999) and queer translation precepts (Louar, 2008; Larkosh, 2011; Casagranda, 2013). This work takes into consideration gender designations, which in Dorsey’s novel ensue from the character Blue, the ungendered alien; Blue represents the novum in A Paradigm of Earth, which allows the translator to take a performative approach in order to deconstruct gender binarism in French.

Bibliography: pages 174-184. / This thesis examines the 'New Wave' in British science fiction in the 1960s and early 1970s. The use of the terms 'science fiction' and 'New Wave' in the thesis are defined through a use of elements of the ideological theories of Louis Althusser. The New Wave is seen as a change in the ideological framework of the science fiction establishment. For oonvenience, the progress of the New Wave is divided into three stages, each covered by a chapter. Works by the four most prominent writers in the movement are discussed.