Cette thèse prend pour objet le concept et les modalités du destin tel qu'il est articulé dans le Cycle de Dune de Frank Herbert. Le destin est une des interrogations les plus anciennes de l'humanité. Initiatrice des grands questionnements de l'être sur sa liberté et sur lui-même, la pensée sur le destin est intimement liée au développement des civilisations. Marque des chan- gements majeurs au cœur de l'être, l'évolution du concept de destin se lie également avec les grandes découvertes scientifiques: les nouveaux savoirs sur la nature et le monde changent la manière qu'a l'humain de se considérer lui-même dans cet environnement; il se redéfinit avec chaque découverte, devient restrictif ou expansif, offre l'idée d'une liberté humaine inexistante ou ne souffrant d'aucune limite autre que la mort. Penser le destin, c'est penser l'humain dans sa plus intime conception. Sur cette toile de fond, la première partie de cette étude porte sur l'évolution du concept de destin dans la pensée occidentale, de la civilisation grecque à l'épo- que moderne, en passant par les réflexions métaphysiques sur le rôle de la transcendance dans la vie de l'humain. Au travers de cette étude diachronique, le destin est analysé afin de mettre en avant l'idée que l'individu cherche toujours plus de liberté dans son existence. La deuxième partie aborde l'évolution de la science et l'impact de cette évolution dans la pensée de l'humain sur le monde et lui-même. Dans le contexte de cette deuxième partie, la thèse explicite le rôle joué par la science, ainsi que par le discours de la science-fiction, dans les efforts humains de prendre en main son destin, de devenir de plus en plus libre. Enfin, dans la dernière partie, l'analyse du Cycle de Dune sous l'angle des trois personnages que sont Paul, Alia et Leto 2 met en avant une vision transhistorique du concept de destin, afin de pouvoir aborder son évolution prochaine, qui ne le limite plus à l'individu, mais qui place l'humain dans l'univers. / This thesis examines the concept and modalities of destiny as it is articulated in Frank Herbert's Dune series. Destiny constitutes one of humanity's most ancient themes. Instigator of the human being's wide-ranging questioning with regard to its freedom and selfhood, thought about destiny is intimately linked to the emergence of civilizations. As a sign of major changes in existence, the evolution of the concept of destiny is also linked with the important scientific discoveries: new knowledge about nature and the world change the way in which human be- ings consider themselves in their surrounding world; destiny is redefined at every discovery, becoming in turn limited or expansive, offering ideas of an inexistent human freedom or a freedom subjected to no limit other than death itself. Thinking about destiny means thinking about the human in what it holds most intimate. Against this backdrop, the first part of this study deals with the evolution of the con- cept of destiny in Western thought, from Greek civilization to the modern period, including metaphysical reflections on the role of transcendence in human life. Throughout this dia- chronic study, destiny is analyzed in emphasizing the notion of the individual’s attempt to in- crease human freedom. The second part takes on the evolution of science and the impact of its development on human thought about the world and humanity itself. In the context of this part, the thesis explicates the role played by science, as well as by the discourse of science fic- tion, in human efforts to take control of destiny and possess ever greater freedom. In the final part, by means of interpreting Dune’s three principal characters - Paul, Alia, and Leto 2 -, the analysis of the Dune series foregrounds a transhistorical perspective of the concept of destiny in order to trace out the imminent mutations of destiny that go beyond the individual, situating the human in the broader universe.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) lived at the perfect time to write about several of the most dramatic technological developments ever recorded in history. Up until the nineteenth century, professional scientists were almost the exclusive agents for writing about science. However, during this period, non-professional writers also emerged as important conveyors of popular science news to the public. Though Poe was a lay writer, his popular writing conveyed several of the most important new discoveries of the Industrial Age. He also projected his views about how nineteenth-century technologies might impact civilizations of the future. Poe’s writing offers a key example of a widespread movement of thinkers who attempted to mediate the tensions and debates that were taking place in his lifetime between those who perceived and described the world from either the “Mechanical” or the “Romantic” approach. This study explores the ways that Poe wrote about science in poetry, non-fiction, and fiction. I argue that a review of his earlier science writing helps to unlock several of the enigmatic writings of his culminationg work, Eureka:A Prose Poem. The final chapter of this thesis concludes with an in-depth discussion of Eureka. In Eureka, Poe proposes that man’s literary works are imperfect. However, he contends that the Creator has written and executed a perfect “Plot of the Universe.” Poe attempts to unravel several of its deepest mysteries in a multi-genre work of poetry, history, science, and metaphysics. I argue that modern scholars of literature and science history can gain a clearer view of the ways that the nineteenth-century public received and understood information about science by exploring Poe’s science writing than has been provided in previous historical or literary scholarship.

Artificiella kvinnor har porträtterats efter vissa tematiska utgångspunkter genom kulturhistorien, där Ovidius Pygmalion-myt varit en dominerande tematik. Frågan om artificiella människor är också tätt förknippad med science fiction-genren, och även där har bilden om den ensamme mannen som skapar sig en kvinna ofta återkommit. I denna uppsats jämförs tre science fiction-filmer från 2010-talet - Her (Spike Jonze, 2013), Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014) och Blade Runner 2049 (Denis Villeneuve, 2017) - för att utröna hur artificiell femininitet konstruerad av män tar sig uttryck: vilken tematik som är jämförbar med äldre porträtteringar av artificiella kvinnor, och vad dessa samtida inkarnationer kan säga om heteronormativitet inom science fiction-genren i dag och i framtiden. Denna analys görs dels mot bakgrund av nyckelverk inom litteratur och film, delvis genom begrepp som performativitet och andrafiering inom genus- och queerteori.

Esse estudo pretende analisar como o corpo está presente no texto literário tanto no que tange à sua expressão, assim como ao seu conteúdo. A partir da semiótica do discurso, que elabora a ideia de enunciação viva (nos moldes propostos por Jacques Fontanille), e da semiótica do vestígio, que explora a ideia de um enunciador corporificado (proposta pelo mesmo autor), cujo corpo deixa vestígios no texto, desejase entender as manifestações expressivas e figurativas do corpo no romance distópico de ficção científica Androides sonham com ovelhas elétricas? de Philip K. Dick. Acreditase que dentro do período histórico em que foi escrito, denominado de pós-moderno e pós-humano por alguns teóricos, e motivado por um rearranjo semiótico propiciado a partir da Segunda Guerra Mundial, que gerou um novo contexto para a produção de sentido, o sujeito e seu corpo sofreram transformações que se encontram como vestígios textuais e discursivos na obra analisada, através de esquemas corporais que orientam o seu andamento e figuração. O estudo tenta resgatar esse novo sujeito e corpo a partir da enunciação literária, e, levando em conta as estruturas axiológicas abstratas fundamentais do percurso do sentido, vida / morte e natureza / cultura, ambas ligadas ao corpo, explorar a discussão ética que a narrativa suscita. / This study aims to analyze the ways the body is present in the literary text, both with respect to its expression as well as its content. From the semiotics of discourse, which develops the idea of living discourse (as proposed by Jacques Fontanille), and the semiotics of trace, which explores the idea of an embodied enunciator (proposed by the same author), whose body leaves traces in the text, the study observes the expressive and figurative manifestations of the body in the dystopian science fiction novel Do androids dream of electric sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It is believed that within the historical period in which the novel was written, considered postmodern and posthuman by some theorists, and motivated by a semiotic rearrangement brought about since World War II, which has generated a new context for the production of meaning, the subject and his body have suffered transformations which can be seen as textual and discoursive traces left in the analyzed work, through body schemas that guide its progress and figuration. The study rescues this new subject and body from the literary text, and, taking into account the fundamental axiological abstract structures of the semiotic square life / death and nature / culture, both connected to the body, explores the ethical argument the narrative raises.

Esta pesquisa contextualiza e analisa poéticas artísticas polêmicas e visionárias de alguns ciberartistas que vêm refletindo continuamente sobre o avanço da tecnologia nos campos da genética, robótica e telemática e de sua relação com o corpo e a consciência. Essas tecnologias são elementos fundamentais para a configuração de obras que questionam a própria condição biológica da espécie humana, vislumbrando uma possível relação de simbiose entre a tríade \"homem, máquina e biotecnologia\" que poderá resultar em uma nova espécie, pós-humana. Como produto poético, parte experimental desta tese - resultante da contextualização e análise -, o autor relata o desenvolvimento de um universo ficcional inspirado por essas obras e pelas reflexões de seus criadores, para o qual são apresentados múltiplos trabalhos artísticos em suporte papel e nas hipermídias. / This research contextualizes and analyzes the polemic and visionary artistic production of some cyberartists that have been constantly thinking over technological advances in the areas of genetics, robotics and telematics, and their relationship with the body and the conscience. These technologies are of central importance to the configuration of works that question the biological condition of the humankind and lay eyes on a possible symbiotic relation between man, machine and biotechnology, which might result in a new posthuman species. As outcome of the research the experimental part of this thesis the author narrates the development of a fictional universe inspired by those works and their creators\' considerations, and also presents several artistic works framed in paper and in hypermedia.

Nesta dissertação, buscou-se realizar um estudo histórico e analítico acerca do desenvolvimento da poética e dos processos da música eletroacústica na trilha sonora - principalmente na trilha musical - do cinema de ficção científica norte-americano. A música eletroacústica, a começar por suas primeiras manifestações através dos instrumentos eletrônicos e de técnicas de manipulação de tape magnético, esteve associada, desde o início do cinema sonoro, à ficção científica e ao terror. Na década de 1950, com o início da era de exploração espacial no cinema norte-americano, os sons eletrônicos se associaram ao universo alienígena e às narrativas de futuro. Nos anos seguintes, os gestos e funções indiciais desses primeiros instrumentos foram adaptados aos sintetizadores e às novas gerações de dispositivos eletrônicos. Assim, lentamente se consolidou uma tradição que relacionaria, durante os anos subsequentes, a música eletroacústica às narrativas de suspense, terror e ficção científica. Para entender como se deu a utilização de sons eletrônicos no cinema de ficção científica ao longo do século XX, partimos da exposição de alguns pressupostos metodológicos de análise audiovisual e de música eletroacústica. Estes, por sua vez, serviram como norteadores para as análises realizadas no final da dissertação. Posteriormente, seguimos por dois caminhos: um, cujo objetivo é descrever o desenvolvimento dos processos formadores da poética da música eletroacústica e seu uso no cinema; e outro, onde tentamos delinear o desenvolvimento da trilha sonora de filmes de ficção científica que se apropriaram de elementos advindos da música eletroacústica. No último capítulo, realizamos a análise de quatro filmes de diferentes períodos. Cada filme selecionado pode ser considerado representativo no uso de processos e técnicas da música eletroacústica de sua época; são eles: O planeta proibido (1956), THX 1138 (1971), Tron: uma odisseia eletrônica (1982) e A última profecia (2002). / The electroacoustic music, starting with its first manifestations such as electronic instruments and magnetic tape manipulation techniques, have been associated, since the beginning of movies with sound, to science fiction and horror. In the 50\'s, with the beginning of an era of space exploration in north-american motion pictures, the electroacoustic sounds were definitely associated with the alien\'s universe and futuristic narratives. In the following years, the gestures and functions of those first instruments were adapted to the synthesizers and to the new electronic device generation. Thus, it slowly consolidated a tradition that would relate the electroacoustic music to suspense, horror and science fiction narratives for the subsequent years. In order to understand how the use of electronic sounds in science fiction movie pictures happened during the twentieth century, we will start with the exposure of some methodological assumptions of audio-visual and electroacoustic music analysis. These will, on the other hand, work as guides for the final analysis in the end of this dissertation. Afterwords, we followed through two paths: one of them aimed to describe the developmental processes of electroacoustic music\'s poetic since its origin and its use in the cinema; and for the other path we tried to outline the soundtrack\'s development of science fiction motion pictures that made use of elements coming from electroacoustic music. Each selected movie may be considered representative of its own time in this use of electroacoustic music\'s processes; which are: Forbidden Planet (1956), THX 1138 (1971), Tron (1982) and The Mothman Prophecies (2002).

Studien som utförs i denna uppsats undersöker problemformuleringen “I hur stor utsträckning påverkar förutfattad information om spelsituationen uppfattningen av ljud och grafik, samt spelarens agerande, i en Science Fiction-miljö?” med hjälp utav en kort spelprototyp som artefakt. Deltagare till studien blev presenterade med en viss typ av information beroende på vilken testgrupp de placerats i. Detta för att potentiellt stärka hur deltagaren upplever ljud och grafik i spelet. Denna studie presenterar och tar stöd från tidigare forskning gällande hur ljud uppfattas, hur grafik uppfattas och vad som definierar skräck samt Science Fiction. Resultaten från denna studie skall ge områdena som tas upp i studien mer förståelse för hur information skall hanteras och presenteras för bästa effekt. Resultaten visar antydningar på att ljud påverkas minimalt medan grafik inte påverkades alls, men denna effekt var starkast till gruppen utan den nämnda informationen. Tendenserna som visar sig i undersökningen har möjlighet att vidare undersökas i framtida arbete.

Neste trabalho, estudaremos os filmes da trilogia Matrix do ponto de vista da figuração. A análise do tecido narrativo dos filmes objeto desse estudo revela uma série de falhas e inconsistências. Essas falhas expõem alguns dilemas da experiência sob o domínio do capitalismo tardio. As zonas de ambigüidade e indefinição que identificamos em Matrix nos orientaram a pensar essa obra cinematográfica como um esforço cognitivo mal resolvido. Essa é a epistemologia travada de Matrix, que será estudada não como uma simples falha de diagnóstico resultante da falta de lucidez cognitiva dos criadores da série, mas sim como um exemplar significativo da exposição de limites da figuração histórica. / In this work, we are going to study the Matrix trilogy from the perspective of figuration. The analysis of the narrative fabric of these movies reveals many failures and inconsistencies. Such failures expose some dilemmas of the experience under the domain of late capitalism. The ambiguity and indetermination zones which we identified in Matrix have led us to think these movies to be an unsolved cognitive effort. This is the jammed epistemology of Matrix, which is going to be analyzed not as a simple diagnosis failure due to the movies\' creator\'s lack of cognitive lucidity, but as a significant example of the exposition of the limits of historical figuration.

This thesis examines the first two novels of Frank Herbert's Dune series, Dune and Dune Messiah, in order to consider these two novels from the framework of postcolonial theory and analyze how religious violence becomes a source of subjugation, military power, and colonialism within the works. The three chapters of this thesis chart the creation of a colonial project through epistemic violence, physical power, and cultural control enabled by religion. This thesis argues that, in the Dune novels, religious violence functions as a colonial project that closely resembles the goals of real-world colonial enterprises, and the failure to manage this colonial project by those who initiated it shows that the effects of colonial projects based on religious violence are dangerous and uncontrollable. / by Kenton Taylor Howard. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar a função e importância do mito na obra de Howard Phillips Lovecraft, escritor norte-americano considerado um dos mais importantes artífices da literatura fantástica moderna, notadamente por seu mais importante e influente grupo de narrativas, um grupo de doze histórias conectadas entre si conhecido como \"ciclo de Cthulhu\", justamente o centro de nossa pesquisa, que pretende demonstrar como o uso de um mito cosmogônico (aquele que narra a origem e a ordenação do cosmos), como base desse conjunto de narrativas, é um elemento fundamental do mesmo, o qual é uma crítica radical, ainda que niilista e reacionária, ao mundo administrado pela racionalidade técnica. Nossa intenção final é revelar o sentido da obras máxima de Lovecraft, seu valor como uma intensa e dialética crítica ao mundo industrial e urbano moderno. / The aim of this research is to investigate the function and the importance of the myth in the work of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, known as one of the most important writers of modern fantastic literature, mainly for his most important and influential group of narratives, a set of a dozen interconnected stories known as \"The Cthulhu Cycle\". This cycle is the subject of our work, which intends to demonstrate how the application of a cosmogonic myth (one that narrates the origin and ordering of the cosmos) as the basis to this set of narratives is an essential element for a radical critique, albeit nihilist and reactionary, to a world ruled by technical rationality. Our final purpose is to reveal the meaning of Lovecraft´s masterwork and its value as an intense and dialectical critique to the urban and industrial modern world.