Selves and Others: The Politics of Difference in the Writings of Ursula Kroeber Le Guin has two founding premises. One is that Le Guin's writing addresses the political issues of the late twentieth century in a number of ways, even although speculative fiction is not generally considered a political genre. Questions of self and O/other, which shape political (that is, powerinflected) responses to difference, infuse Le Guin's writing. My thesis sets out to investigate the mechanisms of representation by which these concerns are realized. My chapters reflect aspects of the relationship between self and O/other as I perceive it in Le Guin's work. Thus my first chapter deals with the representations of imperialism and colonialism in five novels, three of which were written near the beginning of her literary career. My second chapter considers Le Guin's best-known novels, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974), in the context of the alienation from American society recorded by thinkers in the 1960s. In my third chapter, the emphasis shifts to intrapsychic questions and splits, as I explore themes of sexuality and identity in Le Guin's novels for and about adolescents. I move to more public matters in my fourth and fifth chapters, which deal, respectively, with the politicized interface between public and private histories and with disempowerment. In my final chapter, I explore the representation of difference and politics in Le Guin's intricate but critically neglected poetry. My second founding premise is that traditional modes of literary criticism, which aim to arrive at comprehensive and final interpretations, are not appropriate for Le Guin's mode of writing, which consistently refuses to locate meaning definitely. My thesis seeks and explores aporias in the meaning-making process; it is concerned with asking productive questions, rather than with final answers. I have, consequently, adopted a sceptical approach to the process of interpretation, preferring to foreground the provisional and partial status of all interpretations. I have found that postmodern and poststructuralist literary theory, which focuses on textual gaps and discontinuities, has served me better than more traditional ways of reading / English Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (English)

The focus of this dissertation is Frank Herbert‘s use of messiahs and martyrs in selected novels of the Dune Chronicles. I make connections with Herbert‘s studies, inspirations and background to his treatment of religion, establishing the translation of these ideas in the texts. To identify and study every aspect of religion in the series is impossible; however, I will include other features that I deem important to my understanding of the religious theme in these texts. I intend to scrutinize these novels to find evidence of Herbert‘s claim that he studied religion at great length. I will also observe Herbert‘s attitude to and engagement with religion in the Dune Chronicles / English Studies / M.A. (English Studies)

This doctoral research concerns smart cities, describing digital solutions and social issues related to their innovative technologies, adopted models, and major projects around the world. The many perspectives mentioned in it were identified by online tools used for the textual analysis of two databases that were built from relevant publications on the main subject by authors coming from media and academia. Expected legal elements emerged from the applied process, such as privacy, security, transparency, participation, accountability, and governance. A general review was produced on the information available about the public policies of Big Data in the two municipal cases of Rio de Janeiro and Montréal, and their regulation in the Brazilian and Canadian contexts. The combined approaches from science and literature were explored to reflect on the normative concerns represented by the global challenges and local risks brought by urban surveillance, climate change, and other neoliberal conditions. Cyberpunk Science Fiction reveals itself useful for engaging with the shared problems that need to be faced in the present time, all involving democracy. The results achieved reveal that this work was, in fact, about the complex network of practices and senses between (post)modern law and the imaginary of the future. / Cette recherche doctorale centrée sur les villes intelligentes met en évidence les solutions numériques et les questionnements sociétaux qui ont trait aux technologies innovantes, ainsi qu’aux principaux modèles et projets développés autour d’elles à travers le monde. Des perspectives multiples en lien avec ces développements ont été identifiées à l’aide d’outils en ligne qui ont permis l’analyse textuelle de deux bases de données comprenant des publications scientifiques et des écrits médiatiques. De ce processus analytique ont émergé des éléments juridiques relatifs aux questions de vie privée, de sécurité, de transparence, de participation, d’imputabilité et de gouvernance. De plus, à partir de ces informations a été réalisée une revue des politiques publiques relatives aux mégadonnées dans les villes de Rio de Janeiro et de Montréal, ainsi que des réglementations nationales du Canada et du Brésil en lien avec ce sujet. Finalement, à travers l’exploration d’écrits scientifiques et fictionnels de la littérature, les principaux enjeux normatifs soulevés localement et mondialement par la surveillance urbaine, les changements climatiques et les politiques néolibérales ont pu être mis à jour. Le courant cyberpunk de la science-fiction s’est avéré particulièrement utile pour révéler les principaux problèmes politiques, en lien avec la préservation de la démocratie, auxquelles sont confrontées nos sociétés présentement. Les résultats de la recherche démontrent finalement la présence d’un réseau de pratiques et de significations entre le droit (post)moderne et les représentations imaginaires du futur.

Les romans *Herland* de Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1915), *The Female Man* de Joanna Russ (1975) et *Chroniques du Pays des Mères* d'Élisabeth Vonarburg (1992) mettent tous les trois en scène une société utopique exclusivement composée de personnages féminins. Considérant que la science-fiction imagine des mondes autres en reprenant souvent des conceptions stéréotypées, voire sexistes, des femmes, diverses écrivaines, dont Gilman, Russ et Vonarburg, ont repensé la société sous forme d'utopie afin d'illustrer leur capacité à voir le monde autrement, c'est-à-dire dans des contextes où elles ne seraient pas reléguées au second plan. Notre mémoire cherche à prendre la mesure de l'évolution de la représentation des femmes dans les utopies féministes et incidemment à souligner ses liens avec les préoccupations féministes contemporaines à leur parution. Ce mémoire propose une analyse des différents discours qui sont tenus dans les romans, dans les écrits non fictionnels des écrivaines ainsi que dans les entretiens qu'elles ont réalisées au cours de leur carrière afin de déterminer si ceux-ci peuvent être associés aux mouvances féministes de chacune des époques concernées. En nous penchant sur les rôles sociaux, la maternité et les pratiques sexuelles au sein de ces récits, nous interrogeons la manière dont ces auteures remettent en question ou perpétuent les stéréotypes de genre dans la science-fiction.

Issu des universités britanniques, le courant des cultural studies s'est intéressé à l'étude de la culture populaire, dont celle des fans. Au Québec, il existe peu d'études reliées à ce domaine, et aucune à notre connaissance sur la série de science-fiction humoristique Dans une galaxie près de chez vous. Diffusée à Canal Famille (puis à VRAK.TV) de 1998 à 2001, la série a connu une grande popularité qui s'est confirmée par la sortie de deux films faisant suite à l'aventure télévisée. Ce mémoire de maîtrise se concentre sur l'étude d'une communauté de fans de cette série, réunis dans un forum nommé Dans une galaxie Online (ou DugOnline) fondé en 2004 et toujours actif à ce jour. Nous nous intéressons en particulier à la socialisation exercée entre les membres du forum (aussi nommés Duggies) ainsi qu'aux raisons expliquant la présence de membres toujours actifs huit ans après leur inscription. Cette étude fait appel à la netnographie, soit l'ethnographie de l'Internet. Nous avons opté pour un croisement des sources, qu'elles soient numériques, orales ou manuscrites. Par l'apport des participants aux entrevues orales, l'analyse révèle entre autres les étapes franchies par un membre, depuis son inscription sur le forum au maintien des liens avec les autres membres. En plus d'être un lieu de socialisation, le forum permet le partage d'allusions reliées à la série, il est le lieu d'expression d'un culte voué aux acteurs de la série ainsi que le point de départ de rituels et de fêtes célébrés par les membres de la communauté. En conclusion, nous expliquons comment le forum, formé d'individus de différents milieux socioéconomiques, se transforme en communauté. Cette dernière, unie par l'intérêt pour une même série télévisée, aura finalement transformé la vie de ses membres.

This dissertation concurs with the Jungian postulation that certain psychological archetypes are inclined to be reproduced by the collective unconscious. In turn, these psychological archetypes are revealed to emerge in literature as literary archetypes. It is consequently argued that science fiction has come to form a new mythology because the archetypal images are displaced in a modern, scientific guise. This signifies a shift in the collective world view of humanity, or a shift in its collective consciousness. It is consequently argued that humanity’s collective consciousness has evolved from mythic thought to scientific thought, courtesy of the numerous groundbreaking scientific discoveries of the past few centuries. This dissertation posits as a premise that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s supposition of humanity’s collective consciousness evolving towards what he calls the Omega Point to hold true. The scientific displacement of the literary archetypes reveals humankind’s evolution towards the Omega Point and a cosmic consciousness. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

The selection of science fiction was researched to determine how science fiction should be evaluated and selected in the context of the public library. The first sub-problem to be researched concerned the cultural, societal and literary origins of this genre, after which its distinct phases of development were studied as well as the characteristic essence of science fiction which would affect its selection per se, specifically whether conventional literary criteria are suitable for the evaluation of items of science fiction during selection. The next sub-problem focused on, was whether theory can explain the process of fiction selection, The succeeding sub-problem was to empirically Study current practice in science fiction selection. Survey research was conducted amongst selected major urban/regional public library services in the USA. Final research results indicated that science fiction is a sophisticated, multi-textured genre which differs significantly from fellow popular genres, Science fiction is viewed by some critics as being on the cusp of post-modernism, a significant body of work in contemporary literature, and a supreme expression of late capitalism. Research further showed that no satisfactory evaluative criteria exist. It was also established that theory of fiction selection is not always capable of explaining or guiding the process of fiction selection. There is no model for the selection of science fiction. Finn guiding principles for science fiction selection could be formulated by the aid of this study. The study concluded with a specially-designed model for the selection of science fiction (including a scorecard with specially-compiled criteria for evaluating items), as well as a suggested core collection. A structured approach should be followed by the science fiction selector. The guiding principles and core collection which were formulated in this study, the set of special criteria as well as the model, together demonstrate that the selection of science fiction can be structured, controlled and guided within established parameters. / Information Science / D. Lit. et Phil. (Information Science)

The subject of this dissertation is the introduction and reception of science fiction literature in Sweden 1950–1968. Apart from considerations on science fiction as a genre and market category, and a brief survey of science fiction published in Sweden before the year 1950, the dissertation scrutinizes the Swedish publishers’ attempts at introducing both domestic and translated science fiction, the reception of the genre in Swedish literary criticism, the magazines Häpna! (1954–1966) and Galaxy (1958–1960), and the foundation of a Swedish science fiction fan culture. Science fiction was established as a category on the Swedish book market in the early 1950s, with several attempts to launch single works or whole series of mainly translated fiction. Between 1952 and 1968, roughly 30 publishing firms published over 160 books marketed as science fiction, with an apex in the late 1950s. Few publishers were successful, however, and most of the series were discontinued within just a few years of their inception. Meanwhile, in Swedish literary criticism, science fiction was increasingly perceived as a deficient form of commercial entertainment. A few of the exceptions were Harry Martinson (1904–1978), with his space epic Aniara (1956), and the translated author Ray Bradbury (b. 1920), who came to be considered as surpassing the boundaries of the genre. With the magazine Häpna!, a Swedish science fiction fan culture was contrived, with fans forming clubs, arranging conventions, disseminating fanzines, and, eventually, starting their own publishing firms and magazines. In the Swedish literary system, science fiction became a semi-separate literary circuit of production, distribution and consumption, and, concurrently, a growing autonomous subfield of cultural production, with its own forms of specific symbolic capital, doxa, and instances of consecration.

The graduation work Ultima Thule made up by four parts, the first one is a science fiction world buliding made up of scripts, notes and sketches, the second one is a science fiction comic book in the edition of 200 with the name Everything in one place, this is the first part of the Ultima Thule-world. The third part is this report with text explaining the work process, and the third part was the participation in the Konstfack Spring Exhibition, this is also described in the report. Ultima Thule is a narrative about the end of humanity set in three Swedish cities; Västerås, Uppsala and Stockholm.

This project considers the future, and the hope for humanity within three dystopian science fiction works : Mordecai Roshwald's Level 7, Cordwainer Smith's "The Dead Lady of Clown Town," and James Tiptree, Jr.,'s "The GIrl Who Was Plugged In". There are many aspects and different manifestations of hope in science fiction, even in authors who show readers the darkest side of human nature and what will become of humans, and by default earth, if an effort is not made to change the world's direction. Though some dystopian stories show horrible possible futures, there is an underlying hope within these stories that the story will change readers' thinking about how the future might unfold. It is because there is a chance to save the world that science-fiction-authors tell stories about disasters, destruction, and post apocalyptic scenarios. It is within the hopeless story lines that hope for humanity manifests itself. / by Valorie Ebert. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.