abstract: Modern and contemporary African American writers employ science fiction in order to recast ideas on past, present, and future black culture. This dissertation examines Afrofuturism’s cultural aesthetics, which appropriate devices from science fiction and fantasy in order to revise, interrogate, and re-examine historical events insufficiently treated by literary realism. The dissertation includes treatments of George Schuyler, Ishmael Reed, Octavia Butler, Colson Whitehead, Nalo Hopkinson, and Chicana/ofuturism. The original contribution of this research is to highlight how imagination of a posthuman world has made it possible for African American writers to envision how racial power can be re-configured and re-negotiated. Focusing on shifting racial dynamics caught up in the swirl of technological changes, this research illuminates a complex process of literary production in which black culture and identity have been continuously re-interpreted. In the post-war and post-Civil Rights Movement eras African American writers began reflecting on shifting racial dynamics in light of technological changes. This shift in which black experience became mechanized and digitized explains how technology became a source of new African American fiction. The relationships between humans and their external conditions appear in such futuristic themes as trans-human anamorphosis, cyberspace, and digital souls. These thematic devices, which explore humanity outside its phenotypic boundaries, provide African American writers with tools to demystify deterministic views of race. Afrofuturism has responded to the conceptual transformation of humanity with a race-specific scope, locating the presence of black culture in a high-tech world. Techno-scientific progress has provided important resources in contemporary theory, yet these theoretical foci too seldom have been drawn into critical race discourses. This discrepancy is due to techno-scientific progress having served as a tool for the legitimation of scientific racism under global capitalism for centuries. Responding to this critical lacuna, the dissertation highlights an under-explored field in which African American literature responds to techno-culture’s involvement in contemporary discussions of race. Rather than repeat nominal assumptions of Eurocentric modernity and its racist hegemony, this dissertation theorizes how modern techno-culture’s outcomes—such as information science, genetic engineering, and computer science—shape minority lives, and how minority groups appropriate these outcomes to enact their own liberation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2017

La technologie et le progrès technologique occupent une place centrale dans l'histoire et dans l'imaginaire américain. En même temps que la Révolution Industrielle apparaissent aux États-Unis les premières réelles expressions d'un utopisme technologique loin de se confiner à la littérature ou à la seule fiction - la nation et le monde pourront bientôt être transformés pour le meilleur par la technologie américaine. La science-fiction s'emparera bientôt de l'idée, traduisant aujourd'hui encore un rêve et des valeurs étroitement associés à l'identité et au projet national et reposant au cœur de l'imaginaire du pays. Le techno-utopisme contemporain, s'il s'appuie sur la « convergence NBIC » (Nano-Bio-Info-Cogno), tend cependant à se focaliser sur les transformations du corps humain lui-même. Le mouvement transhumaniste, qui s'attend à une transformation radicale du monde (la Singularité) grâce notamment aux nanotechnologies et aux intelligences artificielles, met ainsi l'accent sur l'impact que pourraient avoir ces technologies, ainsi que les biotechnologies (ingénierie génétique, cellules souches, clonage), sur un corps et une conscience améliorés ou « augmentés », ainsi que sur l'organisation sociale de demain. Tant est si bien qu'on ne pourrait bientôt plus parler d'humanité mais bien de posthumanité. Le cinéma de science-fiction hollywoodien, en tant que mode d'expression culturel central à la culture américaine moderne, met lui-même en scène et réfléchit ces rêves de sublimation et ces cauchemars de déshumanisation. Les films du corpus (les Tron, RoboCop, Star Trek First Contact et Insurrection, Gattaca, la trilogie Matrix, The 6th Day, The Island, The Surrogates, Terminator IV, les deux Iron Man, Avatar, notamment) proposent leurs propres versions successives des dilemmes liés aux avancées de demain mais aussi à l'interdépendance qui lie déjà les humains à leurs machines. Les acteurs en sont les machines elles-mêmes, ceux qui les contrôlent (le gouvernement fédéral, l'armée, les multinationales), les techno-utopistes et leurs ennemis Luddites, les scientifiques, les ingénieurs et les hackers, mais aussi une humanité fascinée presque malgré elle par la promesse technologique. Si cette dernière est souvent caricaturée, à Hollywood même, en un conflit opposant « technophiles » et « technophobes », les choses sont, même au cinéma, loin d'être aussi simples, en particulier depuis les années 1980. Et si la libération de l'oppression technologique passait par la technologie elle-même ? / L'auteur n'a pas fourni de résumé en anglais.

Orientador: Suzi Frankl Sperber / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T11:23:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leonardo_EdivaldoMarcondes_M.pdf: 896377 bytes, checksum: 70a4b41f23f4ebb5417ee930525268e8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: A Ficção Científica enquanto gênero literário tem suas raízes muito remotas, período em o homem se encontrava numa situação muito primitiva. Eram os antigos homens das cavernas, que buscavam explicações para os eventos da natureza que poderiam promover o desenvolvimento ou a destruição de uma comunidade, essas histórias seriam narradas ao redor de uma fogueira, no interior de uma caverna ou simplesmente num campo. O homem sempre desejou alcançar as estrelas, pisar em planetas que só podiam ser observados através de lentes. A Lua tão próxima torna-se um fascínio, e por muito tempo somente conseguem alcança-la através da Literatura de Ficção Científica. Dois momentos históricos impulsionam a produção mundial literária do gênero: a Revolução Industrial, em mais tarde a corrida espacial. No Brasil o período áureo da Ficção Científica ocorreu após a Segunda Guerra Mundial e com a Guerra Fria. Para muitos dos escritores daquele período no mundo e principalmente no Brasil, a Ficção Científica seria a literatura que responderia as indagações da humanidade. Assim poderemos ver nesse trabalho sua ascensão e a produção nas décadas de sessenta e setenta no Brasil. Curiosamente, o gênero que mais vende na indústria cinematográfica é o de Ficção Cientifica, como por exemplo Guerra nas Estrelas, Homem Bicentenário,etc / Abstract: Science Fiction as a literary gender, has its roots in ancient times, period in which man used to live in a very primitive situation. They were the ancient cavemen who sought for explanations on nature events, which could promote development or destruction of a community. These histories used to be told by someone by a bonfire, inside a cave or in a field. Mankind has always aimed at reaching the stars, stepping on planets which could only be observed through lens. The moon used to be so near and therefore, it became fascination. For a long time, humankind has only been able to reach it through Science Fiction Literature. Two historical moments drive the world of literary production in this gender: Industrial Revolution, and later, space race. In Brazil the golden period of Science Fiction took place after the Second World War and in the Cold War. To many writers, in that period, Science Fiction would answer inquiries of humankind in the world and mainly in Brazil. Thus, in this essay we will be able to see its ascension and production in the sixties, as well as in the seventies in Brazil. Curiously, the gender which sells the most in cinematography industry is Science Fiction, as for example Star Wars, Bicentennial Man, etc / Mestrado / Historia e Historiografia Literaria / Mestre em Teoria e História Literária

La science-fiction a, depuis ses origines, abordé les questions spirituelles telles que la mort, la transcendance, le sens de la vie et de la condition humaine. Au lieu de se définir comme une littérature d’idées fondée sur la science, elle est bien davantage une littérature d’images qui se fonde sur une « problématisation » de notre monde. Elle construit des configurations fictionnelles qui suscitent, chez le lecteur, un étonnement fondamental, le sense of wonder. Dès lors, elle envisage des problèmes essentiels, qu’ils soient biologiques, politiques, ou spirituels. Ouvrant à un espace-temps potentiellement infini, elle peut mettre en scène des quêtes à l’échelle du cosmos, ouvrir sur l’éternité et le temps du mythe, réinterpréter les grandes traditions religieuses pour les problématiser, ou dessiner un espace du sublime dans la confrontation avec le mystère. Il s’agit de définir la science-fiction comme un genre littéraire problématologique, qui s’appuie sur des récits et des images. Ce travail examine le traitement des questions spirituelles dans la science-fiction française, anglaise et américaine, depuis le XIXe siècle. Il se réfère à une dizaine de romans et trois films. En s’appuyant sur ce corpus spécifique de romans et de films, il s’attache à établir des cadres théoriques et à identifier des œuvres qui constituent des jalons dans l’histoire de la science-fiction et qui illustrent cette perspective problématologique. / Since its origins, science fiction has addressed issues in spirituality such as death, transcendence, meaning of life, human condition. Instead of defining science fiction as based upon science, we should better define it as based upon the « problematization » of our world. It construes fictional configurations which trigger readers’ essential astonishment, and impose a sense of wonder. It tackles central problems, be it biological, political or spiritual. Opening to potentially infinite space and time, it can unfold quests on a cosmic scale, and revisit significant religious traditions to question them, or to delineate a space where sublime confronts mystery. The overall argument aims at defining science fiction as a problematological literary genre, which uses narratives and images. This dissertation applies these research orientations to French, American and English Science Fiction from the XIXth century onwards — it refers to a dozen novels and three movies. While it focuses upon this specific body of novels and films, it intends to set up theoretical schemes and to identify works which are landmarks in SF and exemplify this problematological perspective.

Une quinzaine d'oeuvres provenant de champs artistiques et culturels différents [littérature et cinéma] réunies par un dénominateur commun, seront soumises à notre questionnement : existe-t-il un idéal type de société sous surveillance ? A travers l'usage de la taxinomie et une approche comparatiste, nous dresserons une typologie des images comme éléments clés des représentations. Au système de multiplication de référents symboliques interne à chaque oeuvre s'ajoute celui d'un réseau de correspondances visuelles exogène basé sur un référentiel d'images quasi immuable. Les oeuvres se révèlent riches en sens et en symboles. Les nombreuses images convoquées par l'écrivain par le biais de métaphores ou autres tropes, rejoignent celles du réalisateur. Une étude transversale aboutit à un répertoire de codifications visuelles portant sur des univers imaginaires. On constate ainsi par ce biais un processus incessant de recyclage d'idées et d'histoires, qui se muent en standard et permettent de capturer une audience de plus en plus internationale, tout en forgeant un imaginaire social qui s'instaure par contagion. Les propos servis sont sérieux. L'ensemble dissémine une vision du monde qui obéit le plus souvent au principe de rationalisation, censé de s ' inscrire dans un ordre du contrôle et de la manipulation. Jaillissent des mondes nouveaux, comme porteurs de révélations quasi universelles. Nos auteurs [de science-fiction] s'inscrivent dans une longue tradition [l'utopie]. Mais la pression du genre, des motifs obligés et des conventions, n'entame pas leur capacité au renouveau, et la redite n'est pas un frein à l'innovation. / About fifteen works from different artistic and cultural backgrounds [literature and cinema], and sharing a common denominator, will be submitted to our questioning: is there an ideal type of society under surveillance? Through the use of taxonomy and a comparatist approach, we will draw up a typology of images as key elements of our representations. The system of multiplying symbolic referents inherent in each work completes a network of visual exogenous correspondence based on a relatively steady image referential. Works prove to be rich, both in meaning and symbol. The many images used by the writer, by means of metaphors or other tropes, meet that of a fiction director. A transversal study leads to a directory of visual codifications bearing upon imaginary worlds. This is how we observe an incessant process of recycling ideas and stories, that evolve into standards, thus enabling to capture the eye of an ever more international public, while forging a social imaginary world, settling in by way of contagion. The topics dealt with are serious. As a whole, they disseminate a vision of the world that obeys, most of the time, a rationalization principle that is supposed to be in line with control and manipulation. New worlds arise, bringing out universal eye-openers. Our [science-fiction] authors fall in with a long tradition [utopia]. But the genre, via obligated topics and conventions, do not for as much pressure one to diminish their capacity for renewal, and repetition does not curb their innovation.

Angélica Gorodischer est une écrivaine argentine contemporaine de renommée internationale. Pourtant, la période initiale de sa production littéraire, à dominante SF (Science-Fiction), demeure encore amplement méconnue. Au-delà de leur indéniable qualité littéraire, ces textes méritent ainsi d’être mis en valeur pour la réflexion qu’ils déclenchent sur les rapports sociaux de domination, sur certains paradoxes de l’action politique mais aussi sur une période particulièrement conflictuelle de l’Histoire argentine (conflits politiques et sociaux, dictatures de 1966 et de 1976).Nous utilisons pour cela les outils d’analyse développés par la théorie sociocritique en les complétant par le recours aux études de genre et aux études sur l’utopie et la SF. Il s’agit tout d’abord de questionner la périodisation établie par la critique littéraire pour pouvoir repérer les problématiques de genre qui structurent les premières œuvres de l’écrivaine. Nous élargissons ensuite notre analyse en prenant en compte la consubstantialité des rapports sociaux et en examinant la remise en question de l’idée de nature. Enfin, nous considérons l’œuvre comme une encyclopédie ouverte et critique qui favorise l’élan utopique. Les textes invitent ainsi la personne qui lit à méditer sur les caractéristiques d’une éthique de l’ambigüité guidant son action politique et favorisant l’équité sociale. / Angélica Gorodischer is a contemporary Argentine writer of international renown. However, the initial period of his literary production, dominant SF (Science Fiction), remains largely unknown. Beyond their undeniable literary quality, these texts and deserve to be highlighted for thinking they trigger the social relations of domination, some paradoxes of political action but also a period of intense conflict of Argentine History (political and social conflicts, dictatorships and 1966 1976) .We use for this analysis tools developed by sociocriticism theory supplementing them with the use of gender studies and studies utopia and SF. This first question the periodization established by literary criticism to be able to identify gender issues that shape the early works of the writer. We then extend the analysis by taking into account the consubstantiality of social relations and examining the questioning of the idea of ​​nature. Finally, we consider the work as an open and critical encyclopedia that promotes the utopian impulse. Texts and invite the person reading to meditate on the characteristics of an ethics of ambiguity guiding its political and promoting social equity share.

No description available.

La plupart des recherches menées en France sur la science-fiction (SF) portent sur son évolution historique ou sur ses thématiques (Baudin 1971, Gattégno 1992, Grenier 1994, Goimard 1974, 1984, 2002, etc.).À notre connaissance, il n’existe pas d’étude pragmatique sur le rapport entre les formes linguistiques en récit de SF et leur signification. La plupart des études consacrées aux analyses textuelles (par exemple Angenot 1978) adoptent en effet une approche classique pour analyser le vocabulaire du genre sans tenir compte de son contexte. Or, afin de développer une meilleure compréhension de l’univers imaginaire de l’auteur et de son idéologie l’orientant vers des sujets « sérieux » sur le rapport de l’homme au monde, une approche pragmatique se révèle nécessaire. Cette étude se donne pour mission de combler cette lacune dans le domaine des recherches sur la SF, en proposant une lecture pragmatique du Monde enfin (2006) de J.-P. Andrevon, recueil de nouvelles sur la fin progressive du monde humain. Par ce travail, nous entendons concrètement étudier les intentions potentielles qu’héberge l’usage de certains marqueurs linguistiques (par exemple les implicatures, l’humour, les formes d’hétérogénéité énonciative), pour avancer des arguments sur des sujets écologiques. Les résultats préliminaires montrent que, d’un point de vue pragmatique et contrairement aux clichés sur le genre, le discours science-fictionnel s’avère être un des plus proches de notre réalité. Parmi les résultats, nous avons pu voir qu’associer des thèmes imaginaires et un langage ancré dans le réel contribuait à l’originalité et à la modernité du genre. / The majority of French research on science fiction (SF) examined its historical background, evolution, or the portrayal of various themes in SF texts (see e.g., Baudin 1971, Gattégno 1992, Grenier 1994, Goimard 1974, 1984, 2002, etc.).However, to our knowledge, no study has taken a pragmatic approach towards examining the relationship between the linguistic forms used in SF literature and their intended meaning. Most of the studies that examined text processing (see e.g., Angenot, 1978), took a traditional approach to analyze SF words in isolation from their contexts. Hence, a pragmatic analysis is needed that can lend a better understanding of the author’s ideology and his imaginary world that depicts the “serious” part of SF literature, concerning man and society. The present study seeks to address this gap in literature by analyzing a celebrated piece of SF i.e., The World At Last by Jean-Pierre Andrevon (2006) taking a pragmatic stylistic approach, based on the principles of discourse analysis. It concretely examines the potential intentions behind the use of specific linguistic means (e.g., implicatures, humor, enunciative heterogeneity) that present arguments concerning ecological issues. The preliminary results show that from a pragmatic looking glass, contrary to the cliché notions, SF discourse emerges as closer to our reality. It calls into question our present to foresee the dangers in our future, a finding which is difficult to access without taking context into account. A further finding shows that associating imaginary themes and language solidly anchored in real world contributes to the originality and to the modernity of the genre.

From 1966 to1976, science fiction films tended to depict civilizations of the future that had become intrinsically antagonistic to their inhabitants as a result of some internal or external cataclysm. This dystopian turn in science fiction films, following a similar move in science fiction literature, reflected concerns about social and ecological changes occurring during the late 1960s and early 1970s and their future implications. In these films, "dystopian" conditions are indicated as such by music incorporating distinctly modernist sounds and techniques reminiscent of twentieth-century concert works that abandon the common practice. In contrast, music associated with the protagonists is generally more accessible, often using common practice harmonies and traditional instrumentation. These films appeared during a period referred to as the "New Hollywood," which saw younger American filmmakers responding to developments in European cinema, notably the French New Wave. New Hollywood filmmakers treated their films as cinematic "statements" reflecting the filmmaker's artistic vision. Often, this encouraged an idiosyncratic use of music to enhance the perceived artistic nature of their films. This study examines the scores of ten science fiction films produced between 1966 and 1976: Fahrenheit 451, Planet of the Apes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, THX-1138, A Clockwork Orange, Silent Running, Soylent Green, Zardoz, Rollerball, and Logan's Run. Each is set in a dystopian environment of the future and each reflects the New Hollywood's aspirations to artistic seriousness and social relevance. The music accompanying these films connoted an image of technological and human progress at odds with the critical notions informing similar music for the concert hall. These film scores emphasized the extrapolated consequences of developments occurring during the 1950s and 1960s that social activists, science fiction writers, and even filmmakers regarded as worrisome trends. Filmmakers drew on the popular perceptions of these musical sounds to reinforce pessimistic visions of the future, thereby imbuing these sounds with new meanings for listeners of the contemporaneous present.

The cornerstone is a general view of the future as a world that is markedly different from ours. This vision of the future cannot be done due to the influence of presence. Inner inspiration is objects with unclear functions occurring in science fiction (stories Space Odyssey and AC Clark and iconic roadside picnic). Formally, the objects are inspired by different things from the world of science fiction (kryptonite, traffic alien machines from a newer version of War of the Worlds, Star Trek series and their transporters, etc.). Against this background, I am creating minimal objects with small signs of function as a testimony of traveler to the future. The basic material is a transparent silicone and LEDs.