Inhabiting Ustopia: Science Fiction in Film, Performing Arts, and Digital Media

Erscheinungsjahr 2025
ISBN: 978-3-032-00528-1
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 247 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 574 g

Reihe: Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress

This volume contributes to research in both humanities and performing arts without disregarding the more recent digital artistic media by focusing on works of science fiction (Sci-Fi). The book's structure mirrors the themes approached in an effort to contextualize the Atwoodian concept of 'ustopia' by addressing a variety of topical subjects, such as transhumanism, ethical dilemmas, subjectivities in a digital world, in science fiction theater, opera, and art installations as well as film and new digital media. 

The book collects interpretations of transmedial performances, comparisons of films and novels, videogames, and other immersive platforms. The contributors include a range of academics and specialists from Japan, Romania, India, Spain, Ireland, and the U.S.A.  Recent preoccupations with Artificial Intelligence and its advantages and threats have also meant a re-assessment of Sci-Fi creations and their relevance.  The book appeals to students and researchers in the humanities, media studies, performance arts, as well as larger audiences interested in comparative and analytic discussions of Sci-Fi works anchored in real-life concerns.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nanda, Aparajita

Grosu-R¿dulescu, Lucia-Mihaela

Grosu-Radulescu, Lucia-Mihaela

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften Digitale Medien, Internet, Telekommunikation
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Minderheiten, Interkulturelle & Multikulturelle Fragen
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 00. Introduction - Aparajita Nanda and Lucia-Mihaela Grosu-Radulescu.- Part I. Performing an Ustopian Future.- Chapter 1. Back to the Future or Forward to the Past? Futurism, Transhumanism, and Transmedia in Two Ustopian Operas by Gian Carlo Menotti and Tod Machover - Alina Bottez.- Chapter 2. Beyond Self-Identity and Toward Alter Ego. Transcendence in Contemporary Japanese Theater - Iryna Kastylianchanka.- Chapter 3. Trans Identity and Neurodiversity in Dramatic Literature: Diego Casado Rubio’s millones de segundos -  Lynn Deboeck.- Part II. Crafting Ustopian Ecosystems.- Chapter 4. Inventing the Enemy: Popular Science Fiction on Screen as Political Parables -Siddhartha Biswas.- Chapter 5. The end of the world is always a local event’: Dystopian Futures and Utopian Resistance in Contemporary Irish Fiction and Film - Simon Workman.- Chapter 6. Fast-forward into the Future: Socioeconomic Change and Spatial Reconfigurations in Years and Years (Russell T. Davies, 2019)  - Pablo Gómez-Muñoz.- Chapter 7. Mis-Leading Meritocracies. Segregation and Biopolitics in Brazilian Ustopias - Olivia E. Holloway.- Chapter 8. Black Evermore. Racial Subjectivity, World-Building at Play, and Charting a Path from the Harlem Renaissance to Videogames through George Schuyler’s Black No More - Jalin Niamke Jackson.- Chapter 9. The Art of Being Governed? On Failings of the Utopic Imagination - Nefeli Forni Zervoudaki.- Chapter 10. Inhabiting Ustopia: Indian Science Fiction Films, PK and Anukul.- Chapter 11.- Beyond Stereotypes: Ms. Marvel and the Representation of Muslim Superheroine in Ustopian Narratives - Shaista Irshad.- Chapter 12. Choice, Compatibility and Consent in “Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya” - Mukta Sharangpani.- Part III. The Future is now: Contemporary Ustopians.- Chapter 13. Technologies of Survivance. The Indigenous Futurist Work of Cannupa Hanska Luger and Skawennati - Preston Taylor Stone.- Chapter 14. Between Ustopia and the Affective Heterotopia: Vtubing and its Fandom - Alice Teodorescu.- Chapter 15. Ustopians of Today: From Fantasy to Reality, Female Cosplay in Romania - Lucia-Mihaela Grosu-Radulescu.

Über Autor(innen)

Aparajita Nanda, recipient of a Visiting Associate Professorship to the University of California, Berkeley, is Chair, Department of Ethnic Studies, and Associate Professor, Department of English, Santa Clara University. She is on the executive committee of the Modern Language and Literature Association (MLA). Dr Nanda is also recipient of a Fulbright Faculty Fellowship Award, the Cedric Busette Memorial Award for her “outstanding contributions” to Ethnic Studies, and the David E. Logothetti Teaching Excellence Award. Her recent book publications include , , , and . She has published several book chapters in edited volumes and her articles appear in peer-reviewed journals, including , , , and . Her academic treatises (by invitation) appear in and Cambridge University Press publications on California. 

Lucia-Mihaela Grosu-Radulescu is an Associate Professor with the Department of Modern Languages and Business Communication, Faculty of International Business and Economics of the Bucharest University of Economic Studies. As a professor and researcher, she has participated in numerous conferences, and her research has been published in academic journals indexed in international databases. Her research interests range from literary and cultural studies to language learning and social psychology. She has published books, edited volumes and authored chapters in collective volumes. Her most recent contributions include (editor), “Multiculturalism under attack in Europe” (chapter) in the (ed. Abe W. Ata) and “The Magician, The Savior, and the Cyborg: Exploring Girlhood in Young Adult Film”(chapter) in (eds. Roxana Ciolaneanu & Roxana-Elisabeta Marinescu).