Schmeink / Böger Collision of Realities

Establishing Research on the Fantastic in Europe
1. Auflage 2012
ISBN: 978-3-11-027671-8
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 372 Seiten

Even though the fantastic (in its most inclusive definition) has been a part of our culture for as long as it exists, it has not been a prominent feature of European academic interest. With its inherent transgressive moment the fantastic allows for an ideal space of the cultural negotiation of political, social and physical boundaries, which should place it at the center of popular cultural research, not as is the case, at its periphery. But the commencing boom of fantastic themes in contemporary media production has facilitated a paradigmatic change in research, prompting a wide interest in the fantastic in all its forms, from fantasy to horror, from fairy tale to science fiction. This volume addresses this growing interest by reviewing the status of research on the fantastic in Europe so far and by providing a necessary outlook for the future. In the essays current trends, such as the liminality debate, as well as established discourses, as for example on genre theory, are brought together to show interested researchers a network of interdisciplinary (from literary, media and social studies) approaches towards the fantastic.

Zielgruppe

Academics, Institutes, Libraries

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schmeink, Lars

Böger, Astrid

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Filmwissenschaft, Fernsehen, Radio
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Theaterwissenschaft
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturwissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Preface;9
2;THE FANTASTIC – THEORY AND HISTORY;13
2.1;The Art and Science of Heterocosmic Creativity;15
2.2;“It’s not what you see – it’s how you see what you see.” The Fantastic as an Epistemological Concept;29
2.3;The Nightmares of Politicians. On the Rise of Fantasy Literature from Subcultural to Mass-cultural Phenomenon;37
2.4;Fantastic Liminality. A Theory Sketch;57
3;VISUALIZING THE FANTASTIC IN OUR CULTURE;73
3.1;Fantastic Language/Political Reporting. The Postcolonial SF Illocutionary Force is with us;75
3.2;Visualising the Fantastic in Strange Embrace;93
3.3;Love your Zombie. Romancing the Undead;111
3.4;God Hates Fangs? Morality, Ideology, and the Domesticated Vampire in American Culture;127
3.5;The Semiotics of Sexual Transformation. Ursula and Ariel as Representations of Metamorphosis in The Little Mermaid;147
4;FANTASTIC GENRES: FANTASY;161
4.1;Taking a Zebra to Vegas. Allegorical Reality in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians Series;163
4.2;“Real adventures weren’t about Hogwarts and Muggles.” Intertextual References in Amanda Hemingway’s Sangreal-Trilogy;183
4.3;On Alien Alders. The “Erl-King” inspirations in Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher Saga;195
4.4;“It’s magical!” Supernatural Elements in Children’s Literature and Young Adults’ Fiction;213
4.5;Story Matters. Story and its Concept in Tolkien and Pratchett;227
4.6;Grimmerie and Primer. Wicked and Diamond Age as Instructional Texts;241
5;FANTASTIC GENRES: SCIENCE FICTION;257
5.1;The Haunted House of Science Fiction. Modern Ghosts, Crypts, and Technologies;259
5.2;Difference and Resistance in M.T. Anderson’s Feed;279
5.3;Disharmony and Dystopia. Music in Classic Dystopian Fiction;293
5.4;Facing the End of the World. Margaret Atwood’s Post-apocalyptic Science Fiction;303
5.5;Is the Scientist Still Mad? Renegotiations of a Cultural Stereotype in New Hard Science Fiction;319
5.6;Utopian, Dystopian and Subversive Strategies in Recent German Alternate History Fictions;333
6;CONFERENCE THEME STORY;347
6.1;A Pocketful of Faces;349
7;Contributors;367

Über Autor(innen)

Lars Schmeink and Astrid Böger, University of Hamburg, Germany.