Relativism, Alternate History, and the Forgetful Reader - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Relativism, Alternate History, and the Forgetful Reader write by Derek Thiess. This book was released on 2014-11-25. Relativism, Alternate History, and the Forgetful Reader available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. The writer of alternate history asks “what if?” What if one historical event were different, what would the world look like today? In a similar way, the postmodern philosopher of history suggests that history is literature, or that if we read certain historical details differently we would get a distinctly different interpretation of past events. While the science fiction alternate history means to illuminate the past, to increase our understanding of past events, however, the postmodern approach to history typically suggests that such understanding is impossible. To the postmodern philosopher, history is like literature in that it does not offer the reader access to the past, but only an interesting story. Building on criticism that suggests personal psychological reasons for this obscuring the past, and using a literary theory of readership, this book challenges the postmodern approach to history. It channels the speculative power of science fiction to read the works of postmodern philosophy of history as alternate histories themselves, and to map the limits and pathology of their forgetful reading of the past.
Sideways in Time
Sideways in Time - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Sideways in Time write by Glyn Morgan. This book was released on 2019. Sideways in Time available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This important collection of essays acknowledges the long and distinctive history of the alternate history genre whilst also revelling in its vitality, adaptability, and contemporary relevance, with many of the chapters discussing late twentieth- and early twenty-first-century texts which have previously received little or no sustained critical analysis.
The Ancient World in Alternative History and Counterfactual Fictions
The Ancient World in Alternative History and Counterfactual Fictions - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Ancient World in Alternative History and Counterfactual Fictions write by Alberto J. Quiroga Puertas. This book was released on 2024-08-22. The Ancient World in Alternative History and Counterfactual Fictions available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Focusing in turn on history, powerful individuals, under-represented voices and the arts, the essays in this collection cover a wide variety of modern and contemporary narrative fiction from Jo Walton and L. Sprague De Camp to T. S. Chaudhry and Catherynne M. Valente. Chapters look into the question of chance versus determinism in the unfolding of historical events, the role individuals play in shaping a society or occasion, and the way art and literature symbolise important messages in counterfactual histories. They also show how uchronic narratives can take advantage of modern literary techniques to reveal new and relevant aspects of the past, giving voices to marginalised minorities and suppressed individuals of the ancient world. Counterfactual fiction and uchronic narratives have been largely up until now the domain of literary critics. However, these modes of literature are here analysed by scholars of Ancient History, Egyptology and Classics, shedding important new light on how cultures of the ancient world have been (and still are) perceived, and to what extent our conceptions of the past are used to explore alternate presents and futures. Alternate history entices the imagination of the public by suggesting hypothetical scenarios that never occurred, underlining a latent tension between reality and imagination, and between determinism and contingency. This interest has resulted in a growing number of publications that gauge the impact of what-if narratives, and this one is the first to give scholars of the ancient world centre-stage.
Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes]
Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes] - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes] write by Gary Westfahl. This book was released on 2021-07-19. Science Fiction Literature through History [2 volumes] available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. This book provides students and other interested readers with a comprehensive survey of science fiction history and numerous essays addressing major science fiction topics, authors, works, and subgenres written by a distinguished scholar. This encyclopedia deals with written science fiction in all of its forms, not only novels and short stories but also mediums often ignored in other reference books, such as plays, poems, comic books, and graphic novels. Some science fiction films, television programs, and video games are also mentioned, particularly when they are relevant to written texts. Its focus is on science fiction in the English language, though due attention is given to international authors whose works have been frequently translated into English. Since science fiction became a recognized genre and greatly expanded in the 20th century, works published in the 20th and 21st centuries are most frequently discussed, though important earlier works are not neglected. The texts are designed to be helpful to numerous readers, ranging from students first encountering science fiction to experienced scholars in the field.
Appropriating History
Appropriating History - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Appropriating History write by Matthias Schwartz. This book was released on 2024-09-30. Appropriating History available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Popular media play an important role in reconstructing collective imaginations of history. Dramatic events and ruptures of the 20th century provide the material for playful as well as neo-imperialist and nationalist appropriations of the past. The contributors to the volume investigate this phenomenon using case studies from Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian popular cultures. They show how in mainstream films, TV series, novels, comics and computer games, the reference to Soviet history offers role models, action patterns and even helps to justify current political and military developments. The volume thus presents new insights into the multi-layered and explosive dynamics of popular culture in Eastern Europe.
