Classical Traditions in Science Fiction

For all its concern with change in the present and future, science fiction is deeply rooted in the past and, surprisingly, engages especially deeply with the ancient world. Indeed, both as an area in which the meaning of classics is actively transformed and as an open-ended set of texts
whose own 'classic' status is a matter of ongoing debate, science fiction reveals much about the roles played by ancient classics in modern times. Classical Traditions in Science Fiction is the first collection in English dedicated to the study of science fiction as a site of classical receptions,
offering a much-needed mapping of that important cultural and intellectual terrain.

This volume discusses a wide variety of representative examples from both classical antiquity and the past four hundred years of science fiction, beginning with science fiction's rosy-fingered dawn and moving toward the other-worldly literature of the present day. As it makes its way through the
eras of science fiction, Classical Traditions in Science Fiction exposes the many levels on which science fiction engages the ideas of the ancient world, from minute matters of language and structure to the larger thematic and philosophical concerns.


Author: Brett M. Rogers
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 02/09/2015
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.50w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780190228330

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2015

About the Author

Brett M. Rogers is Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Puget Sound.

Benjamin Eldon Stevens is Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Hollins University.