Dear Kate and All, I am definitely enjoying this eco sci-fi discussion and want to throw in my 2 cents.
I second Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake (messing with the environment through biotech leads to world's demise). She's such a great writer. You might also want to check out Alistair Reynolds, Revelation Space (includes a dead race that destroyed its sun) For something really far out and mind-bending, try John C. Wright's Golden Age trilogy. It's set 10,000 years into the future, and there is also a theme of trying to tinker with the Sun. Tammi Tamar Gutner Assistant Professor of International Relations School of International Service American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20016 Phone: 202-885-1620 Fax: 202-885-2494 [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kate O'Neill Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 10:48 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: Alastair Iles Subject: ecological sci-fi Dear Gep-Ed, This request may be a little out of the ordinary. I am co-teaching a freshman seminar next semester, on general environmental issues, and I am interested in putting together a module on "ecological science fiction" - of which I read a ton, but am only just starting to put together in a systematic way. The aim is to get the students to think about the role of the imagination in comprehending not only environmental change and its implications - but also alternate, more sustainable political and social institutions and arrangements - and, crucially, how we might get there. So, my questions are: has anyone out there done anything similar, or can refer me to an equivalent exercise? Is there an academic literature out there (journals, books, otherwise) that addresses these themes? I have a moderate collection of feminist sci-fi lit crit, which has a fair amount in common, but looking for the equivalent in the ecological area. Let me elaborate and throw out a few titles - first, of course, there are the ecological disaster novels (and movies) - the "warnings" that are very explicit in enviro sci-fi (my favorite is John Barnes' Mother of Storms; also John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up, and John Christopher's work, e.g. No Blade of Grass). Works on social transformation towards sustainability - and the costs of making such choices - include Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time, much of the work of Sheri S. Tepper, Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, and many more. I will certainly share what I eventually put together. Any book suggestions welcome! best, Kate -- *************** Kate O'Neill Assistant Professor Division of Society and Environment Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM) University of California at Berkeley 135 Giannini Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-3312 Voice: (510) 642 3747 Fax: (510) 643 2504 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Office: 129 Giannini http://nature.Berkeley.EDU/~koneill/
