Editing Speculative fiction (section)

==History==
[[File:Seated Euripides Louvre Ma343.jpg|alt=Statue of Euripides in front of titles of his works|thumb|Euripides]]
Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to [[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions|paradigm-changing]] and neotraditional works of the 21st century.<ref>Barry Baldwin, Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Calgary, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, "Ancient Science Fiction", Shattercolors Literary Review</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=逆援助紹介PARADOX! |url=http://www.paradoxmag.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100728035612/http://www.paradoxmag.com/ |archive-date=28 July 2010 |website=paradoxmag.com}}</ref> Characteristics of speculative fiction have been recognized in older works whose [[Authorial intent|authors' intentions]] are now known, or in the [[social context]]s of the stories they tell. An example is the ancient [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] dramatist, [[Euripides]] ({{Circa|480|406 BCE}}), whose play ''[[Medea (play)|Medea]]'' seems to have offended [[Athenian]] audiences; in this play, he speculated that the titular sorceress [[Medea]] killed her own children, as opposed to their being killed by other [[Ancient Corinth|Corinthians]] after her departure.<ref>This theory of [[Euripides]]' invention has gained wide acceptance. See (e.g.) McDermott 1989, 12; Powell 1990, 35; Sommerstein 2002, 16; Griffiths, 2006 81; Ewans 2007, 55.</ref> 

In [[historiography]], what is now called ''speculative fiction'' has previously been termed ''historical invention'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2005 |title=Mark Wagstaff – Historical invention and political purpose &#124; Re-public: re-imagining democracy – english version |url=http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=126 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116082639/http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=126 |archive-date=16 January 2013 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Re-public.gr}}</ref> ''historical fiction'', and similar names. These terms have been extensively applied in [[literary criticism]] to the works of [[William Shakespeare]].<ref>Martha Tuck Rozett, "Creating a Context for Shakespeare with Historical Fiction", Shakespeare Quarterly
Vol. 46, No. 2 (Summer, 1995), pp. 220–227</ref> For example, in ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', he places several characters from different locations and times into the [[Fairy]]land of the fictional [[Merovingian]] [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] sovereign [[Oberon]]; these characters include the [[Athenian]] Duke [[Theseus]], the [[Amazons|Amazonian]] Queen [[Hippolyta]], the English fairy [[Puck (mythology)|Puck]], and the [[Roman mythology|Roman]] god [[Cupid]].<ref>Dorothea Kehler, A midsummer night's dream: critical essays, 2001</ref>

In [[mythography]], the concept of speculative fiction has been termed ''mythopoesis'' or [[mythopoeia|''mythopoeia'']]. This process involves the creative design and development of lore and mythology for works of fiction. The term's definition comes from use by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]; his series of novels, ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'',<ref>Adcox, John, "Can Fantasy be Myth? Mythopoeia and The Lord of the Rings" in "The Newsletter of the Mythic Imagination Institute, September/October, 2003"</ref> shows an application of the process. Themes common in mythopoeia, such as the [[supernatural]], [[alternate history]], and [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], continue to be explored in works produced in modern speculative fiction.<ref>Eric Garber, Lyn Paleo Uranian Worlds: A Guide to Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror, 2nd Edition, G K Hall: 1990 {{ISBN|978-0-8161-1832-8}}</ref>

Speculative fiction in the general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or ahistorical [[storytelling]] has been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction modes since [[Herodotus]] of [[Halicarnassus]] (fl. 5th century BCE) with his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'';<ref>Herodotus and Myth Conference, Christ Church, Oxford, 2003</ref><ref>John M. Marincola, Introduction and Notes, The Histories by Herodotus, tr. Aubrey De Sélincourt, 2007</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lendering |first=Jona |title=Herodotus of Halicarnassus |url=https://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus02.html |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Livius.org |archive-date=18 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118090825/http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodotus/herodotus02.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> it was already both created and edited out by early encyclopedic writers such [[Sima Qian]] ({{circa|145}} or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of [[Shiji]].<ref>Stephen W. Durrant, The cloudy mirror: tension and conflict in the writings of Sima Qian, 1995</ref><ref>Craig A. Lockard, ''Societies, Networks, and Transitions: A Global History: To 1500'', 2007, p. 133.</ref>

These examples highlight a caveat—many works that are now viewed as speculative fiction long predated the labelling of the genre. In the broadest sense, the genre's concept does two things: it captures both [[conscious]] and [[unconscious mind|unconscious]] aspects of human [[psychology]] in making sense of the world, and it responds to the world by creating [[Imagination|imaginative]], [[inventive]], and [[artistic]] expressions. Such expressions can contribute to practical societal progress through interpersonal influences; [[social movements|social]] and [[cultural movements]]; scientific research and advances; and the [[philosophy of science]].<ref>Heather Urbanski, Plagues, apocalypses and bug-eyed monsters: how speculative fiction shows us our nightmares, 2007, pp. 127.</ref><ref>Sonu Shamdasani, Cult Fictions: C.G. Jung and the Founding of Analytical Psychology, 1998</ref><ref>Relativity, The Special and the General Theory by Albert Einstein (1920), with an introduction by Niger Calder, 2006</ref>
[[File:Robert A. Heinlein.jpg|thumb|Robert Heinlein c.1953]]
In [[English language|English-language]] usage in arts and literature since the mid 20th century, the term ''speculative fiction'' has often been attributed to [[Robert A. Heinlein]], who first used it in an editorial in ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' (on 8&nbsp;February 1947). In the article, Heinlein used ''Speculative Fiction'' as a synonym for ''science fiction''; in a later article, he stated explicitly that his use of the term excluded fantasy. Although Heinlein may have invented the term independently, earlier citations exist. An article in ''[[Lippincott's Monthly Magazine]]'' in 1889 used the term in reference to [[Edward Bellamy]]'s novel ''[[Looking Backward|Looking Backward: 2000–1887]]'' and other works; and an article in the May 1900 issue of ''[[The Bookman (New York)|The Bookman]]'' mentioned that [[John Uri Lloyd]]'s novel ''[[Etidorhpa|Etidorhpa, or, The End of the Earth]]'' had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction".<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 April 2009 |title=Dictionary citations for the term "speculative fiction" |url=http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/438 |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Jessesword.com |archive-date=7 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207012608/http://www.jessesword.com/sf/view/438 |url-status=live }}</ref> A variant of this term is ''speculative literature''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Speculative Literature Foundation |url=http://www.speculativeliterature.org/ |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Speculativeliterature.org |archive-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204054002/http://www.speculativeliterature.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The use of the term ''speculative fiction'' to express dissatisfaction with traditional or [[The Establishment|establishment]] science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by [[Judith Merril]], as well as other writers and editors connected with the [[New Wave (science fiction)|New Wave]] movement. However, this use of the term became less popular toward the mid-1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Wave |url=http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/dial/sfclass/newave.html |access-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Virtual.clemson.edu |archive-date=22 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122094856/http://virtual.clemson.edu/groups/dial/sfclass/newave.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

During the 2000s, the term ''speculative fiction'' came into wider use as a convenient way to describe a set of genres. However, some writers (such as [[Margaret Atwood]]) still distinguish "speculative fiction" as a specifically "no [[Martian]]s" type of science fiction, "about things that really could happen."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atwood |first=Margaret |url=https://archive.org/details/inotherworldssfh0000atwo_y7y3 |title=In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination |date=2011 |publisher=Nan A. Talese/Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-53396-6 |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/inotherworldssfh0000atwo_y7y3/page/6 6] |url-access=registration}}</ref>

The term ''speculative fiction'' is also used to describe genres combined into a single [[narrative]] or [[Fictional universe|fictional world]], such as "science fiction, horror, fantasy...[and]...mystery".<ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Canton |first=James |title=The Literature Book |last2=Cleary |first2=Helen |last3=Kramer |first3=Ann |last4=Laxby |first4=Robin |last5=Loxley |first5=Diana |last6=Ripley |first6=Esther |last7=Todd |first7=Megan |last8=Shaghar |first8=Hila |last9=Valente |first9=Alex |collaboration=Authors |publisher=[[DK (publisher)|DK]] |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-4654-2988-9 |edition=First American |location=New York |pages=343}}</ref>

In documenting this broad genre, the [[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]] includes a list of different subtypes.

According to publisher statistics, men outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers who seek professional publication. However, the percentages vary considerably by genre, with women outnumbering men in the areas of [[urban fantasy]], [[paranormal romance]] and [[young adult fiction]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Crisp |first=Julie |date=10 July 2013 |title=SEXISM IN GENRE PUBLISHING: A PUBLISHER'S PERSPECTIVE |url=http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2013/07/10/sexism-in-genre-publishing-a-publishers-perspective |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150430072612/http://www.torbooks.co.uk/blog/2013/07/10/sexism-in-genre-publishing-a-publishers-perspective |archive-date=30 April 2015 |access-date=29 April 2015 |website=[[Tor Books]] }}</ref>

[[Academic journals]] that publish essays on speculative fiction include ''[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]]'' and ''[[Foundation - The International Review of Science Fiction|Foundation]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SF Foundation Journal &#124; The Science Fiction Foundation |url=https://www.sf-foundation.org/journal |access-date=1 April 2020 |publisher=Sf-foundation.org }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>