Editing Science fiction (section)

==Science fiction studies==
{{Main|Science fiction studies}}
[[File:Victoria Building, University of Liverpool 2019.jpg|thumb|left|The centrepiece of the university estate, the [[Victoria Building, University of Liverpool]], as a science fiction [[Academic degree|degree]]-granting program.]]
 
The [[science fiction studies]] is the [[Criticism|critical]] assessment [[Aesthetic interpretation|interpretation]], and [[Conversation|discussion]] of science fiction [[literature]], [[film]], [[TV shows]], [[new media]], [[fandom]], and [[fan fiction]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christopher-mckitterick.com/SF-LitCrit/SF-litcrit.htm|title=Critical Approaches to Science Fiction|website=christopher-mckitterick.com/|access-date=22 April 2023}}</ref> Science fiction [[scholar]]s study science fiction to better understand it and its relationship to science, technology, politics, other genres, and culture-at-large.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hieroglyph.asu.edu/2016/04/what-is-the-purpose-of-science-fiction-stories/|title=What Is The Purpose of Science Fiction Stories? {{!}} Project Hieroglyph|website=hieroglyph.asu.edu|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404025032/https://hieroglyph.asu.edu/2016/04/what-is-the-purpose-of-science-fiction-stories/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Science fiction studies began around the turn of the 20th century, but it was not until later that science fiction studies solidified as a discipline with the publication of the academic journals ''[[Extrapolation (journal)|Extrapolation]]'' (1959), ''[[Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction]]'' (1972), and ''[[Science Fiction Studies]]'' (1973),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/index.htm|title=Index|website=www.depauw.edu|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=24 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324161713/https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jstor.org/journal/sciefictstud|title=Science Fiction Studies on JSTOR|language=en|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404044515/https://www.jstor.org/journal/sciefictstud|url-status=live}}</ref> and the establishment of the oldest organizations devoted to the [[Research|study]] of science fiction in 1970, the [[Science Fiction Research Association]] and the [[Science Fiction Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfra.org/about|title=Science Fiction Research Association – About|website=www.sfra.org|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404025040/http://www.sfra.org/about|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sf-foundation.org/about/index.html|title=About: Science Fiction Foundation|website=Science Fiction Foundation|access-date=3 April 2019|archive-date=24 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024032919/http://www.sf-foundation.org/about/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The field has grown considerably since the 1970s with the establishment of more [[Academic journal|journals]], [[organization]]s, and [[Academic conference|conference]]s, as well as science fiction [[Academic degree|degree]]-granting programs such as those offered by the [[University of Liverpool]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/taught/sfs-english-ma/overview/|title=English: Science Fiction Studies MA – Overview – Postgraduate Taught Courses – University of Liverpool|website=www.liverpool.ac.uk|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404025029/https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/postgraduate-taught/taught/sfs-english-ma/overview/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Classification===
{{Further|Hard science fiction|Soft science fiction}}
Science fiction has historically been sub-divided between [[hard science fiction]] and [[soft science fiction]], with the division centering on the feasibility of the science.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/genre-science-fiction | title=BCLS: Hard Versus Soft Science Fiction | access-date=23 August 2018 | archive-date=23 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823210402/https://www.bcls.lib.nj.us/genre-science-fiction | url-status=live }}</ref> However, this distinction has come under increasing scrutiny in the 21st century. Some [[author]]s, such as [[Tade Thompson]] and [[Jeff VanderMeer]], have pointed out that stories that focus explicitly on [[physics]], [[astronomy]], [[mathematics]], and [[engineering]] tend to be considered "hard" science fiction, while stories that focus on [[botany]], [[mycology]], [[zoology]], and the [[social science]]s tend to be categorized as "soft", regardless of the relative [[Rigour|rigor]] of the science.<ref name="tor.com">{{cite web| url=https://www.tor.com/2017/02/20/ten-authors-on-the-hard-vs-soft-science-fiction-debate/| title=Ten Authors on the 'Hard' vs. 'Soft' Science Fiction Debate| date=20 February 2017| access-date=23 August 2018| archive-date=29 December 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229124015/https://www.tor.com/2017/02/20/ten-authors-on-the-hard-vs-soft-science-fiction-debate/| url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Max Gladstone]] defined "hard" science fiction as stories "where the [[Mathematics|math]] works", but pointed out that this ends up with stories that often seem "weirdly dated", as scientific [[paradigm]]s shift over time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/how-do-you-like-your-science-fiction-ten-authors-weigh-in-on-hard-vs-soft-sf/|title=How Do You Like Your Science Fiction? Ten Authors Weigh In On 'Hard' vs. 'Soft' SF|last=Wilde|first=Fran|date=21 January 2016|website=Tor.com|language=en-US|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=4 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404025029/https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/how-do-you-like-your-science-fiction-ten-authors-weigh-in-on-hard-vs-soft-sf/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Michael Swanwick]] dismissed the traditional definition of "hard" SF altogether, instead saying that it was defined by characters striving to solve problems "in the right way–with [[determination]], a touch of [[stoicism]], and the [[consciousness]] that the [[universe]] is not on his or her side."<ref name="tor.com"/>

[[Ursula K. Le Guin]] also criticized the more traditional view on the difference between "hard" and "soft" SF: "The 'hard' science fiction writers dismiss everything except, well, [[physics]], [[astronomy]], and maybe [[chemistry]]. [[Biology]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]]—that's not [[science]] to them, that's soft stuff. They're not that interested in what [[Human|human beings]] do, really. But I am. I draw on the [[social science]]s a great deal."<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a15871082/ursula-k-le-guin-life/| title=Ursula K. Le Guin Proved That Sci-Fi is for Everyone| date=24 January 2018| access-date=23 August 2018| archive-date=23 August 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180823210602/https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/a15871082/ursula-k-le-guin-life/| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Literary merit===
{{Further|Literature|Literary fiction}}
[[File:Frontispiece to Frankenstein 1831.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|alt=Engraving showing a naked man awaking on the floor and another man fleeing in horror. A skull and a book are next to the naked man and a window, with the moon shining through it, is in the background |Illustration by [[Theodor von Holst]] for 1831 edition of [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''Frankenstein''<ref>{{cite ODNB |last=Browne |first=Max |title=Holst, Theodor Richard Edward von (1810–1844) |id=28353}}</ref>]]

Many critics remain skeptical of the [[literary value]] of science fiction and other forms of [[genre fiction]], though some accepted authors have written works argued by opponents to constitute science fiction. [[Mary Shelley]] wrote a number of [[scientific romance]] novels in the [[Gothic literature]] tradition, including ''[[Frankenstein|Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus]]'' (1818).<ref name="introduction"/> [[Kurt Vonnegut]] was a highly respected American author whose works have been argued by some to contain science fiction premises or themes.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allen|first1=William R.|title=Understanding Kurt Vonnegut|url=https://archive.org/details/understandingkur0000alle|url-access=registration|publisher=University of South Carolina Press|isbn=978-0-87249-722-1|year=1991}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Banach|first1=Je|title=Laughing in the Face of Death: A Vonnegut Roundtable|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/04/11/laughing-in-the-face-of-death-a-vonnegut-roundtable/|work=[[The Paris Review]]|date=11 April 2013|access-date=13 August 2015|archive-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903042710/http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/04/11/laughing-in-the-face-of-death-a-vonnegut-roundtable/|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Other science fiction authors whose works are widely considered to be "serious" literature include [[Ray Bradbury]] (including, especially, ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'' (1953) and ''[[The Martian Chronicles]]'' (1951)),<ref name="NYT-20120606">{{cite news|last=Jonas|first=Gerald|title=Ray Bradbury, Master of Science Fiction, Dies at 91|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/books/ray-bradbury-popularizer-of-science-fiction-dies-at-91.html|date=6 June 2012|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=5 June 2012|archive-date=5 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405014134/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/books/ray-bradbury-popularizer-of-science-fiction-dies-at-91.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Arthur C. Clarke]] (especially for ''[[Childhood's End]]''),<ref>Barlowe, Wayne Douglas (1987). Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. Workman Publishing Company. {{ISBN|0-89480-500-2}}.</ref><ref>Baxter, John (1997). "Kubrick Beyond the Infinite". Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. Basic Books. pp. 199–230. {{ISBN|0-7867-0485-3}}.</ref> and Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, writing under the name [[Cordwainer Smith]].<ref>Gary K. Wolfe and Carol T. Williams, "The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith", ''Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers'', Volume 3, Thomas D. Clareson editor, Popular Press, 1983, pages 53–72.</ref> [[Doris Lessing]], who was later awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]], wrote a series of five SF [[novel]]s, ''[[Canopus in Argos|Canopus in Argos: Archives]]'' (1979–1983), which depict the efforts of more advanced species and civilizations to influence those less advanced, including humans on Earth.<ref name="Hazelton">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-space.html?_r=1 |title=Doris Lessing on Feminism, Communism and 'Space Fiction' |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Lesley |last=Hazelton |author-link=Lesley Hazleton |date=25 July 1982 |access-date=25 March 2011 |archive-date=23 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131123172701/http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-space.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Galin">{{cite book | last = Galin | first = Müge | title = Between East and West: Sufism in the Novels of Doris Lessing | publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] | year = 1997 | location = [[Albany, New York]] | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EbHys4CzN0YC&pg=PP1 | page = 21 | isbn = 978-0-7914-3383-6 | access-date = 28 October 2020 | archive-date = 23 November 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201123214754/https://books.google.com/books?id=EbHys4CzN0YC&pg=PP1 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Lessing | first = Doris | author-link = Doris Lessing | title = The Sirian Experiments | year = 1994 | orig-date = 1980 | publisher = Flamingo | location = London | isbn = 978-0-00-654721-1 |chapter= Preface | page= 11}}</ref><ref name="Donoghue">{{cite news | last = Donoghue | first = Denis | author-link = Denis Donoghue (academic) | title = Alice, The Radical Homemaker | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = 22 September 1985 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-terrorist.html | access-date = 4 July 2014 | archive-date = 15 July 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140715175028/http://www.nytimes.com/books/99/01/10/specials/lessing-terrorist.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

[[David Barnett (writer)|David Barnett]] has pointed out that there are books such as ''[[The Road]]'' (2006) by [[Cormac McCarthy]], ''[[Cloud Atlas (novel)|Cloud Atlas]]'' (2004) by [[David Mitchell (author)|David Mitchell]], ''[[The Gone-Away World]]'' (2008) by [[Nick Harkaway]], ''[[The Stone Gods (novel)|The Stone Gods]]'' (2007) by [[Jeanette Winterson]], and ''[[Oryx and Crake]]'' (2003) by [[Margaret Atwood]], which use recognizable science fiction [[Trope (literature)|tropes]], but which are not classified by their authors and publishers as science fiction.<ref name="guardian4"/> Atwood in particular argued against the categorization of works like ''[[the Handmaid's Tale]]'' as science fiction, labeling it, ''Oryx'', and ''[[the Testaments]]'' as [[speculative fiction]]<ref name=Wilderness>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/apr/26/fiction.margaretatwood|title=Light in the wilderness|last=Potts|first=Robert|date=26 April 2003|work=The Guardian|access-date=30 May 2013|archive-date=5 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005061502/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/apr/26/fiction.margaretatwood|url-status=live}}</ref> and deriding science fiction as "talking squids in outer space."<ref name="langford">[[David Langford|Langford, David]], [http://www.ansible.co.uk/sfx/sfx107.html "Bits and Pieces"], [[SFX (magazine)|''SFX'' magazine]] No.&nbsp;107, August 2003.  {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090820072020/http://www.ansible.co.uk/sfx/sfx107.html |date=20 August 2009 }}</ref> 

In his book "The Western Canon", literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] includes ''[[Brave New World]]'', [[Stanisław Lem]]'s ''[[Solaris (novel)|Solaris]]'', [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s ''[[Cat's Cradle]]'', and ''[[The Left Hand of Darkness]]'' as culturally and aesthetically significant works of western literature, though Lem actively spurned the Western label of "science fiction".<ref name="SFWA">{{cite web |url=http://www.sfwa.org/faq/lem.htm |title=Lem and SFWA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080111142618/http://www.sfwa.org/faq/lem.htm |archive-date=11 January 2008}} in [[Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America]] FAQ, "paraphrasing [[Jerry Pournelle]]" who was SFWA President 1973–74</ref>

In her 1976 essay "Science Fiction and Mrs Brown", [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] was asked: "Can a science fiction writer write a novel?" She answered: "I believe that all novels ... deal with [[Character (arts)|character]]... The great novelists have brought us to see whatever they wish us to see through some character. Otherwise, they would not be novelists, but poets, historians, or pamphleteers."<ref name="harpercollins"/>

[[Orson Scott Card]], best known for his 1985 science fiction novel ''[[Ender's Game]]'', has postulated that in science fiction the message and intellectual significance of the work are contained within the story itself and, therefore, does not require accepted literary devices and techniques he instead characterized as [[gimmick]]s or literary games.<ref name="google" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://us.macmillan.com/author/|title=Orson Scott Card {{!}} Authors {{!}} Macmillan|website=US Macmillan|language=en-US|access-date=4 April 2019|archive-date=5 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105025352/https://us.macmillan.com/author/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Jonathan Lethem]], in a 1998 [[essay]] in the ''[[Village Voice]]'' entitled "Close Encounters: The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction", suggested that the point in 1973 when [[Thomas Pynchon]]'s ''[[Gravity's Rainbow]]'' was nominated for the [[Nebula Award]] and was passed over in favor of Clarke's ''[[Rendezvous with Rama]]'', stands as "a hidden tombstone marking the death of the hope that SF was about to merge with the mainstream."<ref name="encounters"/> In the same year science fiction author and physicist [[Gregory Benford]] wrote: "SF is perhaps the defining genre of the twentieth century, although its conquering armies are still camped outside the [[Roman Empire|Rome]] of the literary citadels."<ref name="september"/>