History of Science

Fiction Notes
Contemporary
Literature
Mrs. Prange

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 Introduction
 These slides will outline a brief history of
the science fiction genre and mention a
number of significant authors who
established sci-fi as a legitimate form of
writing.
 This information will be important as a
foundation for the rest of the semester.

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 Topics of Discussion
1. Definition of science fiction
2. A brief history of the formation of the
genre
3. A brief outline of the major contributors to
science fiction

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 Topic One – Definition of Science
Fiction

 Science fiction – a form of literature that

explores future possibilities.
 Common subjects – technology, robots, alien
beings, different worlds, and time travel
 One of main purposes is to explore today’s
problems in a future setting
 Differs from science fantasy in that the subject
matter seems possible rather than impossible.

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 Topic Two – History of Science
Fiction
 Term “science fiction” was first used in 1851 but
roots of the genre go back 2000 years
 Greek epic poetry featured superhuman beings,
one-eyed monsters, travel to distant lands, and
creatures who swallowed ships
 Lucian - Syrian writer who wrote the first
science fantasy story in the 2nd century A.D.
Story was called The True History and featured
a shipload of companions who were transported
to the moon where an interplanetary battle was
being fought.
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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 Development of the compass and advances in
shipbuilding in the late 15th century make
voyaging a more real possibility
 Copernicus’ earth-shattering book On the
Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres, written in
1540, states that the universe is vast and does
not revolve around the earth
 The telescope is created in the 17th century
making the observation of other planets
possible.

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 Technological advances became commonplace in the
17th century, making it possible for people to start
envisioning a very different future. Prior to this, there
had never been a fiction set in a future period of human
history
 Science Fiction stories in the 17th century:
 Somnium (1634) – Johannes Kepler – novel set on the moon
 The Man in the Moon (1638) – Francis Godwin – utopian society
living on the moon
 Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon and Sun
(1659) – Cyrano de Bergerac – marvelous inventions such as
solar energy and talking machines

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 During the 18th century, some authors took a
bleak view of technological and social change:
 Gulliver’s Travels (1726) – Jonathan Swift – parodied
experimental science and included a vision of a
terrifying superweapon: a flying island used by its
rulers to crush any opposition
 Micromegas (1732) – Voltaire – first known story of
visitors from other planets: two giant, one from Saturn
and one from a planet of the star Sirius, who mock the
follies of the tiny earthlings

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 Science was not to be halted by warnings and
ridicule.
 The following year (1733) Benjamin Franklin reported
his control of electricity
 Within 30 years the Industrial Revolution began
 The Year 2440 (1770) - Louis-Sebastian Mercier –
forsees a marvelous society that worships science,
with the telescope and the microscope central to each
youth’s first communion

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 By the end of the 18th century and the beginning
of the 19th century, capitalism and modern
science were beginning their conquest of the
world
 Under industrial capitalism, a vast number of
people were working their lives away for a small
number of owners – these workers became from
their products, from nature, and from each other
 Human creativity now appeared in the form of
monstrous alien forces exerting ever-growing
power of the people who created them
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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 From this background came Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein (1818), widely recognized as the
originator of modern science fiction
 Mary Shelley also wrote The Last Man (1826),
one of the first science fiction novels to envision
the end of the world
 The 19th century was a time period that was
marked by incredible technological advances

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
Technological Advances in the 19th century:
 Locomotive • Cash register
 Airship • Stock ticker
 Airplane • Industrial steel
 Steamboat • Vulcanized rubber
 Screw propeller • Portland cement
 Bicycle • Dynamite
 Automobile • Rapid-fire pistol
 Harvester • Repeating rifle
 Disc cultivator • Barbed wire
 Reaper • Machine gun
 Mowing machine • Photography
 Electric battery • Phonograph
 Electromagnet • Fountain pen
 Cathode ray tube • Typewriter
 Magnetic tape recorder • Telegraph
• Adding machine • Radio
• Punch time clock • Telephone
• Movie machine

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 History of Science Fiction – cont.
 After the Civil War, a newly literate mass
audience of boys and young men formed who
were intrigued by the opportunities of fame and
fortune in science and technology
 The “dime” novel was aimed at this group of
people. The first example was Edward Ellis’s
The Steam Man of the Prairie (1865).
 The dime novel was the most popular form of
entertainment between the Civil War and World
War I, and the science fiction dime novels had a
very formative influence on modern science
fiction.

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 Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
Jules Verne (1828-1905)
• Recognized as the father of science
fiction
• Verne wrote about cosmic,
atmospheric, and underwater travel
before they were possible
• He is the third most translated author
in the world
• Considered almost a prophetic French
author
• Famous works include:
• A Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864)
• From the Earth to the Moon (1865)
• Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873)

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 Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
H.G. Wells (1866-1946)
• British writer known for his science
fiction
• He was an outspoken socialist and his
books all have a social or political
message
• Prolific writer who wrote in nearly
every genre including short stories and
non fiction
• Famous novels include:
• The Time Machine (1895)
• The Island of Dr. Moreaux (1896)
• The Invisible Man (1897)
• The War of the Worlds (1898)

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 Major Contributors to Science
Fiction
Ray Bradbury (1920 – present)
• Born in Waukegan, Illinois
• Not strictly a science fiction writer
– also writes science fantasy and
has dabbled in other genres
• Has won numerous awards
including the National Medal of
Arts and he also has a star on
Hollywood’s walk of fame
• Famous works include:
• Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
• The Martian Chronicles (1950)
• Something Wicked This Way
Comes (1963)

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