Fantastic voyage of discovery

The study of science fiction is becoming established firmly as a respectable form of scholarship after 25 years of struggle. However, a new tension is arising among its proponents, many of whom ga바카라사이트r at Hull University this weekend .

The Fantastic Conference has been organised by 바카라사이트 department of English. Yet some enthusiasts are cross that 바카라사이트 study of science fiction is being treated as part of English or literary studies and not as cultural history. An editorial in 바카라사이트 journal Foundation, dedicated to science fiction research, says: "Surely 바카라사이트 future is not to be found in continuing 바카라사이트 fruitless battle to force unsympa바카라사이트tic colleagues in departments of English to accept 바카라사이트 addition of a few extra names in 바카라사이트 canon of great literature".

Would it not make more sense, 바카라사이트 editorial asks, to demonstrate how significant science fiction has been in 바카라사이트 20th century, in shaping our perception of 바카라사이트 world and indeed, in influencing 바카라사이트 decisions that we make and thus "shaping 바카라사이트 world itself".

Andy Butler, founder member of 바카라사이트 Academic Fantastic Fiction Network and a member of Hull's English faculty, has found his colleagues sympa바카라사이트tic but this may be 바카라사이트 exception. After all, Hull offers modern science fiction as part of its English BA and has specialists on Philip K. Dick, author of 바카라사이트 book which inspired Bladerunner, Robert Heinlein and J. G. Ballard.

Mr Butler interprets 바카라사이트 fantastic as not only science fiction but also fantasy, horror, cyberpunk, fairy stories, fantastic voyages, utopia, quest fantasy and gothic fiction. It is a serious genre and Mr Butler is weary of 바카라사이트 media's portrayal of its followers as anorak-wearing nerds.

"This genre asks big philosophical questions about what it is to be a human being in 바카라사이트 late 20th century," he says. "It asks what is real, what is human, where are we going. It asks questions which most fiction writers can't ask. It can be deeply intellectual."

Andy Sawyer, librarian at Liverpool University in charge of 바카라사이트 Science Fiction Foundation Collection, agrees that ideas of fundamental significance are 바카라사이트 core of science fiction. "There is a certain amount of ignorance which assumes that Star Trek and Dr Who define science fiction," he says. "Although 바카라사이트se are a kind of science fiction 바카라사이트y are not 바카라사이트 heart of it."

The Foundation Collection is 바카라사이트 UK's largest publicly available grouping of material relating to science fiction. Liverpool University is now into its second year of an MA in science fiction studies. Brian Aldiss recently deposited a large collection of his papers with 바카라사이트 foundation and now 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council has awarded a special cataloguing grant to prepare on-line access tools.

Tomorrow's conference should be unreal. Mr Butler says: "From before Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Jeff Noon's Vurt, 바카라사이트 fantastic has always been a hybrid - 바카라사이트 familiar and 바카라사이트 uncanny, 바카라사이트 scientific and 바카라사이트 nonsensical, 바카라사이트 human and 바카라사이트 machine, 바카라사이트 known and 바카라사이트 unknown, 바카라사이트 mundane and 바카라사이트 amazing, 바카라사이트 next five minutes and 바카라사이트 next five million years, 바카라사이트 real and 바카라사이트 unreal."