Representations of Technology in Science Fiction for Young People (Children's Literature and Culture)

Applebaum, Noga

ISBN 10: 0415989515 / ISBN 13: 9780415989510

Published by Routledge, 2009

About this Item

Explores representations of modern technology in contemporary science fiction for young people. This book exposes the anti-technological bias existing within a genre usually associated with celebrating technology, and suggests that this bias is a form of resistance to the face of childhood and technology's contribution to this change. Series: Children's Literature and Culture. Num Pages: 214 pages. BIC Classification: DSK; DSY. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly. Dimension: 236 x 162 x 20. Weight in Grams: 482. . 2009. 1st Edition. hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780415989510

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Representations of Technology in Science Fiction for Young People (Children's Literature and Culture)
• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415989515
• ISBN 13: 9780415989510
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In this new book, Noga Applebaum surveys science fiction novels published for children and young adults from 1980 to the present, exposing the anti-technological bias existing within a genre often associated with the celebration of technology. Applebaum argues that perceptions of technology as a corrupting force, particularly in relation to its use by young people, are a manifestation of the enduring allure of the myth of childhood innocence and result in young-adult fiction that endorses a technophobic agenda. This agenda is a form of resistance to the changing face of childhood and technology’s contribution to this change. Further, Applebaum contends that technophobic literature disempowers its young readers by implying that the technologies of the future are inherently dangerous, while it neglects to acknowledge children’s complex, yet pleasurable, interactions with technology today. The study looks at works by well-known authors including M.T. Anderson, Monica Hughes, Lois Lowry, Garth Nix, and Philip Reeve, and explores topics such as ecology, cloning, the impact of technology on narrative structure, and the adult-child hierarchy. While focusing on the popular genre of science fiction as a useful case study, Applebaum demonstrates that negative attitudes toward technology exist within children’s literature in general, making the book of considerable interest to scholars of both science fiction and children’s literature.

About the Author

Noga Applebaum has a PhD in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University. She lectures in Children's Literature at the Open University and teaches Creative Writing at the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute in London.