William Gibson and the Future of Contemporary Culture

Mathias Nilges

ISBN 10: 1609387481 / ISBN 13: 9781609387488

Published by University of Iowa Press, US, 2021

About this Item

William Gibson is frequently described as one of the most influential writers of the past few decades, yet his body of work has only been studied partially and without full recognition of its implications for literature and culture beyond science fiction. It is high time for a book that explores the significance and wide-ranging impact of Gibson's fiction. In the 1970s and 80s, Gibson, the 'Godfather of Cyberpunk,' rejuvenated science fiction. In groundbreaking works such as Neuromancer, which changed science fiction as we knew it, Gibson provided us with a language and imaginary through which it became possible to make sense of the newly emerging world of globalization and the digital and media age. Ever since, Gibson's reformulation of science fiction has provided us not just with radically innovative visions of the future but indeed with trenchant analyses of our historical present and of the emergence and exhaustion of possible futures.  Contributors: Maria Alberto, Andrew M. Butler, Amy J. Elias, Christian Haines, Kylie Korsnack, Mathias Nilges, Malka Older, Aron Pease, Lisa Swanstrom, Takayuki Tatsumi, Sherryl Vint, Phillip E. Wegner, Roger Whitson, Charles Yu.

Seller Inventory # LU-9781609387488

Bibliographic Details

• Title: William Gibson and the Future of Contemporary Culture
• Publisher: University of Iowa Press, US
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1609387481
• ISBN 13: 9781609387488
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 463 grams

About this title

Synopsis

William Gibson is frequently described as one of the most influential writers of the past few decades, yet his body of work has only been studied partially and without full recognition of its implications for literature and culture beyond science fiction. It is high time for a book that explores the significance and wide-ranging impact of Gibson’s fiction.

In the 1970s and 80s, Gibson, the “Godfather of Cyberpunk,” rejuvenated science fiction. In groundbreaking works such as Neuromancer, which changed science fiction as we knew it, Gibson provided us with a language and imaginary through which it became possible to make sense of the newly emerging world of globalization and the digital and media age. Ever since, Gibson’s reformulation of science fiction has provided us not just with radically innovative visions of the future but indeed with trenchant analyses of our historical present and of the emergence and exhaustion of possible futures.
 
Contributors: Maria Alberto, Andrew M. Butler, Amy J. Elias, Christian Haines, Kylie Korsnack, Mathias Nilges, Malka Older, Aron Pease, Lisa Swanstrom, Takayuki Tatsumi, Sherryl Vint, Phillip E. Wegner, Roger Whitson, Charles Yu

About the Author

Mitch R. Murray is a PhD candidate in the Department of English at the University of Florida. His work appears in ASAP/Journal, Public Books, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Science Fiction Film and Television. He lives in Gainesville, Florida.

Mathias Nilges is professor of English at St. Francis Xavier University, Canada. He is author of Right-Wing Culture in Contemporary Capitalism: Regression and Hope in a Time Without Future. He lives in Afton Station, Nova Scotia.