The postnational fantasy: essays on postcolonialism, cosmopolitics and science fiction

227 Pages·1.094 MB·English

by  Ellis, Jason W.;Nandi, Swaralipi;Raja, Masood A

The Postnational Fantasy
CRITICALEXPLORATIONSINSCIENCEFICTIONANDFANTASY
(a series edited by Donald E. Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III)
1Worlds Apart? Dualism and Transgression
in Contemporary Female Dystopias(Dunja M. Mohr, 2005)
2Tolkien and Shakespeare: Essays on Shared Themes and Language
(ed. Janet Brennan Croft, 2007)
3Culture, Identities and Technology in the Star WarsFilms: Essays on
the Two Trilogies(ed. Carl Silvio, Tony M. Vinci, 2007)
4The Influence of Star Trekon Television, Film and Culture
(ed. Lincoln Geraghty, 2008)
5Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction(Gary Westfahl, 2007)
6One Earth, One People: The Mythopoeic Fantasy Series of Ursula K. Le Guin,
Lloyd Alexander, Madeleine L’Engle and Orson Scott Card(Marek Oziewicz, 2008)
7The Evolution of Tolkien’s Mythology: A Study
of the History of Middle-earth(Elizabeth A. Whittingham, 2008)
8H. Beam Piper: A Biography(John F. Carr, 2008)
9Dreams and Nightmares: Science and Technology in Myth and Fiction
(Mordecai Roshwald, 2008)
10Lilithin a New Light: Essays on the George MacDonald Fantasy Novel
(ed. Lucas H. Harriman, 2008)
11Feminist Narrative and the Supernatural: The Function of
Fantastic Devices in Seven Recent Novels(Katherine J. Weese, 2008)
12The Science of Fiction and the Fiction of Science: Collected Essays on SF Storytelling
and the Gnostic Imagination(Frank McConnell, ed. Gary Westfahl, 2009)
13Kim Stanley Robinson Maps the Unimaginable: Critical Essays
(ed. William J. Burling, 2009)
14The Inter-Galactic Playground: A Critical Study
of Children’s and Teens’ Science Fiction(Farah Mendlesohn, 2009)
15Science Fiction from Québec: A Postcolonial Study(Amy J. Ransom, 2009)
16Science Fiction and the Two Cultures: Essays on Bridging the Gap Between
the Sciences and the Humanities(ed. Gary Westfahl, George Slusser, 2009)
17Stephen R. Donaldson and the Modern Epic Vision: A Critical Study
of the “Chronicles of Thomas Covenant” Novels(Christine Barkley, 2009)
18Ursula K. Le Guin’s Journey to Post-Feminism (Amy M. Clarke, 2010)
19Portals of Power: Magical Agency and Transformation in Literary Fantasy
(Lori M. Campbell, 2010)
20The Animal Fable in Science Fiction and Fantasy(Bruce Shaw, 2010)
21Illuminating Torchwood: Essays on Narrative, Character and Sexuality
in the BBC Series(ed. Andrew Ireland, 2010)
22Comics as a Nexus of Cultures: Essays on the Interplay
of Media, Disciplines and International Perspectives
(ed. Mark Berninger, Jochen Ecke, Gideon Haberkorn, 2010)
23The Anatomy of Utopia: Narration, Estrangement and Ambiguity in
More, Wells, Huxley and Clarke(Károly Pintér, 2010)
24The Anticipation Novelists of 1950s French Science Fiction
(Bradford Lyau, 2010)
25The TwilightMystique: Critical Essays
on the Novels and Films(ed. Amy M. Clarke, Marijane Osborn, 2010)
26The Mythic Fantasy of Robert Holdstock: Critical Essays
on the Fiction(ed. Donald E. Morse, Kálmán Matolcsy, 2011)
27Science Fiction and the Prediction of the Future: Essays on Foresight
and Fallacy(ed. Gary Westfahl, Wong Kin Yuen, Amy Kit-sze Chan, 2011)
28Apocalypse in Australian Fiction and Film: A Critical Study
(Roslyn Weaver, 2011)
29British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays.
(ed. Tobias Hochscherf, James Leggott, 2011)
30Cult Telefantasy Series: A Critical Analysis of The Prisoner,
Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, Heroes,
Doctor Whoand Star Trek (Sue Short, 2011)
31The Postnational Fantasy: Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction
(ed. Masood Ashraf Raja, Jason W. Ellis, Swaralipi Nandi, 2011)
This page intentionally left blank
The Postnational
Fantasy
Essays on Postcolonialism,
Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction
Edited by MASOOD ASHRAF RAJA,
JASON W. ELLIS and SWARALIPI NANDI
FOREWORD BY DONALD M. HASSLER
CRITICALEXPLORATIONSINSCIENCEFICTIONANDFANTASY, 31
Donald E. Palumbo andC.W. Sullivan III, series editors
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
The postnational fantasy : essays on postcolonialism, cosmopolitics
and science fiction / edited by Masood Ashraf Raja, Jason W. Ellis
and Swaralipi Nandi ; foreword by Donald M. Hassler.
p. cm. — (Critical explorations in science fiction and
fantasy ; 31)
[Donald Palumbo and C.W. Sullivan III, series editors]
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-6141-7
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Science fiction—History and criticism. 2. Postcolonialism
in literature. 3. Globalization in literature. 4. Fantasy
fiction—History and criticism. 5. Cosmopolitanism in
literature. I. Raja, Masood Ashraf. II. Ellis, Jason W.
III. Nandi, Swaralipi
PN3433.6.P67 2011
809.3'8762—dc22 2011005346
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2011Masood Ashraf Raja, Jason W. Ellis and Swaralipi Nandi. All
rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, i ncluding photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without p ermission in writing from the publisher.
Cover image © 2011Bertrand Benoit
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank our friends and col-
leagues who contributed encouragement and advice
as we moved forward with this project. A debt of
gratitude is owed to our distinguished contributors
who agreed to share their ideas with us, and now,
with you. Also, we would like to thank our essay
reviewers who provided their expertise and time
during the revision process: Stacie Hanes, Seth John-
son, Yu-Fang Lin, Babacar M’Baye, Geoffrey Moses,
David Murad, and Sohomjit Ray.
vii
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Foreword 1
DONALD M. HASSLER
Introduction
MASOOD A. RAJA and SWARALIPI NANDI 5
Part I: Postcolonial Issues in Science Fiction
1. Science Fiction as Experimental Ground for Issues of the
Postcolonial Novel
MICHELE BRAUN 17
2. Truth Is Stranger: The Postnational “Aliens” of Biofiction
KAREN CARDOZO and BANU SUBRAMANIAM 30
3. Forms of Compromise: The Interaction of Humanity,
Technology and Landscape in Ken MacLeod’s Night Sessions
ADAM FRISCH 46
4. The Language of Postnationality: Cultural Identity via
Science Fictional Trajectories
CHRIS PAK 56
Part II: The Nation and
Ethnicity in Science Fiction
5. The “Popular” Science: Bollywood’s Take on Science Fiction
and the Discourse of Nations
SWARALIPI NANDI 73
6. Postcolonial Ethics and Identity in Mike Resnick’s Kirinyaga
JENN BRANDT 88
ix