Published In
Science Fiction Studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2005
Subjects
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.) -- Fiction, Science-fiction writers, West (U.S.) -- Historiography
Abstract
Many science fiction writers depend on the multiple narratives of the American West as templates for framing their understandings of the future. This essay examines the ways in which the western homesteading story has been adapted in fictions about future planetary settlement. It argues that the increasing complexity of these treatments reflects the deepening awareness of the ambiguities of the American homesteading experience and parallels many of the insights of the 'new western history.' Key texts discussed include Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, Robert Heinlein's Farmer in the Sky, Philip K. Dick's Martian Time-Slip, Kim Stanley Robinson's Blue Mars, Jonathan Lethem's Girl in Landscape, and Molly Gloss's The Dazzle of Day.
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/8555
Citation Details
Abbott, C. Homesteading on the Extraterrestrial Frontier. Science Fiction Studies , Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jul., 2005), pp. 240-264.
Description
This is the publisher's final PDF. Copyright © 2005, DePauw University. Reproduced by permission.