For my dissertation I'm planning to keep it very close to my practical work for my BA7. Since my practical project revolves around creating a believable science fiction narrative I have devised with the help of my tutor a reading list (Which I have expanded on through research) of books which cover relevant materials relating to Science-Fiction, Technology, Genetic Engineering and Social conditioning. As I want my end piece to be highly reflective of those themes, although the specifics elements and direction of my dissertation will be decided later when I'm back in October.
UNI READING LIST (MAKE NOTES, Mark with "*" when completed, mark with "X" for reading or unfishined)
The Island of Dr Moreau by H.G.Wells X
Neuromancer by William Gibso *
Brave New World by Aldus Huxley *
Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlien X
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman *
The Forever War follows the first person narrated wartime service of William Mandella a future Soldier fighting in war last over a thousand years against an alien race known as the "Taurans". Due the effects of time dilatation and relativity with FTL (Faster than light) travel overtime he returns from Combat which takes place lights years away from Earrh of human controlled space decades to hundred of years pass. Meaning society and civilization rapidly advance in what only for him sometimes is a few months. Joe Haldeman the author of the Forever War uses the book foremost a critique of the Vietnam war but foremost is the criticism of training of men and women in the military to become nothing more than (Soliders being drafted from civilian life) high specialized machines, in the book there are numerous blunt examples of this from being deployed from a drop ship in a rack much like a hard point of on Jetfighter to being immersed in a tank that hooks up the person inside to a entire history of warfare that can be instantly recalled, this includes generic history, tactics as well as weapon operation. And finally the difficultly to readappt to civilian life, with Mandella not only spending most of his life in the book within the Millitary of the UNEF (United Nations Exploration Force) coupled with the sporadic changes in society from extreme rationing, to societal norms changing such as homosexuality being encourages and heterosexuality at one point being punishable by death, eventually the human race evolves into a homogeneous extensively genetically selected single being, Mandella is frequently isolated from those around him unless he is serving in the Military, at the end of the war in the book he joins his lover in a commune for heterosexuals named "Middle finger" to live with his lover who also due to time dilation survived with him, the book closes with announcement of their child being the first natural birth in over four centuries while both characters are sill only in their only thirties/late twenties.
Enders Game Orson Scott Card
While I didn't find Enders game has relevant as The Forever War the use of military indoctrination and the display of tactics and the weight of command exhibited by Ender was. The presence of Orwellian state as well as minor things such the dissolution of organized religion and how the number of children in excess of two is seen as socially shameful was very reminiscent of today's China. the idea of a Command School where battles can be simulated and directed from without risk of loss of important military strategists lends more into themes of Simulacra and Simulation (I've only glanced over at this point). Enders brother and sister on Earth using infomation to gain a place of high political power is also interesting as I do want to illurstrate in my project that not all wars are the subject of the battlefield, in fact no major conflict in Enders Game take place at the actual scene of the battle and instead a holographic and very detached presence. Once again reminding me of the mechanization of soldiers in the Forever War and how they are being reduced to nothing more than highly sophisticated killing machines which Forever Wars character William Mandeela experiences first hand although being on the other side of which Ender in Enders Game. essentially Enders Game feels like the flip side of the same coin, the use of relativity in space travel is also present with many ships sent to attack the alien (Buggers) home world some of which being initially sent off some 70-50 years before the event of the story, the character Mazer Rackham (A war hero of the first two Bugger wars) have being sent of for a number of years as to secure that he would have no emotional ties to Earth when he returned to tutor children at command school as his sole purpose, for him only little of over eights years had passed since the second Bugger invasion.
Total Recall Phillip K Dick
Minority Report Phillip K Dick *
Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Beaudrillard
I may add books as I go along and plan for this post to be continuously edited as I progress through the list and I take notes around each book in relation to themes I'm interested in.
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