Speculations, fabulations, incantations: Science fiction, contemporary futurology and how to change the world | Intellect Skip to content
1981
North American Speculative Fiction and the Political
  • ISSN: 1466-0407
  • E-ISSN: 1758-9118

Abstract

After giving a short insight into the ambivalent relationship between science fiction (SF) and futurology, this article sheds light on the current trend of what can be called , focusing on the publications of the Center for Science and the Imagination at the Arizona State University. The stories published in projects, such as , the Climate Fiction short story contest or the , are indistinguishable from conventional SF short stories. However, the frameworks of these projects share a certain futurological ambition. Also, they seek to enable the readers and writers of these stories to actively shape possible futures. In search for a label for this specific text form, Rebecca Wilbanks aptly coined the term ‘incantatory fictions’. This article explores the nature, the self-understanding und the practices of these speculations, fabulations and incantations by considering the metatexts of the afore-mentioned publications and by talking to people who work at the interface between SF and futurology.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • The Austrian Science (Award FWF (T-954))
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/content/journals/10.1386/ejac_00079_1
2022-09-01
2024-04-20
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