Social science fiction
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| + | '''Social science fiction''' is a [[subgenre]] of [[science fiction]], usually [[soft science fiction]], concerned less with technology/[[space opera]] and more with speculation about human society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropology", and speculates about human behavior and interactions. | ||
| - | '''Social science fiction''' is a term used to describe a [[subgenre]] of [[science fiction]] concerned less with technology and [[space opera]] and more with [[sociological]] speculation about [[human society]]. | + | Exploration of fictional societies is a significant aspect of science fiction, allowing it to perform predictive (''[[The Time Machine]]'' (1895); ''[[The Final Circle of Paradise]]'', 1965) and precautionary (''[[Brave New World]]'', 1932; ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', 1949; ''[[Childhood's End]]'', ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', 1953) functions, to criticize the contemporary world (''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'', 1726; ''[[Alexander Gromov#Antarctica-online|Antarctica-online]]'') and to present solutions (''[[Walden Two]]'', ''[[Freedom™]]''), to portray alternative societies (''[[Arkady and Boris Strugatsky#Noon Universe|World of the Noon]]'') and to examine the implications of ethical principles (the [[Sergey Lukyanenko bibliography|works of Sergei Lukyanenko]]). |
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| - | Exploration of fictional societies is one of the most interesting aspects of [[science fiction]], allowing it to perform predictive ([[H.G. Wells]], ''[[The Final Circle of Paradise]]'') and precautionary (''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'') functions, to criticize the contemporary world (''[[Alexander Gromov#Antarctica-online|Antarctica-online]]'') and to present solutions (''[[Walden Two]]''), to portray alternative societies (''[[Arkady and Boris Strugatsky#Noon Universe|World of the Noon]]'') and to examine the implications of ethical principles (the [[Sergey Lukyanenko bibliography|works of Sergey Lukyanenko]]). | + | |
| == Social science fiction in English == | == Social science fiction in English == | ||
| - | Some roots of the genre may lie in such social speculations as [[utopian and dystopian fiction]], which could be considered as extreme special cases of the genre. | ||
| - | One of the first writers who used [[science fiction]] to explore sociological topics was [[H.G. Wells]], with his classic ''[[The Time Machine]]'' (1895) revealing the human race diverging into separate branches of [[Eloi]]s and [[Morlock]]s as a consequence of [[Social class|class inequality]]: a happy pastoral society of Elois preyed upon by the Morlocks but yet needing them to keep their world functioning. ''[[The Sleeper Awakes]]'' (1899, 1910) predicted the spirit of the 20th century, technically advanced, undemocratic and bloody. | + | '''Social fiction''' is a broad term to describe any work of [[speculative fiction]] that features social commentary (as opposed to, say, hypothetical technology) in the foreground. Social science fiction is a subgenre thereof, where social commentary (cultural or political) takes place in a sci-fi universe. [[Utopian and dystopian fiction]] is a classic, polarized genre of social science fiction, although most works of science fiction can be interpreted as having social commentary of some kind or other as an important feature. It is not uncommon, therefore, for a sci-fi work to be labeled as social sci-fi as well as numerous other categories. |
| - | In the U.S. the new trend of [[science fiction]] away from gadgets and space opera and toward speculation about the human condition was championed in pulp magazines of the 1940s by authors such as [[Robert A. Heinlein]] and by [[Isaac Asimov]], who coined the term social science fiction to describe his own work. The term is not often used today except in the context of referring specifically to the changes that took place in the 1940s, but the subgenre it defines is still a mainstay of science fiction. | + | [[Thomas More]]'s book ''[[Utopia (book)|Utopia]]'' (1516) represents an early example of the genre. Another early classic writer, [[Jonathan Swift]], penned critical views on current society—his most famous work, ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' (1726), is an example of a novel that is partially social science fiction (with such classic sci-fi elements as pioneering in strange new worlds and experimenting with variations of the human anatomy) and partially high fantasy (e.g., fantastical races that satirize various sectors of society). |
| - | Many of the best known [[dystopia]]s were inspired by reality: [[Aldous Huxley]]'s "negative utopia" ''[[Brave New World]]'' (1932) and, alluding to the [[Soviet Union]], ''[[Animal Farm]]'' (1945) and the Western world in ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' (1949) by [[George Orwell]]. In 1921 [[Yevgeny Zamyatin]] wrote his bitter novel ''[[We (novel)|We]]'', forecasting the "victory of forces of reason over forces of kindness" in Soviet Russia; prior to [[perestroika]] it was known only in the West and influenced both [[George Orwell|Orwell]] and [[Aldous Huxley|Huxley]]. "The thought-destroying force" of [[McCarthyism]] influenced [[Ray Bradbury]]'s ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'' (1953). | + | One of the writers who used science fiction to explore the sociology of near-future topics was [[H. G. Wells]], with his classic ''[[The Time Machine]]'' (1895) revealing the human race diverging into separate branches of [[Eloi]]s and [[Morlock]]s as a consequence of [[Social class|class inequality]]: a happy pastoral society of Elois preyed upon by the Morlocks but yet needing them to keep their world functioning—a thinly veiled criticism of capitalist society, where the exploiter class, or the bourgeoisie, is symbolized by the useless, frivolous Elois, and the exploited working class, or the proletariat, is represented by the subterranean-dwelling, malnourished Morlocks. Wells' ''[[The Sleeper Awakes]]'' (1899, 1910) predicted the spirit of the 20th century: technically advanced, undemocratic and bloody. Next to prognoses of the future of society if current social problems persisted, as well as depictions of alien societies that are exaggerated versions of ours (exemplified by ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'' of 1897), Wells also heavily criticized the then-popular concept of vivisection, experimental "psychiatry" and research that was done for the purpose of restructuring the human mind and memory (clearly emphasized in ''[[The Island of Doctor Moreau]]'', 1896). |
| - | ''[[The Chrysalids]]'' (1955) by [[John Wyndham]] explored the society of several telepathic children in a world hostile to such differences. [[Robert Sheckley]] studied polar civilizations of criminal and stability in his 1960 novel ''[[The Status Civilization]]''. | + | Other early examples of influential novels include ''[[Vril|Vril, the Power of the Coming Race]]'' (1871) by [[Edward Bulwer-Lytton]], ''[[Erewhon]]'' (1872) by [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]], [[Looking Backward|''Looking Backward: 2000-1887'']] (1888) by [[Edward Bellamy]] and ''[[News from Nowhere]]'' (1890) by [[William Morris]] |
| - | The modern era of social science fiction began with the 1960s, when authors such as [[Harlan Ellison]], [[Brian Aldiss]], and [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] wrote novels and stories that reflected real-world political developments. Ellison's main theme was the protest against increasing militarism. LeGuin in ''[[The Left Hand of Darkness]]'' (1969) explored non-traditional sexual relations. [[Kurt Vonnegut]] wrote ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]'' (1969), which used the science fiction theme of [[time-travel]] to explore anti-war, moral, and sociological themes. [[Frederik Pohl]]'s series ''[[Gateway (novel)|Gateway]]'' (1977 — 2004) combined social science fiction with [[hard science fiction]]. Among the finest modern exponents of social science fiction in the Campbellian/Heinlein tradition is [[L. Neil Smith]], who is considered the heir to [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s [[individualism]] and [[libertarianism]] in science fiction, and who wrote both ''[[The Probability Broach]]'' (1981) and ''[[Pallas (Heinlein)|Pallas]]'', which dealt with [[Alternate future|alternative "sideways in time" futures]] and what a libertarian society would look like. | + | In the U.S. the new trend of science fiction away from gadgets and space opera and toward speculation about the human condition was championed in pulp magazines of the 1940s by authors such as [[Robert A. Heinlein]] and by [[Isaac Asimov]], who coined the term "social science fiction" to describe his own work. The term is not often used today except in the context of referring specifically to the changes that took place in the 1940s, but the subgenre it defines is still a mainstay of science fiction. |
| - | <!--Today, the tradition is continued, although the term may be out of use. -->[[Kim Stanley Robinson|Kim S. Robinson]] explored different models of the future in ''[[Three Californias Trilogy]]'' (1984, 1988, 1990)<!-- and carried out extensive studies of Mars colonization in [[Mars trilogy]] (1992, 1993, 1996) -->. | + | Utopian fiction eventually gave birth to a negative and often more cynical genre, known as [[dystopia]]n: [[Aldous Huxley]]'s "negative utopia" ''[[Brave New World]]'' (1932) and, ''[[Animal Farm]]'' (1945) and ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' (1949) by [[George Orwell]]. "The thought-destroying force" of [[McCarthyism]] influenced [[Ray Bradbury]]'s ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'' (1953). Examples of [[Young-adult fiction|young adult]] dystopian fiction include ''[[The Hunger Games (novel)|The Hunger Games]]'' (2008) by [[Suzanne Collins]], ''[[The House of the Scorpion]]'' (2002) by [[Nancy Farmer]], ''[[Divergent (novel)|Divergent]]'' (2011) by [[Veronica Roth]], ''[[The Maze Runner]]'' (2009) by [[James Dashner]], and ''[[Delirium (Lauren Oliver novel)|Delirium]]'' (2011) by [[Lauren Oliver]]. |
| - | [[The Saga of Recluce]] (1991 — now), by [[L. E. Modesitt, Jr.]] represents a fusion of science fiction and [[fantasy]] that can be described as social science fiction. The 13 books of the series describe the changing relationships between two technologically advanced cultures and the cultures of a primitive world to which each is involuntarily transported. Themes of gender stereotyping, sexism, ethics, economics, environmentalism and politics are explored in the course of the series, which examines the world through the eyes of all its protagonists. | + | ''[[The Chrysalids]]'' (1955) by [[John Wyndham]] explored the society of several telepathic children in a world hostile to such differences. [[Robert Sheckley]] studied polar civilizations of criminal and stability in his 1960 novel ''[[The Status Civilization]]''. |
| - | == The genre in the Eastern Bloc == | + | The modern era of social science fiction began with the 1960s, when authors such as [[Harlan Ellison]], [[Brian Aldiss]], [[William Gibson]] and [[Frank Herbert]] wrote novels and stories that reflected real-world political developments and ecological issues, but also experimented in creating hypothetical societies of the future or of parallel populated planets. Ellison's main theme was the protest against increasing militarism. [[Kurt Vonnegut]] wrote ''[[Slaughterhouse-Five]]'' (1969), which used the science-fiction storytelling device of [[time travel in fiction|time-travel]] to explore anti-war, moral, and sociological themes. [[Frederik Pohl]]'s series ''[[Gateway (novel)|Gateway]]'' (1977 — 2004) combined social science fiction with [[hard science-fiction]]. Modern exponents of social science fiction in the Campbellian/Heinlein tradition include [[L. Neil Smith]] who wrote both ''[[The Probability Broach]]'' (1981) and ''[[Pallas (Heinlein)|Pallas]]'', which dealt with [[Alternate future|alternative "sideways in time" futures]] and what a libertarian society would look like. He is considered the heir to [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s [[individualism]] and [[libertarianism]] in science fiction. |
| - | All science fiction of the [[Soviet]] era had to subscribe to communist ideology, or else the author could face serious consequences — from a ban against being published to [[death penalty|death]] under [[Stalin]], [[labor camp|imprisonment]] or [[Psikhushka|psychiatric treatment]] under [[Brezhnev]]. There were poor and opportunistic works, there were works of talent touched by ideology (e.g. 1923 ''[[Aelita (novel)|Aelita]]'' or 1926 ''[[The Garin Death Ray]]'' by [[Alexei Tolstoy]]), there were non-ideological works describing the happy future of humankind (some works of [[Kir Bulychev]] and [[Ivan Efremov]]<!--, although they wrote bitter things, too-->), but also such writers as [[Mikhail Bulgakov|Bulgakov]], [[Evgeny Shvarts|Shvarts]] and [[Boris and Arkady Strugatsky|Strugatsky]] who chose the hard way of "balancing" on the edge, struggling not to betray their views while avoiding punishment for expressing them. | + | |
| - | The 1920s brought [[Andrey Platonov|Platonov]] and [[Zamyatin]], but it was not until the time of Perestroika that their works were published in the Soviet Union. | + | ''[[The Saga of Recluce]]'' (1991 — now), by [[L. E. Modesitt, Jr.]] represents a fusion of science fiction and [[fantasy]] that can be described as social science fiction. The 13 books of the series describe the changing relationships between two technologically advanced cultures and the cultures of a primitive world to which each is involuntarily transported. Themes of gender stereotyping, sexism, ethics, economics, environmentalism and politics are explored in the course of the series, which examines the world through the eyes of all its protagonists. |
| - | An "exception which proves the rule" is an example of critique under Stalin — [[Evgeny Shvarts]] play ''The Dragon'' (1944), showing how [[totalitarianism]] thrusts its roots into the hearts of the people. | + | [[Doris Lessing]] won the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature. Although mostly known for her "mainstream" works, she wrote numerous notable works of social science fiction, including ''[[Memoirs of a Survivor]]'' (1974), ''[[Briefing for a Descent into Hell]]'' (1971), the ''[[Canopus in Argos]]'' series (1974–1983), and ''[[The Cleft]]'' (2007). |
| - | The next period of science fiction in the Soviet Union was shaped by the greater [[Nikita Khrushchev#Legacy|liberalization]] of the [[Khrushchev]] regime, advances of science, and the beginning of the space age. | + | == Examples from the 1940s == |
| - | In 1957 [[Ivan Efremov]] wrote the utopian ''[[Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale|Andromeda]]'', revealing a harmonious space-exploring civilization of the distant future, whose culture took much from antique art. His further works included ''[[Razor's Edge (novel)|Razor's Edge]]'' (1963) emphasizing narrowness of the way of successful development of a civilization, and the dystopian ''[[The Bull's Hour]]'' (1968). | ||
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| - | Amongst the best known social science fiction is the [[Noon Universe]] of [[Arkady and Boris Strugatsky]], designed to be a future world of "communism", where creative work is considered the highest purpose<!--. Boris Strugatsky describes it as the "''world in which we would like to live and work''"-->, but unlike utopian worlds, Noon Universe is settled by real people. The rise of reaction, initiated by Khrushchev's public criticism of modern art and literature in 1963, showed to Strugatsky that "''while for us communism was a world of freedom and creativity, for them it was the society, in which the population fulfilled immediately and with pleasure all precepts of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Party]] and the government''". This largely affected their ''[[Hard to be a God]]'' (1963). | ||
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| - | Suppression of the [[Prague Spring]] in 1968 ultimately ruined Strugatsky's dreams about the Soviet rule. Another Noon Universe novel, ''[[Prisoners of Power]]'' (1969), somehow alluding to [[Soviet Union]] describes [[Maxim Kammerer]], crashed on an unknown planet in the wrecked Land of Fathers, and his attempt to destroy the system of transmission which deprived his new friends of ability of critical thinking. | ||
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| - | Social science fiction turned out to be a powerful means to respond to real situation in communist countries. While communist rules didn't allow any critique, one of possibilities was to veil it as that some [[science fiction]]-ish world. In the 1980s the genre called 'sociological fantasy' (''fantastyka sociologiczna'') arose in the [[People's Republic of Poland]]. It focused on the development of societies, generally dominated by [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] governments. This genre was represented by writers like [[Janusz A. Zajdel]] (''[[Limes Inferior]]'', ''[[Paradyzja]]''), [[Edmund Wnuk-Lipiński]] (''Apostezjon'' trilogy), [[Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg]] or [[Marek Oramus]]. Books from that genre were based in different times (usually in future), and usually were pretext for analysing structures of the described societies, having been full of allusions to reality. After the [[revolutions of 1989]], when using real world examples became as safe in former [[Eastern Bloc]] countries as in their Western counterparts, this genre mostly transformed itself into a [[political fiction]], represented by writers such as [[Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz]]. | ||
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| - | === Post-Soviet social science fiction === | ||
| - | Anti-communism was a sort of national idea in [[Russia]] only for several years — it was well explored so usually you can find only bits and bobs of it: | ||
| - | <!--*An unusual work is ''The Worm'' by [http://webcenter.ru/~lazarevicha Alexander Lazarevich] (1992), "programmers" science fiction with slight nostalgie for Soviet scientific and technological past.--> | ||
| - | * ''Arrows of [[Perun]] with separable warheads'', a 1994 novella by [[Braider and Chadovich]] depicts a small totalitarian state, founded by personnel of a Soviet missile shaft. | ||
| - | * ''[[Search for designation or Twenty seventh theorem of ethics]]'' (1994) and ''[[Devil amongst people]]'' (1991) are late novels of [[Strugatsky]], exploring often the tragic Soviet epoch. | ||
| - | * [[Evgeny Lukin]]'s [http://rusf.ru/english/lukin] 2000 novel ''Scarlet aura of a protopartorg'' is set in a "horizontal" world of little peer countries — debris of collapsed '''Russia'''. Background involves satire on Russian politicians and [[Public relations|PR]] battles of 1990s — lie and truth means nothing, but people's trust does. Totalitarian [[Christian Orthodox]] [[Communists]] and democratic League of Wizards use different methods to gain popularity, which in turn gives them a magical ability to commit marvels. The action concerns intrigues between two states which reveal more similarities than may seem. | ||
| - | * [[Vyacheslav Rybakov]] in 2003 novel ''In the adjacent year in Moscow'' explores a sickening world of Russia torn apart into tiny countries, ruled by Darths and Vaders of the West and having no own sincere desires. Rybakov lais emphasis on culture studies and a trial to regain national unity and idea, as an old scientist Ivan Obiwankin goes in a mission to install an anti-gravity device on the old [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]] shuttle. | ||
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| - | An important study of [[consumer capitalism]] on the Russian soil was carried by [[Victor Pelevin]], who described Russian "wild capitalism" in his 1999 ''[[Generation "П"]]'', and continued this theme, describing the situation in his 2006 novel '''Empire V''' as "anonymous dictatorship", aimed to trap people's minds in a rush for riches. | ||
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| - | Since disbandment of [[KGB]] in 1991, dissident trend in science fiction transformed as well. Government in 1999 '''Rejection''' (''Wybrakovka'') by [[Oleg Divov]] responded on rise of crime in 1990s by creating the service '''rejecting''' millions criminals out of life; the book raised discussions which hardly subsided now (inaccurate quote of the main hero, "''the world envies Slavian Union, because it's the only country where human rights are really guaranteed — but rights of law-abiding citizens.''"). Hero of [[Sergey Lukyanenko]]'s [[Spectrum (Russian novel)|Spectrum]] (2002) prefers not to seek troubles cooperating with [[FSB (Russia)|FSB]], though taking it half-ironically (''Or do you consider that government is able to exist without counterintelligence?''). Looking broader, society ruled by intelligence services disturbs citizens, but democracy is unable to react on sharp threats, as shown in the duology '''Soft Landing''', '''Year of the Lemming''' by [[Alexander Gromov]]. But what about personal freedom? Here comes a revelation, because it's a function not only of condition of society but of person's will as well. As a polar case, Pavel Gusev considers himself free in harsh world of Divov's '''Rejection'''. Freedom doesn't make happier lives of several male refugee's in matriarchal world of Gromov's '''The First of the Mohicans''', but it makes them people; the male oppositioner finds it possible to fight '''for''' this world against alien threat, remembering [[Helots]] who became '''mentally''' free fighting for [[Spartian]]s. Moreover, true democracy may be build only by responsible people able to refresh the tree of liberty with their blood, as Gromov showd in '''Antarctica-online'''. This approaches theme of [[individualism]]; world dying since people's assurance there's definitely someone to care for them is theme of several late stories by [[Leonid Kaganov]]. However this fails to be the essence of modern Russian sci-fi, only a slice cut in this plane. | ||
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| - | Social science fiction as investigation of various social systems without evident political subtext is well represented in works of many writers, such as [[Alexander Gromov]], [[Sergey Lukyanenko]] (''[[Sergey Lukianenko#Knights of Forty Islands|Knights of Forty Islands]]'', ''[[The Stars Are Cold Toys]]'' — ''[[Star Shadow]]''), [[Marina and Sergey Dyachenko]]. In some sense writers prolongate human-centered tradition of Russian classic literature of XIX century in contemporary themes and prose. | ||
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| - | "Eurochinese humanist" [[Holm van Zaichik]] (pen name of [[Vyacheslav Rybakov]] and [[Igor Alimov]]) is known for the world of Orduss, a fictionary country unifying China, Russia, Near East, forming a humane society with rich culture. | ||
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| - | == Examples of social science fiction from the 1940s == | ||
| * [[Isaac Asimov]], ''[[Nightfall (Asimov)|Nightfall]]'', 1941 | * [[Isaac Asimov]], ''[[Nightfall (Asimov)|Nightfall]]'', 1941 | ||
| * [[Isaac Asimov]], [[The Foundation Series]], 1942- | * [[Isaac Asimov]], [[The Foundation Series]], 1942- | ||
| - | * [[Robert A. Heinlein]], ''[["If This Goes On—"]]'', 1940 | + | * [[Robert A. Heinlein]], ''[[If This Goes On—]]'', 1940 |
| * [[Robert A. Heinlein]], ''[[Beyond This Horizon]]'', 1942 | * [[Robert A. Heinlein]], ''[[Beyond This Horizon]]'', 1942 | ||
| * [[George R. Stewart]], ''[[Earth Abides]]'', 1949 | * [[George R. Stewart]], ''[[Earth Abides]]'', 1949 | ||
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| - | == Notes == | ||
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| - | === Further reading === | ||
| - | * ''Modern Science Fiction: Its Meaning and Its Future'', eds. Reginald Bretnor and John Wood Campbell, 2nd edition, 1979, ISBN 0-911682-23-6. | ||
| == See also == | == See also == | ||
| + | * [[Anthropological science fiction]] | ||
| * [[Fable]] | * [[Fable]] | ||
| * [[Libertarian science fiction]] | * [[Libertarian science fiction]] | ||
| - | * [[List of social fiction writers and stories]] | + | * [[Political ideas in science fiction]] |
| + | * [[Social novel]] | ||
| + | * [[Soft science fiction]] | ||
| + | * [[Design fiction]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 05:35, 29 May 2015
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Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about human society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropology", and speculates about human behavior and interactions.
Exploration of fictional societies is a significant aspect of science fiction, allowing it to perform predictive (The Time Machine (1895); The Final Circle of Paradise, 1965) and precautionary (Brave New World, 1932; Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949; Childhood's End, Fahrenheit 451, 1953) functions, to criticize the contemporary world (Gulliver's Travels, 1726; Antarctica-online) and to present solutions (Walden Two, Freedom™), to portray alternative societies (World of the Noon) and to examine the implications of ethical principles (the works of Sergei Lukyanenko).
Social science fiction in English
Social fiction is a broad term to describe any work of speculative fiction that features social commentary (as opposed to, say, hypothetical technology) in the foreground. Social science fiction is a subgenre thereof, where social commentary (cultural or political) takes place in a sci-fi universe. Utopian and dystopian fiction is a classic, polarized genre of social science fiction, although most works of science fiction can be interpreted as having social commentary of some kind or other as an important feature. It is not uncommon, therefore, for a sci-fi work to be labeled as social sci-fi as well as numerous other categories.
Thomas More's book Utopia (1516) represents an early example of the genre. Another early classic writer, Jonathan Swift, penned critical views on current society—his most famous work, Gulliver's Travels (1726), is an example of a novel that is partially social science fiction (with such classic sci-fi elements as pioneering in strange new worlds and experimenting with variations of the human anatomy) and partially high fantasy (e.g., fantastical races that satirize various sectors of society).
One of the writers who used science fiction to explore the sociology of near-future topics was H. G. Wells, with his classic The Time Machine (1895) revealing the human race diverging into separate branches of Elois and Morlocks as a consequence of class inequality: a happy pastoral society of Elois preyed upon by the Morlocks but yet needing them to keep their world functioning—a thinly veiled criticism of capitalist society, where the exploiter class, or the bourgeoisie, is symbolized by the useless, frivolous Elois, and the exploited working class, or the proletariat, is represented by the subterranean-dwelling, malnourished Morlocks. Wells' The Sleeper Awakes (1899, 1910) predicted the spirit of the 20th century: technically advanced, undemocratic and bloody. Next to prognoses of the future of society if current social problems persisted, as well as depictions of alien societies that are exaggerated versions of ours (exemplified by The War of the Worlds of 1897), Wells also heavily criticized the then-popular concept of vivisection, experimental "psychiatry" and research that was done for the purpose of restructuring the human mind and memory (clearly emphasized in The Island of Doctor Moreau, 1896).
Other early examples of influential novels include Vril, the Power of the Coming Race (1871) by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Erewhon (1872) by Samuel Butler, Looking Backward: 2000-1887 (1888) by Edward Bellamy and News from Nowhere (1890) by William Morris
In the U.S. the new trend of science fiction away from gadgets and space opera and toward speculation about the human condition was championed in pulp magazines of the 1940s by authors such as Robert A. Heinlein and by Isaac Asimov, who coined the term "social science fiction" to describe his own work. The term is not often used today except in the context of referring specifically to the changes that took place in the 1940s, but the subgenre it defines is still a mainstay of science fiction.
Utopian fiction eventually gave birth to a negative and often more cynical genre, known as dystopian: Aldous Huxley's "negative utopia" Brave New World (1932) and, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell. "The thought-destroying force" of McCarthyism influenced Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953). Examples of young adult dystopian fiction include The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins, The House of the Scorpion (2002) by Nancy Farmer, Divergent (2011) by Veronica Roth, The Maze Runner (2009) by James Dashner, and Delirium (2011) by Lauren Oliver.
The Chrysalids (1955) by John Wyndham explored the society of several telepathic children in a world hostile to such differences. Robert Sheckley studied polar civilizations of criminal and stability in his 1960 novel The Status Civilization.
The modern era of social science fiction began with the 1960s, when authors such as Harlan Ellison, Brian Aldiss, William Gibson and Frank Herbert wrote novels and stories that reflected real-world political developments and ecological issues, but also experimented in creating hypothetical societies of the future or of parallel populated planets. Ellison's main theme was the protest against increasing militarism. Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), which used the science-fiction storytelling device of time-travel to explore anti-war, moral, and sociological themes. Frederik Pohl's series Gateway (1977 — 2004) combined social science fiction with hard science-fiction. Modern exponents of social science fiction in the Campbellian/Heinlein tradition include L. Neil Smith who wrote both The Probability Broach (1981) and Pallas, which dealt with alternative "sideways in time" futures and what a libertarian society would look like. He is considered the heir to Robert A. Heinlein's individualism and libertarianism in science fiction.
The Saga of Recluce (1991 — now), by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. represents a fusion of science fiction and fantasy that can be described as social science fiction. The 13 books of the series describe the changing relationships between two technologically advanced cultures and the cultures of a primitive world to which each is involuntarily transported. Themes of gender stereotyping, sexism, ethics, economics, environmentalism and politics are explored in the course of the series, which examines the world through the eyes of all its protagonists.
Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature. Although mostly known for her "mainstream" works, she wrote numerous notable works of social science fiction, including Memoirs of a Survivor (1974), Briefing for a Descent into Hell (1971), the Canopus in Argos series (1974–1983), and The Cleft (2007).
Examples from the 1940s
- Isaac Asimov, Nightfall, 1941
- Isaac Asimov, The Foundation Series, 1942-
- Robert A. Heinlein, If This Goes On—, 1940
- Robert A. Heinlein, Beyond This Horizon, 1942
- George R. Stewart, Earth Abides, 1949
See also
- Anthropological science fiction
- Fable
- Libertarian science fiction
- Political ideas in science fiction
- Social novel
- Soft science fiction
- Design fiction
