RUcore Resource Object
RUcore Resource Object
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Uniform TitleReligion in postmodern science fiction: a case study in secularity
NamePizzino, Christopher J. (author), Qualls, Barry (chair), DeKoven, Marianne (internal member), Dienst, Richard (internal member), Pinsky, Michael (outside member), Rutgers University, Graduate School - New Brunswick,
Degree Date2008-01
Date Created2008
SubjectEnglish, Literatures in,
Science fiction--Religious aspects,
Religion in literature
DescriptionUsing recent debates in the humanities and social sciences, this dissertation argues that the category of the secular is currently being critiqued, contested, and modified from within. This dissertation considers postmodern science fiction, particularly the subgenre of cyberpunk, as a literary instance of this contestation. This study focuses on the ways cyberpunk fiction constructs religious others against which to define its protagonists, and on the way that the distinction between the secular and the religious is understood using concepts of subjectivity and history. Further, this work argues that the secular concepts common to postmodern science fiction can be considered a key expression of secular subjectivity as it undergoes new challenges to its legitimacy. Further, using examples from postmodern science fiction film, this work considers the ways that secular subjectivity may be undergoing further modifications that challenge the opposition of the religious to the secular.
NotePh.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references (p. 199-218).
Genretheses
Persistent URLhttp://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.17213
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.