Abstract
Many of the ideas that are now conceived as posthumanist were already present in the imaginary of the Golden Era of North American science fiction. Thus, a limited corpus of nineteen short stories by Clifford D. Simak is studied by focusing on four great themes: interspecies communication, hybrids, corporal transcendence, and collective identity. Shocked by fascist ideology, influenced by coetaneous authors such as Olaf Stapledon and H. G. Wells, and fascinated by the implications of Darwinism, Simak’s nonhuman characters explore how the humanist subject, typically conceived as stable and immutable, crumbles as human beings are not considered an exceptional species. Animal studies is chosen as a critical methodology in conjunction with posthumanism. This leads to concluding its interdisciplinary nature, which in turn keeps opening the debate on whether it is actually dependent on posthumanism. Seeing it is relevant to claim Simak’s work was that of a pioneer, as well as the recent academic interest on the selected schools of thought is evident, this work points at Clifford D. Simak as a forerunner of studies of the nonhuman.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
SCIENCE FICTION, ANIMAL STUDIES, POSTHUMANISM, NONHUMAN, CLIFFORD SIMAK
