Abstract-Science Fiction is a literary genre of technological changes in human and his life; and is full of imaginative and futuristic concepts and ideas. One of the most significant aspects of Science Fiction is human transformation. This paper will present, firstly, an overview on the history of Science Fiction and some of the most significant sci-fi stories, and will also explore the elements of human transformation in them. Later, it will explain the term of transhumanism as a movement which follows several transformation goals to reach immortality and superiority of human through advanced technology. Next, the views by a number of prominent transhumanists will be outlined and discussed. Finally, three main steps of transhumanism, namely transhuman, posthuman, and cyborg, will be described in details through notable scholars' views in which transhuman will be defined as a transcended version of human, posthuman as a less or non-biological being, and cyborg as a machine human. In total, this is a conceptual paper on an emerging trend in literary theory development which aims to engage critically in an overview of the transformative process of human by technology in Science Fiction beyond its current status.
Diaspora communities feel alienated because they cannot decide which space they belong to. The notions of identity and home are problematized and characterized by a sense of continuity and discontinuity, a conflict of location and dislocation and a process of hybridization. Espinet's The Swinging Bridge (2003) resembles outstanding indication of the psychological conflict that happens in the mind of the diaspora. Feelings, homes and identities are indeed swinging and cannot be certain to belong to a certain space or time. The question that is raised in this paper shows that there is no fixed home for a diaspora to belong to. This is due to a psychological clash between homes, identities, cultures, politics and many other factors that reconstruct and help in the formation of a hybrid identity that belongs to none in particular and cannot be accepted in all. So, this identity starts swinging between homes and cultures. The idea of 'bridge' in Espinet's The Swinging Bridge, is no more than an illusion and a dream that the writer tries to present as a solution for this dilemma of estrangement.
While Duong Thu Hung's Novel Without a Name (1995) describes the bloodshed in the jungles of central Vietnam towards the end of Vietnam War (1959-1975), Kim Echlin embarks her narrations in The Disappeared (2009), about a decade after the collapse of Pol Pot's genocide (1975-1979) in Cambodia. Philosophy however, is waved into fiction in order to add layers of depth and meaning to their narrations. Role of ideology and its effect on human life are among the major themes discussed by the authors. This study employs a close study of the above texts to discover the philosophical phrases used by the authors. It also illustrates how philosophy enhances meaning in fiction and contributes to its authenticity.
Transgression in postmodern age marked a unique social and cultural aspect in re-forming the identity of the postmodern man. Martin Amis mirrors the identities of his characters through their transgression of the social norms, specifically, the established norms of truth of masculinity. However, this idea of truth transgression in Amis's novel Money has not been fully taken into account and there has been little discussion about it in terms of identity formation. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the way in which transgression of truth affects the idea of identity formation in Amis's novel Money. Drawing on Michel Foucault's technique ofproblematisation, the present paper investigates the notion of transgressing the historical truth of masculinity which becomes a significant idea that the protagonist John Self manipulates to actualise himself and to pick up his own identity. The paper reveals a conclusion in which transgression of truth can be instrumental in realising the self and re-affirming subjectivity as the case is in John Self.
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