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EN
Time travel is one of the most popular themes in science fiction. Usually it is discussed from a perspective of technological and scientific possibilities for the realization of fantastic visions. Researchers focus on logical paradoxes implied by traveling back in time. The author of this article, inspired by David Wittenberg’s Time Travel: The Popular Philosophy of Narrative, draws attention to metanarrative functions of time travel theme, which becomes a challenge for writers and narrative techniques.
EN
The article presents the selected transhumanist themes, as referred to in Frank Herbert’s “Dune”, as well as in the movie, directed by D. Villeneuve. In particular, the three groups are analysed: Bene Geserit sisters, Spacing Guild navigators and mentats. It is argued that the process of their directed evolution and training is in fact a transhumanist practice, with its peak representation in Leto II’s transformation in a human-worm hybrid. In the further part of the paper, an admissibility of these practices in light of basic human rights, adopted in Universal Declaration of Human Rights is carried out. The final conclusion is that Dune can be perceived as a warning to the bioengineers and legislators against unchecked progress in genetics.
PL
W artykule przedstawiono wybrane wątki transhumanistyczne, do których na- wiązano w „Diunie” Franka Herberta, a także w filmie w reżyserii D. Villeneuve’a. W szczególności analizowane są trzy grupy: siostry Bene Geserit, nawigatorzy Gildii Przestrzeni oraz mentaci. Argumentuje się, że proces ich ukierunkowanej ewolucji i szkolenia jest w rzeczywistości praktyką transhumanistyczną, której szczytową reprezentacją jest transformacja Leto II w hybrydę człowieka i robaka. W dalszej części artykułu przeprowadzono analizę dopuszczalności tych praktyk w świetle podstawowych praw człowieka, przyjętych w Powszechnej Deklaracji Praw Człowieka. Ostateczny wniosek jest taki, że Diuna może być postrzegana jako ostrzeżenie dla bioinżynierów i prawodawców przed niekontrolowanym postępem w genetyce.
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EN
When reading Extensa (2002) by Jacek Dukaj and acquainting with its communicational and artistic implications, the reader becomes aware of relativization of otherness, as a result of the very essence of what the Other is. Thus Extensa is not exactly a story of otherness, but from the perspective of literary communication it is a story which exists outside of agreed taxonomy and is foreign to the clear, contemporary division into fantasy and mainstream. This means that Dukaj’s Extensa both presents the otherness of the novel (towards the reader’s expectations), as well as it is a story about otherness itself. Entangled in the strangeness of the novel, in the light of its line of communication and previous interpretational schema – created on the basis of previously read science-fiction novels – the reader is bound to feel alienated due to the difference between what is anticipated and what is presented. Paradoxically, the otherness both of the novel (in the context of the genre’s tradition and of the line of communication in which it functions) and its fictional world allows redefinition of the cognising subject who must manage his own, unpredictable “otherness.” This is because the Other remains a symbol of all that undergoes change. Thus, the attitude towards the Other becomes a challenge that requires a confrontation with our own self and, at the same time, it is an “empathy exercise” which rejects mutual dependencies of empathy and stereotypisation, typical for modern literature.
EN
With the exception of Lem’s works, Polish science fiction of the communist era is largely forgotten. Anglo-American readers know only fragments of Lem’s literary work, and they know almost nothing about other Polish science fiction writers. The aim of this article is to familiarize Anglo-American audience with seven Polish science fiction novels written in the communist era: Farther than Hatred (Dalej niż nienawiść) by Wojciech Bieńko (1963); Aspasia (Aspazja) by Andrzej Ostoja-Owsiany (1958); To Drain the Sea (Wyczerpać morze) by Jan Dobraczyński (1961); Arsenal (Arsenał) by Marek Oramus (1985); Paradisia (Paradyzja) by Janusz A. Zajdel (1984); The Robot (Robot) by Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg (1977); Imago (Imago) by Wiktor Żwikiewicz (1985).
EN
The most popular science fiction novel written by the Polish author Stanisław Lem, Solaris, was published in 1961. Although it was translated into English as early as 1970, the book was unknown to the Sinophone readers until 2003, when the first translation from English into Chinese was published, most probably following the popularity of the resounding Hollywood film adaptation from 2002. Still, Suolalisi Xing (which can be translated as ‘Solaris Star’) did not attract broader audiences in China or Taiwan, at least not until the third version of the novel, translated directly from Polish into Chinese, saw the light of day in 2010. The appearance of this translation coincided with the beginning of a New Golden Era of Chinese and Taiwanese science fiction, which undoubtedly had a significant influence on the positive re-reception of Solaris. In the paper, the author focuses on the philosophical aspect of Lem’s work and investigates which themes and concepts present in Solaris caught the imagination of Chinese-speaking readers. The author wants to show how this reception, while coming from a different historical, cultural, and linguistic background, can enrich our understanding of the novel and introduce a new way of looking at the important existential questions stated by the writer.
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Nostalgia retrofuturystów

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EN
Science fiction novels are chronologically located where multiple time references intersect. Future dominates the semantics of the novel whereas past reference organizes the grammar of the narrative. Nostalgic retrofuturism explicitly demonstrates the tensions between various time modes, and as a result it shows a vision of “the future which has never happened”.
EN
The so-called animal turn in literature has fostered the evolution of animal studies, a discipline aimed at interrogating the ontological, ethical, and metaphysical implications of animal depictions. Animal studies deals with representation and agency in literature, and its insights have fundamental implications for understanding the conception and progression of human-animal interactions. Considering questions raised by animal studies in the context of literary depictions of animals in science fiction, this article threads John Berger’s characterization of the present as a time of radical marginalization of animals in his essay “Why Look at Animals?” through two highly influential science fiction texts: H. G. Wells’s The Island of Doctor Moreau and Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Applying Berger’s reasoning to these two novels raises issues of personhood, criteria for ontological demarcation, and the dynamics of power, providing an opportunity to clarify, modify, and refute a number of his finer claims. This process of refinement allows us to track conceptions of human-animal interactions through the literary landscape and explore their extrapolations into various speculative contexts, including the frontiers of science and post-apocalyptic worlds.
EN
The article evaluates the reception of the futurological work by Stanisław Lem – Summa technologiae. It points to the discrepancy between Lem’s expectations and the reception of his work by western philosophy of science and technology. Further, the text recognizes the fact that Lem’s work belongs to the legacy of Solaris.
EN
Croatian speculative fiction in the last quarter of the century has been dominated by the city of Zagreb. There are three anthologies depicting the capital of Croatia and visions of its future: Zagreb 2004 (1995), Zagreb 2014 (1998) and Zagreb 2094 (2004). Also, in Croatian dystopian fiction, the popularity of which has grown rapidly since 2010, the city becomes a metaphor for the problem of exclusion and deep inequalities between the centre and the periphery. The changes in the literary image of Zagreb over the last twen­ty-five years illustrate not only the changing perception of an urban space and different ways of experiencing the city by writers, but also depict the evolution of speculative fiction in Croatia by distinguishing its most important elements: the growth of the importance of local motifs and places, as well as blurring the rigid genre boundaries and the evolution towards the so-called slipstream fiction. Thanks to the analysis of literary images of Zagreb, questions about the attitude of fantasy literature of that time towards the main contemporary issues can be raised. The article finally offers a possibility to define either the subversive or conciliatory character of fantasy works in the context of the most dominant ideologies of that time.
Gender Studies
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2014
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vol. 13
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issue 1
93-105
EN
The paper analyses some aspects of South African science fiction, starting with its beginnings in the 1920s and focusing on some 21st century writings. Thus Lauren Beukes’ novels Moxyland (2008) and Zoo City (2010) are taken into consideration in order to present new trends in South African literature and the way science fiction has been marked by Apartheid. The second South African science fiction writer whose writings are examined is Henrietta Rose-Innes (with her novel Nineveh, published in 2011) as this consolidates women's presence in the SF world.
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Totalitaryzm w historii kina science fiction

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EN
Science fiction genre has more than a hundred years of history. At this time, it has experienced a significant evolution, being divided into several subgenres along the way. The purpose of this article is to systematize, analyze and describe this extremely extensive genre, which is very important, both because of its artistic contribution to the history of cinema, as well as its content, including the characteristics of the population, eminent units and their types and exemplification. Science fiction cinema has also never avoided political references. The history of science fiction film has been introduced in chronological order. The timeframe of the analysis results from subjective and intuitive selection and the purpose of this is the fullest and most transparent presentation of the genre history. The article is about the whole science fiction, however, particular interest will be aimed at films referring to the issue of totalitarian regimes.
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Postmodernistyczne kino fantastycznonaukowe a ekologia

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EN
Pat Brereton analyzes postmodernist science fiction films in order to explore the “myth” of posthuman cyborgs and demonstrate that although these apparently transgressive postmodernist expressions can be applied to an ecological utopian discourse. Despite the fact that some contemporary theoreticians are dismissing interest in real spaces and seem to lean towards the utopian unlimited possibilities offered by cyberspace Brereton intends to search for renewed sublime mode which affirms and produces a ‘positive’ form of ecological expression. To this end he scrutinizes, among others, films such as Dark City, The Terminator and Alien Resurrection, to show how the discourse of post-human agency overlaps with ethical and ecological dialogue.
EN
A robot is an important figure in the patterns of dystopian literature and science fiction cinema. Over the years, artificial humans played the roles of victims or enemies rebelling and fighting with homo sapiens. This conflict was related to the genesis of the robot, that was at the beginning an imaginary character serving the role of mechanical slave. Another important theme developed in dystopian science fiction is the usage of robots in the plots inspired by some counterculture theses. Such inspirations are presented in the short stories and novels of Philip K. Dick who successfully re-interpreted the most popular conventions of the genre. The clichés connected with the iconography of artificial humans also became a significant element of the plots in comic books and cartoons where they are often used to deconstruct some significant stereotypes and indicate postmodern crisis of identity.
EN
The aim of this paper is to analyse the influence of Stanisław Lem’s works, an outstanding representative of Polish science fiction, philosopher and futurologist, on the shape of reality in which we currently function. Undoubtedly, Lem’s writings are a collection of predictions that describe, with unprecedented accuracy, the technologies of virtual reality, nanotechnology, biotechnology or robotics long before they were created. Are we living in a world that was described by one man many years ago? The research method used in this study is the content analysis of the selected novels by Stanisław Lem and the analysis of available secondary data. Let us therefore examine, on the one hand, the predictions of the Polish writer related to the development of the latest technologies, the advent of which he forecasted many years before they were created, and, on the other hand, let us consider what social consequences resulting from such a rapid progress in the field of technology the Polish futurologist warns us about.
EN
The aim of the article is to read Krzysztof’s Piskorski novel Czterdzieści i cztery as a part of steampunk. In order to do so, we will trace the elements of this subgenre in the work and the method of implementation of its basic assumptions. In addition, the text aims at showing references to the romantic tradition that take place at various levels of the novel. Both planes are finally brought together. The whole makes it possible to see a combination of steampunk with the romantic tradition from both perspectives and to explore why this melange has brought the writer such reading success. Another relevant aspect of the research is embedding the work in the contexts of: fantasy literature, Maria Janion's romantic paradigm theory and popular culture.
PL
Zamiarem artykułu jest próba odczytania powieści Czterdzieści i cztery Krzysztofa Piskorskiego poprzez przyjrzenie się jej funkcjonowaniu w ramach steampunku. W tym celu prześledzone zostały występujące w utworze elementy tego podgatunku oraz sposób realizacji jego podstawowych założeń. Ponadto tekst skupia się na ukazaniu odwołań do tradycji romantycznej, jakie dokonują się na różnych poziomach powieści. Obie z wymienionych płaszczyzn zostają do siebie odniesione. Pozwala to ujrzeć obecne w Czterdzieści i cztery połączenie steampunku z tradycją romantyczną z obu perspektyw, a także zgłębić, dlaczego melanż ten przyniósł pisarzowi taki sukces czytelniczy. Istotne dla badań jest osadzenie utworu w kontekstach: literatury fantastycznej, teorii paradygmatu romantycznego Marii Janion oraz kultury popularnej.
Praktyka Teoretyczna
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2021
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vol. 41
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issue 3
91-111
EN
The article discusses Ada Palmer’s Terra Ignota series, which problematizes the liberal nature of contemporary utopias. The fictional 25th century, in which gender, nation states and the traditional understanding of the family–but not inequalities–have been abolished, is contrasted with the ideals a small percentage of the population. While the fictional reality is treated as a utopia by the majority of characters, the Utopians strive for a radical rupture from the contingency and pledge themselves to the unknown future. Since the states in Palmer’s world lack territory and it is impossible for Utopia to form an enclave on Earth, the Hive dedicates itself to terraforming Mars, with leaving Earth as their one common goal. The tasks the Utopians undertake are not rooted in a coherent homogenous project but seem to be grounded in a protest against the status quo naturalized by the rest of society. The Utopian strategy is treated as an example of China Miéville’s apophatic Marxism. Apophasis remains a powerful tool of critique and an incentive to take action.
PL
Tekst poświęcony jest problematyzującemu charakter współczesnych utopii cyklowi Terra Ignota Ady Palmer. Opisywanemu przez Palmer dwudziestemu piątemu wiekowi, w którym zniesiono płeć kulturową, państwa narodowe czy tradycyjny model rodziny, nie znosząc zarazem nierówności, przeciwstawiona zostaje postawa Utopian – niewielkiego ułamka fikcyjnej populacji. Choć ukazywana w powieściach rzeczywistość przez większość bohaterów traktowana jest jako utopia, Utopianie odmawiają przystania na nią, podejmując się nieustającej pracy w imię zerwania ze współczesnością i zobowiązując się poświęcić całe życie przyszłości. Utopia, ponieważ państwa pozbawione są terytoriów, nie może utworzyć na Ziemi przestrzennej enklawy i decyduje się na terraformację Marsa, choć nie dysponuje jednolitą wizją przyszłości i wspólnym celem poza opuszczeniem Ziemi. Działania Utopian nie są podejmowane w imię koherentnej wizji, a wypływają ze sprzeciwu wobec porządku faktycznego, znaturalizowanego przez większość społeczeństwa. Strategia Utopian omówiona zostaje jako przykład marksizmu apofatycznego, który postulował China Miéville. Niedostarczający pozytywnych projektów marksizm apofatyczny pozostaje potężnym narzędziem krytyki współczesności i bodźcem pobudzającym do działania.
EN
Taking a cue from the anthropause (Rutz et al., 2020), which accompanied the current pandemic of COVID-19, the article posits a new approach to an epidemic as a more-than-human performance. The performance is an action resulting from an entanglement of human and more-than-human agencies, producing effects across socio-political, economic, and cultural contexts. The approach is an alternative to the dominant epidemic narratives, which view epidemics as phenomena of human public health, neglecting more-than-human agencies in their emergence and prevention. While analyzing chosen (re)presentations of an epidemic in popular culture, the article focuses on three aspects of an epidemic as a more-than-human performance. It scrutinizes the new model of sociality it posits, problematizes hitherto accepted ways of thinking about human and nonhuman bodies, and projects forms of more-than-human cooperation to manage epidemics.
PL
Wychodząc od antropauzy (Rutz et al. 2020) towarzyszącej obecnej pandemii COVID-19, niniejszy artykuł proponuje nowe podejście do epidemii jako performansu więcej-niż-ludzkiego. Chodzi tu o działanie powstające w wyniku splątanych ze sobą sprawczości ludzi i nieludzi, które wywołuje konkretne efekty w danym kontekście społeczno-politycznym, ekonomicznym i kulturowym. Takie podejście stanowi alternatywę wobec dominujących narracji o epidemii, które wciąż traktują epidemię przede wszystkim jako zjawisko z zakresu ludzkiego zdrowia publicznego, lekceważąc sprawczość więcej-niż-ludzkich instancji sprawczych w jej powstawaniu i zapobieganiu jej. Analizując wybrane (re)prezentacje epidemii w kulturze popularnej, autor skupia uwagę na trzech aspektach epidemii jako performansu więcej-niż-ludzkiego. Zastanawia się nad wytwarzanym przez nią nowy model społeczeństwa, problematyzuje dotychczasowe sposoby myślenia o ludzkim i nieludzkim ciele oraz pokazuje więcej-niż-ludzkie sposoby radzenia sobie z epidemiami.
PL
Fabryki, zautomatyzowane magazyny, elektrownie oraz centra danych już dziś funkcjonują najlepiej przy minimalnej ingerencji. Co istotniejsze, przestrzenie tego typu wymykają się tradycyjnym typologiom, także dlatego, że swoją skalą i przeznaczeniem zrywają z antropocentrycznym charakterem architektury. Od człowieka witruwiańskiego po modulor Le Corbusiera ciało ludzkie stanowiło miarę budowli. Co jednak w przypadku konstrukcji przeznaczonych na magazyny, centra logistyczne, farmy serwerów obsługiwanych przez maszyny bądź których automatyzacja gwałtownie postępuje? Na to pytanie ma odpowiedzieć niniejszy artykuł. Autor analizuje w nim ikonografię przestrzeni projektowanych niejako na erę mającą nadejść „po człowieku” przez pryzmat fantastyki naukowej, a więc filmów, w których sztuczna inteligencja jest integralnym komponentem środowiska, takich jak: Blade Runner 2049 (reż. Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Rebelia (reż. Rupert Wyatt, 2019), Jestem matką (reż. Grant Sputore, 2019) czy Transcendencja (reż. Wally Pfister, 2014).
EN
In the ascending age of automation factories, storage facilities, and server farms, intelligent buildings are becoming less dependent on human maintenance. These new and updated architectural forms do not comply with traditional typologies. From the Vitruvian Man to Modulor, our bodies were the measure of most constructions. Yet automation renders new constructions incompatible with patterns of human habitation. This article focuses on the iconography of buildings designed to operate with little to none human interaction, providing an insight into how such settings influenced recent (last decade) science-fiction films like Blade Runner 2049 (dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2017), Captive State (dir. Rupert Wyatt, 2019), I Am Mother (dir. Grant Sputore, 2019), or Transcendence (dir. Wally Pfister, 2014). In each of them, artificial intelligence is an intrinsic composite of the environment, terraforming a post-anthropocentric reality of data centres, automated warehouses and drosscapes.
EN
The latest Polish literary criticism Jacek Dukaj stands as one of the most original contemporary writers of science fiction. Announced the successor to Lem, the author claims to be the creator of the mainstream literature. Although the work of Dukaj is one of the finest examples of literary postmodernism, the author smuggles under the mantle of species mosaic synthesis of sociological and anthropological studies. The most important themes of works of Jacek Dukaj are therefore issues of responsible for their own actions, inability to communicate with the alien, unchanging categories of strength and power, domination of stronger regardless of the degree of development of society. From the fictional worlds emerges synthetic view of human nature caught in the web of political and economic intrigue, seeking religious revelation in technicized world.
PL
W niniejszym tekście Sarah LeFanu analizuje podróże i podróżopisarstwo przede wszystkim Mary Kingsley i Rose Macaulay, ukazując oryginalne powiązania między wymienionymi autorkami a podróżniczkami w czasie i przestrzeni kosmicznej znanymi z literatury science fiction drugiej fali feminizmu. LeFanu przygląda się również trzem innym podróżniczkom, poszukując wspólnego mianownika dla ich doświadczeń i pisarstwa w szerszym socjokulturowym kontekście. Autorka bada implikacje między podróżą a relacją z niej w kontekście intersekcjonalności i różnych jej odmian, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem kwestii płci i uprzedzeń wynikających ze stereotypowego postrzegania i przedstawiania ról płciowych, także w dyskursach kobiecego podróżopisarstwa. Mimo że każda ze wspominanych przez LeFanu autorek podróżowała w inny sposób i do rożnych miejsc – to dla każdej z nich impulsem do kontaktów ze światem zewnętrznym były dziecięce krainy wyobraźni. Relacje te nie miały charakteru tylko osobistego, ale wyrażały się także w zaangażowaniu politycznym.
EN
In “The Art of Rambling: Journeys Through Space and Time”, Sarah LeFanu will look at the travels and travel-writings of, predominantly, Mary Kingsley and Rose Macaulay, and will boldly suggest some connections with the science fictional spacewomen and time-travellers of the second wave of feminism. She will talk about five travelling women whose lives span over one hundred years, and look at some of the connections between them in their lives and in their writing. By focusing on the experience of the five authors in a larger socio-cultural and literary context, LeFanu will trace the implications of writing and travelling vis-à-vis the intersectionality of one’s personal commitments and motivations, with the aim to discovering how these are inflected by questions of gender and gender bias, consequently bearing upon the shape of modern discourses of women travel and travel writing. While each of the women travelled in different modes and to different places, for every one of them the imaginative worlds of their childhoods inspired them to engage with the world outside, an engagement that was not just personal but was also profoundly political.
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