Beyond Cyberpunk: New Critical Perspectives (Routledge Studies in Contemporary Literature Book 3)

Routledge, 2010. — 282 p.This book is a collection of essays that considers the continuing cultural relevance of the cyberpunk genre into the new millennium. Cyberpunk is no longer an emergent phenomenon, but in our digital age of CGI-driven entertainment, the information economy, and globalized capital, we have never more been in need of a fiction capable of engaging with a world shaped by information technology. The essays in explore our cyberpunk realities to soberly reconsider Eighties-era cyberpunk while also mapping contemporary cyberpunk. The contributors seek to move beyond the narrow strictures of cyberpunk as defined in the Eighties and contribute to an ongoing discussion of how to negotiate exchanges among information technologies, global capitalism, and human social existence. The essays offer a variety of perspectives on cyberpunk’s diversity and how this sub-genre remains relevant amidst its transformation from a print fiction genre into a more generalized set of cultural practices, tackling the question of what it is that cyberpunk narratives continue to offer us in those intersections of literary, cultural, theoretical, academic, and technocultural environments. **Contents**:__Reader's Guide__.__Dedication__.__Acknowledgments__.__Introduction__.__Part I. Situating Cyberpunk__.Towards a Poetics of Cyberpunk."A Rare State of Ferment".Recognizing Patterns.Journeys Beyond Being.__The Political Economy of Cyberpunk__.Global Economy, Local Texts."The Mainstream Finds its Own Uses for Things".Why Neo Flies, and Why He Shouldn't.Posthuman Melancholy.__The Politics of Embodiment of Cyberpunk__.Feminist Cyberpunk.Woken Carbon.Retrofilling Frankenstein.Angel(LINK) of Harlem.__Afterword__.__NOTES__.__Bibliography__.__Index__. Routledge, 2010. — 282 p. This book is a collection of essays that considers the continuing cultural relevance of the cyberpunk genre into the new millennium. Cyberpunk is no longer an emergent phenomenon, but in our digital age of CGI-driven entertainment, the information economy, and globalized capital, we have never more been in need of a fiction capable of engaging with a world shaped by information technology. The essays in explore our cyberpunk realities to soberly reconsider Eighties-era cyberpunk while also mapping contemporary cyberpunk. The contributors seek to move beyond the narrow strictures of cyberpunk as defined in the Eighties and contribute to an ongoing discussion of how to negotiate exchanges among information technologies, global capitalism, and human social existence. The essays offer a variety of perspectives on cyberpunk’s diversity and how this sub-genre remains relevant amidst its transformation from a print fiction genre into a more generalized set of cultural practices, tackling the question of what it is that cyberpunk narratives continue to offer us in those intersections of literary, cultural, theoretical, academic, and technocultural environments. Contents : Reader's Guide . Dedication . Acknowledgments . Introduction . Part I. Situating Cyberpunk . Towards a Poetics of Cyberpunk. "A Rare State of Ferment". Recognizing Patterns. Journeys Beyond Being. The Political Economy of Cyberpunk . Global Economy, Local Texts. "The Mainstream Finds its Own Uses for Things". Why Neo Flies, and Why He Shouldn't. Posthuman Melancholy. The Politics of Embodiment of Cyberpunk . Feminist Cyberpunk. Woken Carbon. Retrofilling Frankenstein. Angel(LINK) of Harlem. Afterword . NOTES . Bibliography . Index . Introduction: The Sea Change(s) Of Cyberpunk / Graham J. Murphy And Sherryl Vint -- Towards A Poetics Of Cyberpunk / Brian Mchale -- A Rare State Of Ferment : Sf Controversies From The New Wave To Cyberpunk / Rob Latham -- Recognizing Patterns : Gibson's Hermeneutics From The Bridge Trilogy To Pattern Recognition / Neil Easterbrook -- Journeys Beyond Being : The Cyberpunk-flavored Novels Of Jeff Noon / Andrew M. Butler -- Global Economy, Local Texts : Utopian/dystopian Tension In William Gibson's Cyberpunk Trilogy / Tom Moylan -- The Mainstream Finds Its Own Uses For Things : Cyberpunk And Commodification / Sherryl Vint -- Why Neo Flies, And Why He Shouldn't : The Critique Of Cyberpunk In Gwyneth Jones's Escape Plans And M. John Harrison's Signs Of Life / Mark Bould -- Posthuman Melancholy : Digital Gaming And Cyberpunk / Jonathan Boulter -- Feminist Cyberpunk / Karen Cadora -- Woken Carbon : The Return Of The Human In Richard K. Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs Trilogy / Pawel Frelik -- Retrofitting Frankenstein / Veronica Hollinger -- Angel(link) Of Harlem : Techno-spirituality In The Cyberpunk Tradition / Graham J. Murphy -- Afterword: The World Gibson Made / Sherryl Vint. Edited By Graham J. Murphy And Sherryl Vint. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book is a collection of essays that considers the continuing cultural relevance of the cyberpunk genre into the new millennium. Cyberpunk is no longer an emergent phenomenon, but in our digital age of CGI-driven entertainment, the information economy, and globalized capital, we have never more been in need of a fiction capable of engaging with a world shaped by information technology. The essays in explore our cyberpunk realities to soberly reconsider Eighties-era cyberpunk while also mapping contemporary cyberpunk. The contributors seek to move beyond the narrow strictures of cyberpunk as defined in the Eighties and contribute to an ongoing discussion of how to negotiate exchanges among information technologies, global capitalism, and human social existence. The essays offer a variety of perspectives on cyberpunkOCOs diversity and how this sub-genre remains relevant amidst its transformation from a print fiction genre into a more generalized set of cultural practices, tackling the question of what it is that cyberpunk narratives continue to offer us in those intersections of literary, cultural, theoretical, academic, and technocultural environments. In this collection of essays, contributors consider the continuing cultural relevance of the cyberpunk genre into the new millennium. Cyberpunk is no longer an emergent phenomenon, but in our digital age of CGI-driven entertainment, the information economy, and globalized capital, we have never more been in need of a fiction capable of engaging with a world shaped by information technology. Contributors seek to move beyond the narrow strictures of cyberpunk as defined in the Eighties and contribute to an ongoing discussion of how to negotiate exchanges among information technologies, global capitalism, and human social existence. Essays offer a variety of perspectives on cyberpunks diversity and how this sub-genre remains relevant amidst its transformation from a print fiction genre into a more generalized set of cultural practices, tackling the question of what it is that cyberpunk narratives continue to offer us in those intersections of literary, cultural, theoretical, academic, and technocultural environments.