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Science fiction: Its use inLiberal StudiesM.J. Freeman aa Whitehaven College of Further EducationPublished online: 30 Jul 2007.

To cite this article: M.J. Freeman (1968) Science fiction: Its use inLiberal Studies, The Vocational Aspect of Education, 20:46, 159-161, DOI:10.1080/03057876880000151

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The Vocational Aspect (Summer 1968) Volume XX No. 46, pp. 159-161

SCIENCE FICTION: ITS USE IN LIBERAL STUDIES

By M. J. FREEMAN Tutor Librarian, Whitehaven College of Further Education

A FORMERLY much scorned branch of literature--Science Fiction--has now reached the stage of development when it can be usefully employed in the teaching of Liberal Studies. Many college libraries possess a reasonably good collection of fiction, and Science Fiction is usually represented to a certain extent. It would be well at this stage to try to define Science Fiction, and the motives for reading works of this genre. Science Fction is'imaginative literature which deals with the human response to the advances in science and technology'a. It is the contempor- ary fable, the modern tale of wonder, whose antecedents lie far back in Greek, Roman and Norse mythology. There are three fairly distinct types: A, the scientific or technologically based Science Fiction story, where the scientific prin- ciples alluded to in the story are factual or, at the very least, believable. Renowned practitioners in this field are Isaac Asimov, J. Blish, and A. C. Clarke. Type B is the fantasy or allegory of the present disguised as a tale of the future. By its very nature this class usually contains large sociological and psychological ele- ments. Exponents of this type of story are Ray Bradbury, Georges Langelaan, J. G. Ballard. Type C is the space opera--a mere transposition of the cowboys and indians/cops and robbers genre into a space or futuristic setting. This type is becoming rarer after the boom periods of the 'forties and 'fifties.

Why do people read Science Fiction, and in particular, why do students often find Science Fiction irresistible ? Again, there are several contributory factors. To set alight the imagination of the reader: 'To meet face to face our vice and folly shaped into a thing, and so at last ourselves'.2 To be a form of social com- ment and warning of the future. To enable the reader to understand scientific and technological developments; particularly as to how these will affect his life. To stimulate interest in science; and possibly thus recruit more scientists from its younger readers. Asimov--himself a scientist by profession--thinks that this is a very useful' spin off' of Science Fictiona--the influencing of young people to take up science and the technologies as a career. There might be some correlation in the fact that Yuri Gagarin was, in his youth, an avid reader of Jules Verne's novels. One hopes that in any case the 'arts' or 'literary minded' reader may become, if not more numerate, at least more aware of the rapidly increasing tempo of social change occasioned by scientific progress.

Because Science Fiction is essentially a short story medium the writing has to be concise and taut; thus it is easily read and understood by many students who might find a full length novel difficult to get through. It has been said that there is little depth of characterisation in Science Fiction writing--this is valid and is caused by the need to create an often totally alien environment for the plot of the story

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160 Science Fiction: Its Use in Liberal Studies

to operate in with any conviction. In writing a short story about, hypothetically, teenage life in Birmingham today the author can concentrate on the characteri- sation and leave the environment to the reader's own imagination. If, on the other hand, the author is writing of teenage life on Arcturus or London in the twenty- fifth century, he has to create a totally new and realistic world, and often the plot will hinge upon this strange environment. Science Fiction is essentially concerned with ideas and images rather than the meticulous building up and delineating of character.

Because Science Fiction has a modernistic image and atmosphere many students tend to take to it rather more easily than they would to modern novels or historical fiction. This seems to be particularly true of science students--ONC, City and Guilds and professional bodies' students such as Grad. RIC and L.Inst. P. At the other end of the spectrum craft apprentices and nursing cadets often start to read Science Fiction from the college library and either graduate to serious non- fiction or voraciously read all the Science Fiction they can get their hands on-- even to the extent of raiding the borough library's stock. To get students to read anything can often be difficult; many of those coming from secondary schools are apathetic towards libraries and books, and if Science Fiction--or fiction generally --can start them reading and using the library then they are worth their occasion- ally lurid covers.

Due to the awakened interest in Science Fiction as a genre for film scenarios and plots--such films as Fahrenheit 451, Fantastic Voyage and Planet of the Apes are recent examples--it is likely that there will be even more interest shown by students in reading Science Fiction. As Science Fiction is so infinitely flexible it can literally turn topics upside down, and often satirise our present society in all its aspects. It makes students think about the world they live in, in all its many ramifications. Imagine a world of teeming billions of people; a world desperately overcrowded; a world where the ordinary man rents a step on a flight of stairs on which to live. J. G. Ballard in his short story Billenium vividly paints this awesome picture, and Pohl and Kornbluth 4~ have also dealt with this subject in like manner. If the population explosion is a topic in Liberal Studies a reading of the two works mentioned above will help the student understand the nature of the catastrophe approaching us. Similarly, in The Space Merchants the theme of the 'hidden persuaders' in use today is cleverly developed to portray a hideous and frenetic society where the great unwitting mass of the people are callously manipulated by the advertising moguls. This disturbing book should be essential reading for any students who have to deal with such topics as commercialism, advertising, ethics, and freedom of the individual.

Bradbury's Fahrenheit 4515 paints a grim picture of a world sated on pleasure; deliberately kept that way by the authorities--a world where books will dissatisfy and thus are to be burnt on sight. Thus this work brings to the fore the question of censorship and the place of the individual in society. Other valid subjects for Liberal Studies are those connected with the contact with alien cultures, and the great problems of how to communicate with such beings. Many Science Fiction

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M. J. FREEMAN 161

writers have explored this fascinating theme in several different ways, and many questions of morality and ethics are raised in their writings. The questions of the place of religion in the space environment can also be a fruitful field for discussion in Liberal Studies. Walter Miller's fine work A Canticle for Leibowitz 6 is only one of several books dealing thoughtfully and seriously with this problem. The Science Fiction medium is so adaptable and comprehensive that almost any Liberal Studies project--from nuclear warfare to communications media-- can be dealt with by reference to Science Fiction and Fantasy writings.

We are poised on the brink of man's greatest adventure--the leap into space, and our students will be living in this age. Science Fiction is helping to interpret this Pandora's box of a future for them. By reading Science Fiction we will, besides being entertained, be forced to think how to arrange the future we want-- not the future the machine and blind chance imposes upon us.

R E F E R E N C E S

1 RONGIONE, Rev. L. A. (1964). Science Fiction. pp. 96-9. Catholic Library World. 2 AMIS, K. (1967). Science Fiction---apoem, found in MANSFIELD, R, compiler, The Starlit

Corridor. Pergamon. 3. ASIMOV, I. (1964). SF--Clue to creativity, pp. 914-8. Library Journal. February 15. 4. POHL, F. and KORNBLUTH, C. M.(1966). The Space Merchants. Penguin. 5. BRADBURY, R. Fahrenheit 451. Corgi. 6. MILLER, W. M. A Canticle for Leibowitz. Corgi.

(Script received: April 9, 1968)

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