| dc.description.abstract | Science fiction (SF) is one area where fictional and theoretical writings on science naturally converge. Despite this inherent nature of the genre and its potential to bridge the “two culture” divide between the arts and the sciences, one of the criticisms of literary analyses of SF is that they have by and large failed to examine how the texts present a critique and/or feminist revisioning of scientific discourse. The goal of this dissertation is to help close this gap within literary studies by focusing on the portrayal of “science” in Spanish SF. Given the deeply rooted, contentious and complex relationship that exists in Spain between the remnants of the dictatorship’s conservative gender ideology, the Catholic Church, scientific doctrine, and women’s movements, SF in this country presents a particularly fruitful case study. The short stories, novels and films analyzed in the following chapters dialogue with medicine, law, philosophy and ethics to create a more nuanced discussion of how science and technology (biotechnology, robotics, virtual reality) are creating posthuman identities and radically transforming the maternal body, the nuclear family, and society in the 21st century. The texts analyzed illustrate that any essentialist position towards science, whether it’s a masculinist and misogynistic bias or a radically feminist stance, is highly problematic and detrimental to society. Ultimately, what comes to light is that it’s not the technologies in and of themselves that are worrying, but the inferior social and political significance that has historically been attributed to the female sex in reproduction and motherhood. As technology and the body become increasingly intertwined, feminist SF can help raise awareness of power inequities, and serve as a space where theory and practice work together to bring about social change. | |
