Hello Friends, In my undergraduate Communication Technology and Culture class, I typically assign one or two novels. In the past I've assigned Stephenson's _Snow Crash_ (1992) and Coupland's _Microserfs_ (1995). I'm looking for more recently-published novels that contain similar themes. If you have any suggestions to share, please send an email. Thanks, Cassandra ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Cassandra Van Buren, Ph.D. Department of Communication University of Utah 255 S. Central Campus Drive LNCO 2400 Salt Lake City, UT 84112 801.581.7268 cvb@utah.edu http://www.utah.edu/newmedia/cvb
cvb wrote:
In my undergraduate Communication Technology and Culture class, I typically assign one or two novels. In the past I've assigned Stephenson's _Snow Crash_ (1992) and Coupland's _Microserfs_ (1995). I'm looking for more recently-published novels that contain similar themes. If you have any suggestions to share, please send an email.
One thing I've been noticing with regard to 'cyberpunk' novels, is that fewer and fewer of them seem to appear. Authors like Sterling, Gibson, and Stephenson seem to be tracking backwards in time, with for instance Gibson's latest novel, _Pattern Recognition_, set in the current time, and Stephenson's novels becoming historical rather than futuristic. For what it's worth, I enjoyed Pat Cadigan's novels: _Synners_, _Tea From An Empty Cup_, and _Dervish Is Digital_. I think Cadigan's descriptions and issues with cyber/online space could work in class. The offline world in her novels always feels a bit less futuristic than in Gibson's earlier novels. Melissa Scott's novels _Trouble And Her Friends_, _Dreaming Metal_ and recently _The Jazz_ are nice too. Here too we see a movement from more out-there cyberpunkish themes to more present day settings. _Dreaming Metal_ isn't so much about the Net though, but rather about artificial intelligence. And, unrelated, but highly recommended are Jon Courtenay Grimwood's novels and do have a look at _Ship Of Fools_ by Richard Paul Russo :) Frank.
cvb wrote:
I'm looking for more recently-published novels that contain similar themes. If you have any suggestions to share, please send an email.
I realize I forgot to mention Ellen Ullman's novels, _Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents_, and _The Bug_. Ullman is a programmer who writes, very thoughtfully and witty, about the culture of programming and being a woman in that industry. Recommended :) Frank.
--On Thursday, November 06, 2003 10:01 AM +0100 Frank Schaap <architext@fragment.nl> wrote:
I'm looking for more recently-published novels that contain similar themes. If you have any suggestions to share, please send an email.
I realize I forgot to mention Ellen Ullman's novels, _Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents_, and _The Bug_. Ullman is a programmer who writes, very thoughtfully and witty, about the culture of programming and being a woman in that industry. Recommended :)
I too recommend Ullman's work, though I think only _The Bug_ is a novel; _Close to the Machine_ is a wonderful collection of essays. Also, one novel that hasn't been mentioned but that has worked very well in my course is Marge Piercy's 1991 _He, She, and It_ (published in some countries as _Body of Glass_). You can find info about it on the web; one very brief account can be found here: http://dannyreviews.com/h/Body_of_Glass.html . Joan Joan Korenman, Founding Director Center for Women & Information Technology University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore, MD 21250 USA korenman@umbc.edu http://www.umbc.edu/cwit/
a few greg egan novels might be appropriate permutation city diaspora i'm beginning to think that Ender's Game is less sci-fi and more cyberculture oriented, so it might be worthwhile looking at verner vinge's 'true names' many say it is the best representation of cyberspace, now it is out in a new edition with many supporting essays i'll second pat cadigan On Nov 6, 2003, at 4:01 AM, Frank Schaap wrote:
cvb wrote:
I'm looking for more recently-published novels that contain similar themes. If you have any suggestions to share, please send an email.
I realize I forgot to mention Ellen Ullman's novels, _Close to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents_, and _The Bug_. Ullman is a programmer who writes, very thoughtfully and witty, about the culture of programming and being a woman in that industry. Recommended :)
Frank.
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