Fixing the Future: Examining Social Cycles in Cold War Science Fiction Fix-Up Novels

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dc.contributor.authorBoyer, Elizabeth Annen
dc.contributor.committeechairWiscomb, Averyen
dc.contributor.committeememberDubinsky, James M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberKnapp, Shoshana Milgramen
dc.contributor.departmentEnglishen
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-30T08:00:28Zen
dc.date.available2024-05-30T08:00:28Zen
dc.date.issued2024-05-29en
dc.description.abstractThis thesis examines the relationship between Cold War science fiction fix-up novels and social cycle theory. The study engages with textual, cultural, and comparative analysis to elucidate and analyze links between the fix-up novel format, a cyclical conception of human history, and the Cold War setting of the construction and publication of three SF novels. The objects of this study are three Cold War era fix-up novels with origins in World War II pulp science fiction magazine short stories: The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, City by Clifford D. Simak, and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. The project examines these three novels alongside the reflective nature of the fix-up novel format, the authors' interactions with social cycle theory, and the Cold War cultural considerations of ideological instability and the threat of annihilation. By examining these works through the lens of retroactive continuity, social cycle theory, and the Cold War cultural imaginary, this thesis demonstrates the complex interplay between literature, culture, and history, and the ways in which SF authors have used their works to engage with the pressing concerns of their time.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralThe Cold War era novels The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, City by Clifford D. Simak, and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. share origins in pulp science fiction magazine short stories. These authors consolidated and revised previously published short stories to produce these works, known as fix-up novels. These three fix-up novels interact with representations of human progress as cyclical or non-linear. This project examines how the Cold War setting of the authors may have influenced science fiction authors' conceptions of human progress as cyclical. This thesis studies how the revision process of creating fix-up novels combined with the transition from World War II to the societal anxieties of the Cold War may have impacted the cultural messages of these novels.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:40947en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/119174en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectScience fictionen
dc.subjectpulp fictionen
dc.subjectfix-upen
dc.subjectretconen
dc.subjectsocial cycle theoryen
dc.subjectCold Waren
dc.subjectThe Martian Chroniclesen
dc.subjectRay Bradburyen
dc.subjectCityen
dc.subjectClifford D. Simaken
dc.subjectA Canticle for Leibowitzen
dc.subjectWalter M. Miller Jr.en
dc.titleFixing the Future: Examining Social Cycles in Cold War Science Fiction Fix-Up Novelsen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineEnglishen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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