Part 1 List of Abbreviations Part 2 Preface Part 3 Acknowledgments Part 4 Introduction: Theorizing OtherSelfness Part 5 PART I: Conceiving the Alien Chapter 6 1. Who Goes There? The Concept of the Extraterrestrial Alien since Darwin Chapter 7 2. Nailing Jelly to a Tree: Theorizing the Alien Part 8 PART II: Writing the Alien Chapter 9 3. A Question of Shape: Alien Form Chapter 10 4. The Thought That Counts: The Alien Psyche Chapter 11 5. Sleeping with the Alien: The Society of the Alien Part 12 PART III: Reading the Alien Chapter 13 6. Figuring It Out: The Literary Modeling of the Alien Chapter 14 7. Necessary Alterity: The Why of the Alien Part 15 Conclusion: The Archetype, the Alien, and the Human Part 16 Bibliography Part 17 Index Part 18 About the Author
Patricia Monk taught in the English Department at Dalhousie University in Halifax , Nova Scotia, where she specialized in Canadian literature and science fiction, before retiring in 2003. She is the author of three books: Mud and Magic Shows: Robertson Davies's Fifth Business (1992), The Gilded Beaver: An Introduction to the Life and Work of James De Mille (1991), and The Smaller Infinity: Jungian Self in the Novels of Robertson Davies (1982).
Monk, a former professor of English at Dalhousie U. in Nova Scotia,
examines instances of aliens (often not studied seriously) in short
stories, novellas, and novelettes and what they convey about human
existence. Viewing the alien as an archetype, she focuses on hard
science fiction from 1900 to the present that was published in
magazines, anthologies, and single-author collections. She provides
an overview of the concept of the Other in the nineteenth and early
twentieth century, and describes conceptions of the alien in pre-
postmodernist and postmodernist criticism and theory, creation of
the alien and its context, and how it is used as a fictional
character alongside human characters. The book is aimed at
academics, students, and general readers.
*Reference and Research Book News, November2006*
Those who feel the need for a volume that provides full and
engaging information on the microcosm of the alien in short works
of science fiction will find this book the perfect resource.
*CHOICE, March 2007*
Patricia Monk's wide-ranging, intelligent, well-documented, and
interesting study readily serves as an exemplary bit of scholarship
and literary criticism in handling a very large and extensive sf
topic.
*Science Fiction Research Association Review*
The book is unique and useful in referring to science and
how-to-write essays and fan letters as well as fiction....I would
strongly recommend the book for any teacher or student desiring a
thorough examination of aliens. Patricia Monk shows that the
stories science fiction tells about aliens can add to our
understanding of ourselves and of each other.
*The Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts*
The 47-page bibliography is an accurate index of the vast range of
materials on which Patricia Monk has drawn, and her frequent
references to discussions of aliens in sf magazine articles and
letters to the editor are particularly valuable....All in all,
Alien Theory is a major study that will prove a useful point of
departure for future studies.
*Science Fiction Studies*
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