[Commlist] Call for Book Chapters Class Conflict in 21st Century Science Fiction Film

Call for Book Chapters
Class Conflict in 21st Century Science Fiction Film
“Under Strong Interest” by McFarland’s Critical Explorations in Science 
Fiction and Fantasy series

Editors’ Introduction
Science fiction cinema is about a new idea or novum (Suvin) and the 
impact of technology on our lives, and although it often looks into the 
future, it is also about the present, reflecting the problems of our 
time (Schlobin). These visions and phantasmas and their realism bring 
science fiction into intense interaction with other genres, from comedy 
to horror, from fantasy to thriller. As in every major genre, science 
fiction has a great power in visualizing social structure (Cornea). The 
forms of interaction between people, or between people and other things, 
are also of a social nature, and class relations are in one way or 
another at the center of every situation in which science fiction 
depicts possibilities (Roberts).

In the 19th century, the phenomenon of class conflict, which manifested 
itself in all aspects of life with industrialization, capitalism, and 
modernization (Dahrendorf) also finds its place in the stories of 
science fiction as a genre that examines the search for the novum, or 
the effects of the new on our lives. Science fiction, as a genre 
primarily oriented towards the future, inevitably depicts ideal or 
uncomfortable situations related to social life in the stories it 
describes. Like every social structure, the societies that are the 
subject of science fiction narratives are at the center of various 
production and sharing relations. Thus, it becomes necessary to consider 
the individual within his/her social relations. Although Marxist theory 
has conducted the most intense debates on this subject, since the 19th 
century, different views within and against Marxism (Freeden) have 
addressed social relations and thus class conflicts with new dimensions. 
Class conflicts, hegemony relations, the production of consent, 
imperialism, the influence of the ideological apparatuses of the state, 
the changing structure of classes and identity debates reveal a wide 
network of theoretical relations in this regard. In this respect, the 
book aims to bring together theoretical perspectives that evaluate the 
way science fiction imagines societies in a multidimensional way.

Social classes, their changing structures, stratification and its 
consequences and class relations are widely discussed topics in the 
literature. In this book, we intend to continue this debate in a 
different context. Contributors to the book are expected to present 
chapters with different theoretical perspectives centered on class conflict.

The chapters will be written in an argumentative rather than a 
descriptive style, so that each chapter will come up with its own unique 
results/findings. The purpose of this book is not to describe class 
conflict in SF films, but rather to discuss class struggle from a wide 
spectrum of theoretical arguments.

The edited volume is planned to be published within the "Critical 
Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy" series of McFarland books. 
McFarland, an international and influential publishing company, that has 
a strong reputation and influence in this field for many years.
Each chapter will consist of comprehensive essays of at least 5,000 - 
6,000 words, including footnotes and references.

The chapters will be written in MLA 9 format.

Please select one of the proposed chapters below send an abstract of at 
least 300 words (with five references that will guide the chapter) and a 
short author biography (150 words) to 
(scificinemanadclassstruggle /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(scificinemanadclassstruggle /at/ gmail.com)>

The editors have framed the chapters as follows, but we welcome 
proposals that are creative and address different topics in this context.

Preface
Editors’ Introduction: Class Conflict in Science Fiction Film
Cenk Tan & Mikail Boz
Part I: Social Stratification
1) The Platform 1-2, 2019-2024, Dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
2) In Time, 2011, Dir. Andrew Niccol
Part II: Otherness / Identity
3) Matrix Resurrections, 2021, Dir. Lana Wachowski
4) Blade Runner 2049, 2017, Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Part III: Resistance to Oppression
5) Snowpiercer, 2013, Dir. Bong Joon Ho
6) Cloud Atlas, 2012, Dir. Tom Tykwer, Lana & Lilly Wachowski
Part IV: Migration & Refugees
7) Children of Men, 2006, Dir. Alfonso Cuarón
8) Dune, 2021-2024, Dir. Denis Villeneuve
Part V: The Society of the Spectacle
9) Ready Player One, 2018, Dir. Steven Spielberg
10) The Stepford Wives, 2004, Dir. Frank Oz
Part VI:  The Quest for Hope & Equality
11) Interstellar, 2014, Dir. Christopher Nolan
12) Mad Max Fury Road, 2015, Dir. George Miller
Key Dates:
Deadline for abstract submission: 30 June 2024
Deadline for chapter submission: 30 September 2024
Anticipated publication date:        Spring 2025
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

Editors.
Cenk Tan & Mikail Boz
(scificinemanadclassstruggle /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(scificinemanadclassstruggle /at/ gmail.com)>

References
Cornea, Christine. Science Fiction Cinema Between Fantasy and Reality. 
Edinburg University Press, 2007.
Dahrendorf, Ralf. Class and Class Conflict in Industrial Society. 
Stanford University Press, 1959.
Freeden, Michael. Ideology and Political Theory. Oxford University 
Press, 2006.
Roberts, Adam. Science Fiction. Routledge, 2006.
Schlobin, Roger C. “Definitions of Science Fiction and Fantasy.” The 
Science Fiction Reference Book, edited by Marshall B. Tymn, Starmont 
House., 1981, pp. 496–511.
Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction. Yale University Press, 1979.


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