Cyberpunk Unit

Cyberpunk: Science fiction in which computers become integrated with the human body (such as cyborgs, but more usually through nanotechnology); set in dystopian futures with tribal societies (punk aspect)

- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984)

- Dictionary.com definition

From OED:

"1. a. A subgenre of science fiction typified by a bleak, high-tech setting in which a lawless subculture exists within an oppressive society dominated by computer technology. b. An author of, or protagonist in, such writing."

TIMELINE:

From the 1980s and 1990s (though not according to David Brin), time of personal computers and Macs, forays into virtual reality, and eventually what we consider the world wide web

Outside Links:

- The Cyberpunk Project

- Dark Art, a page about an artist using cyberpunk motifs

- "Elements of a Critique of Cyberpunk" (cool pics; in French--go to Altavista Babel Fish to translate)

Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age; or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

(1995; winner of 1996 Hugo Award for best SF novel)

Also author of:

Snow Crash
Cryptonomicon

Quicksilver series

Genre / Category:

In addition to cyberpunk, the book is

- a Bildungsroman (novel of maturation and education)

- a coming-of-age book

- a book within a book

Technical & Historical Vocabulary:

artifex (p. 105, 114): a CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tool that makes code
Boxer Rebellion: European-Chinese conflict in 1900; ex. of imperialism in Asia
meme: (from Richard Dawkins) Directly analagous to a gene, but instead of biological material replicating itself, ideas and culture replicate themselves; an element of cultural transmission; urban legends, religion, and backwards baseball caps are examples of memes
Miranda: Prospero's daughter in Shakespeare's The Tempest ("o brave new world!") and a functional programming language
Phyle or tribe
Primer: elementary textbook for children
Turing machine: hypothetical machine used for measuring computability
tuple (p. 142): a record, rows of data
Victorian Age: 1837-1901

Cyberpunk Unit

Cyberpunk: Science fiction in which computers become integrated with the human body (such as cyborgs, but more usually through nanotechnology); set in dystopian futures with tribal societies (punk aspect)

- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984)

- Dictionary.com definition

From OED:

"1. a. A subgenre of science fiction typified by a bleak, high-tech setting in which a lawless subculture exists within an oppressive society dominated by computer technology. b. An author of, or protagonist in, such writing."

TIMELINE:

From the 1980s and 1990s (though not according to David Brin), time of personal computers and Macs, forays into virtual reality, and eventually what we consider the world wide web

Outside Links:

- The Cyberpunk Project

- Dark Art, a page about an artist using cyberpunk motifs

- "Elements of a Critique of Cyberpunk" (cool pics; in French--go to Altavista Babel Fish to translate)

Neal Stephenson, The Diamond Age; or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

(1995; winner of 1996 Hugo Award for best SF novel)

Also author of:

Snow Crash

Cryptonomicon

Quicksilver series

Genre / Category:

In addition to cyberpunk, the book is

- a Bildungsroman (novel of maturation and education)

- a coming-of-age book

- a book within a book

Technical & Historical Vocabulary:

artifex (p. 105, 114): a CASE (Computer-Aided Software Engineering) tool that makes code

Boxer Rebellion: European-Chinese conflict in 1900; ex. of imperialism in Asia

meme: (from Richard Dawkins) Directly analagous to a gene, but instead of biological material replicating itself, ideas and culture replicate themselves; an element of cultural transmission; urban legends, religion, and backwards baseball caps are examples of memes

Miranda: Prospero's daughter in Shakespeare's The Tempest ("o brave new world!") and a functional programming language

Phyle or tribe

Primer: elementary textbook for children

Turing machine: hypothetical machine used for measuring computability

tuple (p. 142): a record, rows of data

Victorian Age: 1837-1901

Other Outside Links on this novel:

- A discussion of the "failures" of The Diamond Age (major SPOILER alert!!): http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.written/browse_thread/thread/d46d4127d579e3bc/d1a25cbda84f1e47?#d1a25cbda84f1e47

- Review of the book (SPOILERS): http://www.sfsite.com/~silverag/stephenson.html

Discussion Questions:

The name and/or concept of “Atlantis” has surfaced in three works we have read this semester. Explain what Atlantis means in each case and speculate on why it is such a popular motif for science fiction writers.

What do the different writers we encounter in SF (R in We, Helmholtz in BNW, and now Nell in Diamond Age) bring to their respective stories? Could the authors be trying to make an argument about the function of SF as a literary genre, and and if so, what is it?