Worlds and selves falling apart - The science fiction of Philip K. Dick (Paperback)

ID: Tj6SWhokQw

Manufacturer: Bod Third Party Titles

Swiss Diploma Thesis from the year 2000 in the subject American Studies - Literature grade: 1.5 (A) University of Zurich (English Seminar) language: English abstract: Philip K. Dick s science fiction can be seen as a discussion of the human condition in a world where nothing is what it seems. Human identity has become uncertain as has the nature of reality itself. This Dickian ontology has a striking similarity to postmodernist theories by thinkers such as Jameson Baudrillard and McHale most of whom by the way have a weak spot for science fiction. The discussion of Philip K. Dick s novels and short stories against a backdrop of postmodernist theory leads to conclusions that are not only relevant for the author s particular poetics but for the ontology of our lives in times that science fiction couldn t have imagined. This work focusses on Philip K. Dick s unstable worlds and subjects investigating Dickian space time and meaning as well as the author s subjects and the question of schizophrenia and paranoia. Works discussed include Ubik Time Out of Joint The Man in the High Castle A Maze of Death Eye in the Sky A Scanner Darkly Martian Time-Slip and Impostor.