Steinberg, Deborah Lynn. (2008) Reading sleep through science fiction : the parable of beggars and choosers. Body & Society, Vol.14 (No.4, Sp. Iss.). pp. 115-135. ISSN 1357-034X

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Abstract

This article examines the iconic 'Beggars' trilogy by feminist science fiction writer, Nancy Kress. These novels, produced in the early to mid-1990s, take as their 'thought experiment' two points of rupture and contemporary cultural contestation: the advent of human genetic engineering and sleep, or, more specifically, the prospect of a sleepless society. I shall begin by situating my analysis of the Kress trilogy in this nexus of fields. I shall consider the interest of Kress's works for the sociology of sleep as well as for a cultural analysis of science. In this context, and drawing in part on the work of Haran, I will suggest the particular value of science fiction as not only a site for, but also a source of, narrativized social theory. I shall introduce the notion of popular episteme as an analytic concept that aims to link the discursive to the social - that is, to theorize the relationship of textuality to materiality. I shall refer also to the psychoanalytic concept of 'phantasy' as a point of convergence for both structures of feeling and structures of knowledge. I shall then introduce the Kress works, focusing particularly on the first novel Beggars in Spain, locating it in a period in which feminist science fiction saw a marked renaissance, and in which speculative theorizations of genetics formed a distinct subgenre. The analysis will then focus on three core themes emergent in the novels that, I shall argue, have profound contemporaneous resonance. These are the questions of: embodied capital; the political economy of what I will term fast time; and paranoia and the human condition.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) P Language and Literature > PS American literature
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Feminism in literature -- History and criticism, Science fiction, American -- History and criticism, Kress, Nancy -- Criticism and interpretation, Paranoia in literature, Sleep in literature, Genetic engineering in literature
Journal or Publication Title:	Body & Society
Publisher:	Sage Publications Ltd.
ISSN:	1357-034X
Date:	December 2008
Volume:	Vol.14
Number:	No.4, Sp. Iss.
Number of Pages:	21
Page Range:	pp. 115-135
Identification Number:	10.1177/1357034X08096898
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access
URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/28810

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