The Original Scenery of Science Fiction in the Intersection of 19th Century American Literature and Technology

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K02577
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Kyoto Women's University (2019-2022); Notre Dame Seishin University (2017-2018)
• Principal Investigator: Nakamura Yoshio 京都女子大学, 文学部, 准教授 (00361931)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 四次元思想 / ヘンリー・ジェイムズ / H.G. ウエルズ / タイム・マシン / タイムトラベル / パラレルワールド

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This research focuses on 19th century American literature before the establishment of the science fiction genre, aiming to examine elements that bring about the relativization of time and space, such as time travel and parallel worlds. Its objectives are to extract these aspects and establish the positioning of canonical authors within the SF genre, as well as to construct a prehistory of science fiction. Specifically, it seeks to explore the relationship between Henry James, who is regarded as a writer of the "ivory tower," and the scientific thought of that time, while also investigating the extent and critical threshold of the far-reaching impact of 19th century technology.

Free Research Field

アメリカ文学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果によって、19世紀のテクノロジーが作品にいかに反映され、SFの発展にどのような影響を与えたかを明らかにすると共に、技術の進歩と文学の相互作用に関する洞察を得ることができる。また19世紀の作品に見られるタイムトラベルやパラレルワールドといったSF的要素が、その時代のテクノロジーの発展や社会の変化にどのように関連していたかを示し、文学と科学が互いに影響し合い、異なる領域の知識やアイデアが相互に交わることで生まれる創造的なシナジーの重要性を見て取ることが可能となる。