Engaging future Asia: Techno-orientalisms, ethnography, speculative fiction

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn an era of global capitalism's growing spread, and discourses of an ‘Asia-Pacific Century’ and the rise of China, India and the Asian ‘Tiger Economies’, and the increasing location of R&D and technological production plants in various countries in Asia, it is surprising but also revealing that imaginings of a technologically advanced Asia are few and far between. The perspective of speculative fiction — the domain wherein are expressed scientific and technological aspirations, prospects and possibilities — is interesting in this regard: while there has been a small amount of significant Asian anglophone speculative fiction writing, the main themes pursued by Asian writers continue to be those of social development and social (in)justice. In contrast, there has been a significant tradition of imaginings of Asian nations and identities by non-Asian writers, which are thus left to dominate the ways and manners in which Asian futures are articulated. While there are expectedly orientalist views of Asia's techno-futures, there are also more engaged and knowledgeable accounts which see aspects of Asian culture and society as shaping those futures and inhibiting the positive potential of technology. The dystopian view of future Asia also neglects the potential harmonies between positive aspects of Asian culture, and their enhancement by technology.