Mobilities in Anglophone Science Fiction History: Time Travel, Cyclical Temporality, and Virtual Mobility

Abstract

This paper explores the development of the concept of mobility within the Anglophone tradition of the science fiction genre, specifically within three critical periods of the twentieth century. It begins by analyzing the genre’s initial development, observing the shift from spatial mobility in earlier travel narratives to temporal travel depicted by foundational science fiction writers, such as H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. It then examines the New Wave of science fiction during the 1960s and 70s, a period characterized by introspective exploration of the human psyche and a departure from linear temporality, favoring instead an antiprogressive, circular concept of time. Key authors of this era, including William S. Burroughs, Thomas M. Disch, Philip K. Dick, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Samuel R. Delany, are broadly studied. The paper subsequently probes into the cyberpunk genre and its development of virtual mobility within cyberspace, along with a critical analysis of the socio-political issues emanating from the dominance of white normativism and ableism within these virtual environments. In conclusion, this paper emphasizes the necessity to consider a more inclusive depiction of mobility in science fiction, as well as the co-futuristic socio-political ideologies that the genre upholds. It advocates for the genre to foster diverse representations of mobility, thereby challenging the normalization of an abled, white American presence within cyber and virtual spaces.