Abstract
This paper questions the encounter between science and fiction through
astronomy and a corpus of scientific adventure novels. In a first phase, the socio
-scientific contextualization of astronomy reveals a complex representation of the discipline in the nineteenth century, marked by imagination. Secondly, this paper examines the incorporation of astronomy into the literary field. The study analyzes the mediations between science and fantasy in the astronomical novel. We distinguish between attempts to represent science (astronomy lessons) and passages with fictional dominance (interplanetary travel and extraterrestrial life). Nevertheless, the study relativizes the judgment of fiction and introduces the concept of ‘‘scientificization’’. Following this concept, the paper analyzes the work of two authors in particular, Camille Flammarion and Henry de Graffigny. The way in which astronomical fictional content assumes scientific appearances is examined in the works of these two authors who are involved in science.
Therefore the relation between science and fiction is considered to be one of complementarity rather than opposition.
astronomy and a corpus of scientific adventure novels. In a first phase, the socio
-scientific contextualization of astronomy reveals a complex representation of the discipline in the nineteenth century, marked by imagination. Secondly, this paper examines the incorporation of astronomy into the literary field. The study analyzes the mediations between science and fantasy in the astronomical novel. We distinguish between attempts to represent science (astronomy lessons) and passages with fictional dominance (interplanetary travel and extraterrestrial life). Nevertheless, the study relativizes the judgment of fiction and introduces the concept of ‘‘scientificization’’. Following this concept, the paper analyzes the work of two authors in particular, Camille Flammarion and Henry de Graffigny. The way in which astronomical fictional content assumes scientific appearances is examined in the works of these two authors who are involved in science.
Therefore the relation between science and fiction is considered to be one of complementarity rather than opposition.
| Original language | French |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 209-235 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Revue des littératures européennes |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2017 |
Student theses
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Fictions de la science et sciences fictives. Les sciences du vivant et l'astronomie dans le roman d'aventures scientifique (1880-1915)
Author: Bertrand, C., 24 Apr 2018Supervisor: De Mulder, C. (Supervisor), Vrydaghs, D. (President), Brix, M. (Jury), Bertrand, J. P. (External person) (Jury), Marchal, H. (External person) (Jury) & Letourneux, M. (External person) (Jury)
Student thesis: Doc types › Doctor of Languages, Letters and Translation