Contemporary Fiction

Alienation and community in contemporary Scottish fiction

The refusal of innovative Scottish fiction published in the 1980s and 1990s to appeal to community as a solution to social alienation has led to it being accused of nihilism. This chapter explores this stylistic ambivalence through a case study of Janice Galloway’s The Trick is to Keep Breathing.

Becoming a woman through Wicca: Witches and Wiccans in contemporary teen fiction

The article examines Cate Tiernan’s ‘Wicca’ series. This series and the ‘Circle of Three’ books by Isobel Bird explore the experiences of teenage girls who embrace the pagan religion, Wicca. The texts reflect the growing interest in spirituality expressed by many young people and extend the literary representation of witchcraft. Tiernan produces stories of spiritual growth entwined with fantasy...

Artificial Identity: Representations of Robots and Cyborgs in Contemporary Anglo-American Science Fiction Films By Em

The ‘human condition’ has traditionally been an area of study addressed primarily by philosophers concerned with the mind/body problem, rather than studied as a neuroscientific conundrum. However, contemporary developments in science and technology that afford us a greater knowledge of the human brain have resulted in an increased scientific focus on consciousness, emotion and personhood. This ...

Fiction indexing and the development of fiction thesauri

What's Love Got To Do With It?: Family, Sex, and Domestic Violence in Contemporary Irish Women's Fiction