Science Fiction as a Worldwide Phenomenon: A Study of International Creation, Consumption and Dissemination
This addresses the cultural and linguistic diversity of science fiction for researchers and enthusiasts, but it is incremental as it confirms existing assumptions with new data.
This paper investigated whether science fiction is a global phenomenon beyond English-speaking Western countries, finding through network analysis, online retailer data, and surveys that it is created and consumed internationally in multiple languages.
This paper examines the international nature of science fiction. The focus of this research is to determine whether science fiction is primarily English speaking and Western or global; being created and consumed by people in non-Western, non-English speaking countries? Science fiction's international presence was found in three ways, by network analysis, by examining a online retailer and with a survey. Condor, a program developed by GalaxyAdvisors was used to determine if science fiction is being talked about by non-English speakers. An analysis of the international Amazon.com websites was done to discover if it was being consumed worldwide. A survey was also conducted to see if people had experience with science fiction. All three research methods revealed similar results. Science fiction was found to be international, with science fiction creators originating in different countries and writing in a host of different languages. English and non-English science fiction was being created and consumed all over the world, not just in the English speaking West.