Overview

Cybernetics, the science of control systems, was first popularised as an idea in 1948, following Norbert Wiener’s seminal publication on the topic. Almost immediately, cybernetics gripped the imagination of science fiction writers and film and television producers. This collection explores decades of the intersection between cybernetics and speculative fiction, from the Cybermen of Doctor Who to the Borg of Star Trek, sci-fi luminaries from Isaac Asimov to George Lucas, and classic works like The Terminator to current outputs like The Mandalorian. It is intended as both an introduction to and a showcase for new and cutting-edge scholarship on the topic, highlighting the urgency of cybernetics research with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), anxieties over the potential dehumanisation of society, and new futures envisioned for human-machine integration. As we become accustomed to speaking to nonhuman answering services, using AI technology in our writing, and even seeing films with nonhuman actors, this collection gives us access to rich fictional speculations about cybernetics that may help us to understand our rapidly changing world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Mark Fryers ,  Marcus K. Harmes
Publisher:   Peter Lang International Academic Publishers
Imprint:   Peter Lang International Academic Publishers
Edition:   New edition
Volume:   1
Weight:   0.391kg
ISBN:  

9781803744957

ISBN 10:   1803744952
Pages:   266
Publication Date:   12 January 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Visions and Augmentations: Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence, Science Fiction and Popular Culture Mark Fryers and Marcus K. Harmes PART I The Cybernetic Imagination Cybernetics as Social Science Fiction Sheryl N. Hamilton Asimov’s Cybernetic Plots Emilio Gianotti Normalised Cyborgisation: Cybernetics in the Cyberpunk Franchise Tonguc Sezen and Digdem Sezen PART II Bodies Cyborgs Are Disabled: Enhancement and Disability in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (2022) Rebecca L. Jones The Fantasy of the Healthy Body: Impairment and Uncertainty in Star Wars Phaedra Shanbaum and James Williamson xvi ix 1 29 47 61 79 93CONTENTS Re-Animation: De-Ageing, Posthumous Performances and the Life of the (Post)Human Alice Giuliani Emancipation from the Emitter: Towards a General Theory of AI Disability through ‘The Samantha Complex’ Kwasu David Tembo PART III Systems and Structures Noise in The Birds: A Cybernetic Re-reading Julian Sverre Bauer ‘Do You Want to Hear It Talk?’: Mechanised Voices and Technological Anxieties in Science Fiction Cinema Dario Llinares From Alien to Avatar Intelligence: James Cameron’s Cybernetic Deconstructions Nikola Mlađenović 107 121 139 153 169 The Tyranny of Feedback: Ecological Entrapment in Frank Herbert’s Dune 185 Attila Márton PART IV Identities Cyberpunk Periphery: Intruder’s Love and Flashing Out the Visible Lamia Kosovic Trans*-Digital Life-Forms: Technology, Cybernetics and Ontology in Digimon Adventure (1999) Joule Zheng Wang ‘The Offspring’: What Does It Mean to Have and to Want a Child for an Android in Star Trek: The Next Generation? Sebastian Lederle Notes on Contributors Index

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Author Information

Mark Fryers is a Lecturer in Film and Media at the Open University, UK. He has published widely on topics including environmentalism, gothic horror and science fiction and cultural history, including contributions to the Journal of Popular Television and numerous edited collections. His monographs include on The Woman in Black (1989) and a forthcoming book on the Gothic maritime. Marcus K Harmes is a professor at the University of Southern Queensland College, where he teaches legal history in the law degree and communications in the enabling program. He has published extensively in the fields of religious and political history, with a particular emphasis on British religious history and constitutional history.

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