This document discusses the history and development of science fiction. It notes that early forms of science fiction could be found in Arabic and Hindu literature, and that Shakespeare and Dante used some elements of it in their work. It identifies Jules Verne and H.G. Wells as pioneering science fiction authors in the 19th century. In the 20th century, magazines like Astounding Science Fiction published renowned writers like Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. The document also distinguishes between "hard" science fiction that predicts future technology and its effects, and "soft" science fiction that focuses more on societal impacts and alternative scenarios.

1. Science Fiction
• It explores the influence of the
imaginary and future scientific
and technological developments
on people and society.
• Insights into flying machines,
alien races and advanced
civilisations have been found in
early Arabic literature and Hindu
writings.
• Literary critics have argued that
both Shakespeare and Dante
used elements of science fiction
in their work.

2. The Fathers of Science Fiction
Jules
Verne
(French,
1828 –
1905)
Journey
to the
Centre of
the Earth
(1864)
From Earth
to Moon
(1865)
Twenty
Thousand
Leagues
Under the Sea
(1870)

3. The Time
Machine
(1895)
H. G.
Wells
(English,
1866 –
1946)
The Island of
Dr Thoreau
(1896)
The War of
Worlds
(1898)

4. Science Fiction in the 20th century
Science Fiction magazines such as
‘Astounding Science Fiction’, founded in
1930 by John W. Campbell, published
renowned writers like:
Isaac Asimov
(1920 – 1992)
I-Robot – 1950

5. Arthur C. Clark
(1917 – 2008)
2001: A Space
Odyssey – 1968
Robert Heinlein
(1907 – 1988)
The Man who Sold
the Moon – 1978

6. Hard Science Fiction
They’re often set in the future, and predict how technology
will change the world we live in. For example:
• H. G. Wells (1901)  man on the moon
• Arthur C. Clark (1962)  a draft of the Internet
Soft Science Fiction
They focus on how society works
and comment on human
behaviour.
They’re set in an alternative
parallel time and explore a
‘what if’ situation. For example:
• What if Martians landed on
Earth?
• What if there was a device that
allowed us to read people’s
minds?