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Background Essay for “Science Fictional, Medicinal”

Calling all friends with a background in SF and/or medicine: As part of my attempt to get Stanford to give me a grant to write medical science fiction, I need to convince them that such fiction is a worthwhile endeavor for social change. To that end I’ve cobbled together the below essay about how SF has changed society. Please PLEASE PLEASE let me know if you spot anything I’ve left out or misstated.

The only caveat would be that any referenced authors would have to be recognizable to the Med Scholars committee (who are generally well-read MDs and PhDs fairly along in their careers).

Science fiction has stimulated social change and shaped society’s understanding of science for over a century. Indeed, many such works have entered the literary cannon. 1984 and Brave New World helped form the modern conception of totalitarian government. Vonnegut’s Slaughter House 5 and Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land contributed to the cultural revolutions of the sixties and seventies. Other works—though they are not yet canonical—have left a mark on modern culture. Shute’s On the Beach and Haldeman’s The Forever War increased the awareness of war’s effect on society and veterans. Through allegory, Frank Herbert’s Dune predicted today’s clash over ideology, resources, and religion in the Middle East.

The above list of classic works is short; however, it accurately represents science fiction’s traditional focus on the physical sciences and engineering (particularly nuclear physics and space exploration). Relatively few modern science fictional works have focused on biomedical technology and ethics. This scarcity is surprising considering that some of the genre’s seminal works focused on medicine. The most famous examples are Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein and H.G. Well’s The Island of Doctor Moreau. Indeed, The Island of Doctor Moreau contributed to the contemporaneous debate about vivisection; the resulting sentiments helped form the modern rules governing experimentation on animals. Although modern medical science fictional has been relatively rare, it has made important contributions to popular and medical culture. Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon heightened awareness of neurodiversity and the ethical issues surrounding the advancement of neurological treatment. William Gibson’s Neuromancer not only coined the word “cyberspace” but also began the exploration of identity in the online world that continues today.

I propose Science Fictional, Medicinal as an attempt to expand the fruitful but neglected area of medical science fiction.