[SFCC] SF research question on Jesuits in Space
Fred Lerner
Fred.Lerner at dartmouth.edu
Thu Oct 4 12:43:41 PDT 2012
The "Winston P. Sanders" who wrote "The Word from Space" was actually Poul Anderson using a pseudonym that he whimsically derived from "Winnie the Pooh".
Fred Lerner
________________________________
From: sfcc-bounces at lists.ucr.edu [sfcc-bounces at lists.ucr.edu] on behalf of Melissa Conway [melissa.conway at ucr.edu]
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2012 3:38 PM
To: Michele R Combs; SFCC at lists.ucr.edu
Subject: Re: [SFCC] SF research question on Jesuits in Space
Michele,
I found this on the internet:
http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_jesuit.html
Author
Title
Attitude
toward
Jesuits
Approx. year
events
take place
Sample Quote and/or Description
Patricia Anthony
God's Fires. New York: Ace Books (1997)
mixed
1600
[During the Portuguese Inquisition, the crash-landing of a space ship presents a devastating moral dilemma when the Jesuits capture and imprison three beings, who escape the crash, and must confront the question about who or what these mysterious beings are.];
Pg. 77:
"Porra! Am I not worthy? I have been damned by sniveling Dominicans and... Cistercians; and yet before each battle Jesuits petitioned God for me. What sort of father are you, who would turn his back on a son who disobeyed Rom for you, who slaughtered Spaniards when you asked? Damn you Jesuits to Hell for serving the Holy Office. For leading this country from one war to another..."
James Blish
A Case of Conscience. (1958)
?
2150?
This is a classic and important pioneering work in modern religious-themes science fiction. A variety of religious issues are explored in this about a Jesuit priest<http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_jesuit.html> who gradually comes to believe that a planet full of intelligent, rational lizards is actually of Satanic origin.
David Brin
Earth. New York: Bantam (1990)
neutral
2038
[Jesuits are mentioned only in passing.] Pg. 208:
At minimum you've drawn an intriguing sophistry to delight your fellow Franciscans. And those neo-Gaian Jesuits, if they haven't thought of it already.
Frank Herbert
Dune. (1965)
-
14000
The two central religious groups portrayed in Dune are the Fremen (Zensunnis), who are based to some extant on Muslims, especially Sufis, and the Bene Gesserit. "Gesserit" may be a transformation of "Jesuit." There are many obvious similarities between the powerful Bene Gesserit order and the Jesuit Society of Jesus. The appendix section detailing religious history of the far-future setting in the novel specifically cites Islam and Catholicism<http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_jesuit.html> as important predecessor religions of the future religious environment.
James Morrow
Towing Jehovah<http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_jesuit.html>. New York: Harcourt Brace and Co. (1994)
?
1994
One of the main characters in the book is Thomas Ockham, of the Society of Jesus. This is a very well-developed character, playing the role of the religious seeker in this novel about an expedition to retrieve a giant corpse from the Arctic, which many believe is the body of God.
Mary Doria Russell
The Sparrow. New York: Ballantine (1996)
positive
2019-2021
and
2059-2060
This is one of most popular SF novels in recent years to explore religious themes. The "Sparrow" is famed as being the "Jesuits in Space" novel. It involves a Jesuit expedition to the first extraterrestrial sentient society that humans encounter. The author read dozens of biographies by current and former Jesuits in preparing to write this novel.
Mary Doria Russell
Children of God. New York: Ballantine (1997)
positive
2061
Sequel to The Sparrow.
Winston P. Sanders
"The Word to Space" (first published 1960). Reprinted in Mayo Mohs (editor), Other Worlds: Other Gods: Adventures in Religious Science Fiction. Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1971)
positive
2100
This is yet another story with a Catholic clergyman/linguist. Radio transmissions from the alien world Akron are detected from Earth, and scientists are excited to learn for the first time about an alien culture. Until, that is, the informative broadcasts are replaced by endless Akronite religious propaganda. A Jesuit linguist solves the problem for Earth and manages to do some reverse missionary work at the same time.
Dan Simmons
Hyperion. New York: Doubleday (1989)
mixed
2750
One of the main characters in this Chaucer-Cantebury-format novel is Paul Dure, an archaeologist, ethnologist, and eminent Jesuit theologian<http://www.adherents.com/lit/sf_jesuit.html>. Must of the lengthy section this character narrates deals with his work missionary and Catholic religious leader on the planet Hyperion.
To be added in more detail: "The Star," one of science fiction grandmaster Arthur C. Clarke's most famous stories. The narrator is implied to be a Jesuit in this story about spacefarers far from Earth who discover the actual Star of Bethlehem.
Cheers,
Melissa
Melissa Conway, Ph.D.
Distinguished Librarian
Head, Special Collections & Archives
P.O. Box 5900
UCR Libraries
University of California
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
951-827-3233
951-827-4673 FAX
melissa.conway at ucr.edu
Alternate mailing address:
Special Collections & Archives
UCR Libraries
3401 Watkins Dr.
University of California
Riverside, CA 92521
http://www.facultydirectory.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/pub/public_individual.pl?faculty=1934
http://www.uctv.tv/science-fiction/
-----Original Message-----
From: sfcc-bounces at lists.ucr.edu [mailto:sfcc-bounces at lists.ucr.edu] On Behalf Of Michele R Combs
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2012 12:00 PM
To: SFCC at lists.ucr.edu
Subject: [SFCC] SF research question
Hello Collective Wisdom --
I'm hoping that some of you may be able to help me with this. As many of you probably know, Mary Doria Russell's novel The Sparrow has a Jesuit as the main character. The short story "The Star" (by Arthur C. Clarke) features a chief astrophysicist who is a Jesuit priest.
What I'd like is to find any/all other examples of, well, let's call it "Jesuits in Space" for lack of a better term. Does anyone know of others?
Thanks --
Michele
+++++++++++++++
Michele Combs
Lead Archivist
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University
315-443-2081
mrrothen at syr.edu<mailto:mrrothen at syr.edu>
scrc.syr.edu
library-blog.syr.edu/scrc
_______________________________________________
SFCC mailing list
SFCC at lists.ucr.edu<mailto:SFCC at lists.ucr.edu>
http://lists.ucr.edu/mailman/listinfo/sfcc
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.ucr.edu/pipermail/sfcc/attachments/20121004/e3794c5f/attachment-0001.html
More information about the SFCC
mailing list