Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2000

as we know it, how we position ourselves between electronic culture such as ICQ and the Internet, and humanity. The split in modern thinking betwee n nature and culture, subject and object, literature and science has been dealt wi th in ma ny science fiction works, and a thorough study of this genre in a Chinese-Western comparative perspective is believed to illuminate the kind of cultural anxieties we are faced with. The second objective is to rethink Hong Kong's educational structure, so that any absence of science fiction in the curriculum or teaching material can be made up for by the authorities. 'Although we live in an IT-filled environment, most t e a che rs can d e t a ch t h ems e l v es completely from real life. One rarely finds c ompo s i t i on topics t hat t o u ch o n information technology, not to mention science fiction. How then can students develop creativity in these areas?' said Prof. Wong. He pointed out that whereas technology provide s material for science fiction wo r k s , the ima g i n a t i on a n d creativity in such wo r k s also inspire scientific research in a mutually reinforcing circle. (After all the term 'cyber space' was coined by a science fiction novelist.) This circle is absent in Hong Kong. Hence decision-making authorities should keep up with the times by bringing technological culture into the humanities curriculum so that arts and science are engaged in a mutually reinforcing and mutually beneficial relationship. The project has five component parts: (1) Data Collectio n Prof. Wong visited the University of California at Riverside in the US, and the University of Liverpoo l in the UK, which boast respectively the second and the third largest collections on science fiction and fantasy worldwide. He discovered there is very little data on works in that genre that are written in Chinese. The first mission of the project is therefore to set up the world' s first database on science fiction ma t e r i a l s in Ch i ne s e w i t h a bibliography translate d into English, and exchange such data with the two libraries, so that Western scholars will come to know about Chinese science fiction. (2) Translation and Comparative Studies The researchers will collect the t r a n s l a t ed texts of We s t e rn science fiction, and investigate h ow Chines e intellectuals have received the theories of Western science an d technology and applied them to educating the youn g since the early 20th century. Sci-fi classics (3) FormsandNarratives Science fiction ha s gone through a long history of formulation. From the Gothic novel of the 19th century to the mixed discourse of today, the fears and repressions of society of each era have manifested themselves in science fiction. In t he con t ex t of p o s t - mo d e r n i s m , feminism, and post-colonialism, science fiction reflects issues of race, class, gender, and sexual desire. By carrying ou t a s t u dy on the p r o d u c t i o n and c o n s ump t i o n of science fiction a nd CHINES E UNIVERSIT Y BULLETI N Autumn .Winter 2000 44