PowerPoint Presentation

Steampunk

ELE 616 Research in Childrens Literature Fall 2012

#What is Steampunk?

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#What is Steampunk?Where does the name come from?Well to begin with lets clear up the name. Steampunk started as a joke. There was a movement in science fiction to write in a genre known as Cyberpunk. When various writers began exploring similar concepts and ideas but setting them in a pseudo Victorian world one of those writers, K.W. Jeter coined the term steampunk. As a tongue in cheek descriptor it stuck. What is Steampunk: An overview for 2011

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#What is Cyberpunk?What is Cyberpunk?Cyberpunk, essentially, is a form of speculative fiction that deals with a high-technology future. Cyberpunk is almost never happy, and usually leaves the reader in a life sucks mood. The reader should not want to enter the little world that you create. Cyberpunk is a warning as to what might happen in the future. Required reading material for people who want to know more about cyberpunk is: Neuromancer, by William Gibson Count Zero, by William Gibson Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson Mirrorshades, a cyberpunk anthology, edited by Bruce Sterling

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#Who are the antecedents?1. Jules Verne. . . the sheer volume of the mans work precludes looking at his writing beyond the most popularly known novels. My research over the past two years has demonstrated repeatedly that 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the work most steampunks reference when speaking about Verne as proto-steampunk.20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: Part I, Chapters 1-7

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#Who are the antecedents?2. H.G. WellsTo Steampunk, The Island of Doctor Moreau gives the kind of blind scientific ambition that characterizes many of the mad scientists of the subgenre, as well as the concept of degeneration of society that it shares with dystopian fiction. That science brought on this degeneration is an integral part of many near-future dystopian science fiction stories, and the aesthetic of the darker Steampunk works. Source: Blog Free the Princess The Roots of Steampunk -- H.G. Wells's The Island of Doctor Friday, April 16, 20106

#Who are the antecedents?3. Mary ShelleyFrankenstein gives to Steampunk its focus on dangerous science and pushing at what we already know. Novels like Boneshaker, where science gone wrong is one of the central facets of that worlds history, owe a debt to tales like Frankenstein. Mary Shelley and other writers of Gothic literature that crafted terror over science in their readers were the progenitors of mad science in fiction. Source: Blog Free the Princess The Roots of Steampunk -- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Thursday, April 8, 20107

#A non-literary, real-life antecedentThe prototype mad scientist?First off, Nikola Tesla was brilliant. And not just like Ken Jennings brilliant, either - I mean like, holy crap my head just exploded (from all the awesome) brilliant. The Croatian-born engineer spoke eight languages, almost single-handedly developed technology that harnessed the power of electricity for household use, and invented things like electrical generators, FM radio, remote control, robots, spark plugs, fluorescent lights, and giant-ass machines that shoot enormous, brain-frying lightning bolts all over the place like crazy. Badass of the Week 01/09/09

See also Steampunk Notables: Nikola Tesla from 8

#Tesla as a steampunk characterBooks by Scott WesterfeldIn Behemoth, the sequel to Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, the Steam/Diesel Punks that make up the Central Powers have Tesla Cannons, which are, predictably, lightning generators. In the third book in the trilogy, Goliath, Tesla becomes a major character. He is a great deal more unstable than in real life. Nikola Tesla in tvtropes

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Concept art by Keith Thompson for the series

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Author of the Leviathan trilogyLeviathan, Behemoth, GoliathLeviathan lesson plan

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Alternate History

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#Alternate United State s History

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#A Middle School Level TrilogyThe Larklight trilogy by Philip Reeve

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#Steampunk Graphic Novel

Other titles in the The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series:

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Black Dossier League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #1 (1910) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Century #2 (1969) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 1 League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The: Volume 2 14

#Steampunk Internet?15

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#Steampunk is a culture17

#Steampunk WeekSteampunk Week on Tor.comWith steampunk hitting the mainstream, the big question nowadays has changed from What is steampunk?* to Where is it going? Although this is only a week-long theme, Ive packed it to the brim with contributions from both established and up-and-coming voices in the steampunk community. Im especially proud of the diverse range of voices worldwide who offer a look at steampunk from various angles from Eurocentric to multicultural, artsy to lowbrow, politics to fandom, and everything in between.Ay-leen the Peacemaker Mon Oct 3 2011 Steampunk Week index page.18

* For those who have been living in a cave and have no idea what steampunk is, I suggest checking out Tor.coms previous blogging events: Steampunk Month in 2009 and Steampunk Fortnight in 2010 for some clues.

#So, what is Steampunk?Many things!Over the years, steampunk has evolved into more than just a sub-genre of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Steampunk now extends into fashion, engineering, music, and for some, a lifestyle. With the Victorian British Empire or American Wild West as the backdrop, steampunk projects are a challenge of making something elegant out of random bits and bobs. Picture MacGyver or The A-Team in the 1800s. Consider Dick Van Dykes Caractacus Potts and his creations in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, or the ingenious contraptions from Artimus Gordons laboratory in the television show The Wild, Wild West. What others see as junk or scrap parts, steampunk artists transform it into something new and expressive, be it an original creation or a modification of a modern convenience.

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#Steampunk for kids?Scourge: A Grim Doyle Adventure

http://davidhburton.com/?page_id=4113 See also An Interview with Author David Burton STEAMED!

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#A Steampunk Bedtime StoryThree Cheers for Steamduck!Fear not, youngest steampunks, Steamduck to the rescue! Or rather, Emilie P. Bush and William Kevin Petty with their charming picture book, Her Majestys Explorer: a Steampunk Bedtime Story. Readers follow St. John Murphy Alexander, Automaton of Her Majesty, on a mission of exploration, then home to his regiment, where he gets ready for bed with a routine that your child will relate to (even if they dont have to unscrew their ears every night). Our automaton hero is adorable, the illustrations by Petty are enchanting, with plenty of detail to interest readers of all ages. The book comes with a bonus poem, an ode to Steamduck which leaves the reader with only one question where can I get my own steamduck for the bath?

See author Emilie P. Bushs blog at Coal City SteamA video Interview with author Emilie P. Bush and Illustrator William Kevin Petty.

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