Childhood’s End: Transhumanist Vision and the Imagery of a Colonial Parable
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Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End explores themes such as technological progress, transcendent evolution, and eschatological visions. While these themes may indicate Clarke’s own progressive and utopian view of the world and history, when placed under close scrutiny these themes suggest otherwise. Such progressive visions seem to promise transcendent technological progress and the transcendent transhuman who has transcended the limitations of human life; however, these visions implicate the colonial parable of the British empire. This paper will demonstrate that Childhood’s End not only conjures up crucial concepts of transhumanism—the singularity and indirection—but also dramatizes the core imagery of colonialism such as the ideological relationship between the colonial administrator and colonial subjects, colonial exploitation, and colonial rule.
Abstract
Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End explores themes such as technological progress, transcendent evolution, and eschatological visions. While these themes may indicate Clarke’s own progressive and utopian view of the world and history, when placed under close scrutiny these themes suggest otherwise. Such progressive visions seem to promise transcendent technological progress and the transcendent transhuman who has transcended the limitations of human life; however, these visions implicate the colonial parable of the British empire. This paper will demonstrate that Childhood’s End not only conjures up crucial concepts of transhumanism—the singularity and indirection—but also dramatizes the core imagery of colonialism such as the ideological relationship between the colonial administrator and colonial subjects, colonial exploitation, and colonial rule.
참고문헌 (17)
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