Moving from the micro world of quantum physics to the macro scales of earth science and ecology, this book considers how, in contemporary literature, affective experiences like desire, suffering, anxiety, and joy shape scientific persons, practices, and products.
This book brings into dialogue close readings of scientific writing and contemporary literary works by authors like Jeanette Winterson, Richard Powers, Hanya Yanagihara, Thalia Field, and Jenny Offill. Combining narrative and affect studies, it uses formal strategies such as moving metaphor, visceral or affective description, plot-level analogy, contraction, and rhythm to engage with western scientific epistemologies, which still tends towards the impassive, universal, and objective.
While each chapter focuses on a different field (or fields) of science, all foreground bodies-human and nonhuman-as a way of exploring knowledge production. Through close readings, the book argues that select 'scientific stories' raise important questions about how 'knowledge' is defined and who (and what) is invited into its processes of production.

- 280 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
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Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-Title Page
- Dedication
- Title Page
- Explorations in Science and Literature
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Flicker and Sidestep: Time, Desire, and Moving Metaphors in Physics Fiction
- 2 Agents of Description: Animals, Affect, and Care in Biomedical Literature
- 3 Swarms and Networks: Mapping Collective Agency in Microbiological and Mycological Fiction
- 4 Infowhelm and the Everyday: Earth Science, Contraction, and Scientific Dissemination in Short-Form Literature
- 5 Rhythms of Knowledge: Citizen Science, Slowness, and the Joy of Discovery in Barrett and Gaines
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
- Copyright Page
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Yes, you can access Science and Affect in Contemporary Literature by Shannon Lambert in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Modern Literary Criticism. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.