Sacred Space: The Quest for Transcendence in Science Fiction Film and Television by Douglas Cowan (Baylor University Press, 2010) goes on sale tomorrow, August 15. You can order a copy here now.

Description:

As humans, it is our trust in something larger than ourselves that invests our lives with meaning and value. We hope that outside the boundaries of everyday living there lies something greater. As Doug Cowan argues, science fiction is the genre of possibility and hope, a principal canvas on which writers, artists, and filmmakers have sketched their visions of this transcendent potential for generations. In Sacred Space, he leads readers in a compelling exploration of how this transcendence is manifested in science-fiction cinema and television of today.

From the millennial dreams of a future bright with potential to the promise of evolution from some as-yet-undreamed engine of creation, science fiction’s visions of transcendence animate the pages of Sacred Space. Drawing on the most popular examples–Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, and Stargate SG-1–as well as the lesser known but no less important, Cowan reveals the multivalent religious ideas present in this media. Why do these themes that consistently appear in science fiction matter? What do they reveal about the often ambivalent relationship between outer space and our spirits? Cowan insightfully shows how these films and shows express and reinforce culturally constructed conceptions of transcendent hope, and along the way provides a provocative reflection on what this ultimately says about our culture s worldviews, hopes, and fears.

Reviews:

Highly recommended. Here we learn that science fiction is more than bug-eyed aliens and saucers and that it often reveals our quest for the sacred.
–John W. Morehead, editor, Theofantastique.com

From the “millennial dreams” and “apocalyptic nightmares” of alien contact to the Buddhist visions of Neo s matrix, Doug Cowan weaves a grand adventure for fans and students of religion and science fiction. If the hope for transcendence is the universal human religious question, as Cowan ably presents, then science fiction film and television are the blank screens most qualified in our media-rich culture to propel us on that journey.
–Conrad Ostwalt, Professor of Religious Studies, Appalachian State University

Cowan convincingly demonstrates that modern science-fiction films and television shows have made religious questions and answers central to the issues they raise about human identity, values, and purpose. By emphasizing the diversity of religious ideas present in these media, Cowan shows how they are as multivariant as the nature of religion itself. In so doing, he sheds light not only on what religion is, but also on what it might be. –John Lyden, Professor and Chair of Religion, Dana College, and author of Film as Religion: Myths, Morals, and Rituals

Related posts:

“Douglas Cowan Interview Part 1: Forthcoming Book Sacred Space”

“Douglas Cowan Interview Part 2: Sci-Fi, Transcendence and Sacred Space”