ABSTRACT
As Jacques Derrida asserts, literature should engage with and be infl uenced by technology. Implicit in this statement is the recognition that technology is interwoven with modern culture and cannot be separated from it. Modern technology in its many forms, from nuclear science to cybernetics, genetic engineering and Computing and Information Technology (CIT), has become an inseparable part of our daily lives, and as Denise Murray points out, “it not only transforms what we do, but also how we construct our world” (1995: 1). Technology’s presence has given rise to signifi cant attempts to map its effect on culture, society and human identity,1 as well as its infl uence on the young.2 This book demonstrates that fi ction written for children, specifi cally within the genre of science fi ction (SF), engages with technology, yet in many of the works it is with the intention of ‘exorcising’ modern manifestations of the machine. Perceptions of technology as a corrupting force, particularly in relation to young people’s use of it, are related to the prevailing myth of the innocent child, as explored by Jacqueline Rose (1984), Anne Higonnet (1998), Jack Zipes (2000) and Henry Giroux (2000), to name but a few, and result in fi ction written for a young audience which endorses a technophobic agenda.
