LibGuides: Science Fiction: Literary Study & Research

Literary Study & Research

Science Fiction has long been the subject of serious research, and the databases below can help UT scholars find relevant monographs, peer-reviewed journals, and other scholarly resources.

Depending on your topic, you may need to search a variety of databases. The search tools linked below include articles published in academic journals centered on literary, film, and cultural studies. If you have questions about using these tools, contact Gina Bastone, the English Librarian: g.bastone@austin.utexas.edu

MLA International Bibliography
The MLA International Bibliography is the gold standard database for research in literary studies. It includes many important science fiction journals. From the Modern Language Association.
Updated ten times per year. Indexes critical materials on literature, criticism, drama, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Provides access to citations from over 4,400 journals, series, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Produced by the Modern Language Association.
For help searching the MLA International Bibliography, please see the MLA's video tutorials.
ABELL: Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature This link opens in a new window
Like the MLA, ABELL is an important scholarly index in literary studies, including some science fiction journals.
Updated monthly. Contains over 750,000 records covering monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews, collections of essays and doctoral dissertations published anywhere in the world. Includes links to the full text of 61 journals.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Offers a high-quality, interdisciplinary archive to support scholarship and teaching. Includes archives of over 1,000 leading academic journals across the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, as well as select monographs and other materials valuable for academic work. The entire corpus is full-text searchable, offers search term highlighting, includes high-quality images, and is interlinked by millions of citations and references.
Members of the public can read online up to three articles for free every two weeks from a large subset of JSTOR journals via the Register & Read program. This program allows remote access. Non-UT students, faculty and staff who need more articles can contact library staff for other access options.

For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Database is an online, searchable compilation and extension of Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1878-1985, Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1985-1991, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Reference Index 1992-1995, including material located since publication of the last printed volume. Most material was obtained and examined by the compiler; the remainder was verified in a reliable secondary source.
The Internet Speculative Fiction Database
A comprehensive bibliographic index of authors, publishers, novels, short stories, anthologies, magazines, and journals in science fiction and adjacent genres. Built as a wiki that anyone can contribute to.
NOTE: This is not an index of scholarship/secondary sources on sci-fi works. It is a bibliography listing works by contributed authors.

Extrapolation
Publishes original research contributions to the critical study of science fiction and fantasy past and present, with occasional special issues on specific themes/topics.
Foundation: The international review of science fiction
A peer-reviewed journal from the UK's Science Fiction Foundation.
Science Fiction Studies
A key peer-reviewed journal of scholarship and literary criticism on science fiction and adjacent genres. Full issues online from 1973-2021. Most recent issues not available.
Vector
The peer-reviewed, critical journal of the British Science Fiction Association. Full issues online from 1958-2020.

Anatomy of Wonder by Neil Barron
Publication Date: 2004
Brave New Words by Jeff Prucher; Gene Wolfe (Introduction by)
Publication Date: 2007
The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction by Edward James (Editor); Farah Mendlesohn (Editor)
ISBN: 0521816262
Publication Date: 2003-11-20
The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature by Gregory Claeys (Editor)
Publication Date: 2010
A Companion to Science Fiction by David Seed (Editor)
Publication Date: 2008
The Dictionary of Science Fiction Places by Brian M. Stableford; Jeff White (Illustrator); Ray Bradbury (Foreword by)
ISBN: 0739401955
Publication Date: 1999
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Gary Westfahl
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Publication Date: 2005-09-30
Race in American Science Fiction by Isiah Lavender
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Publication Date: 2011-02-08
Trillion Year Spree by Brian W. Aldiss
Publication Date: 1988-03-01
The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction by Brian Ash
Publication Date: 1979-08-22
Science Fiction Authors: A Research Guide by Maura Heaphy
ISBN: 9781591585152
Publication Date: 2008

The SF Nexus: A Hub for Science Fiction Collections as Data
A hub for the curation of science fiction digital collections and data sets. The current scope focuses on an ongoing project at Temple University's Scholars Studio to digitize and curate science fiction, with a particular emphasis on mid-century climate fiction.
The Stuff of Science Fiction

Oxford Bibliographies Sci-Fi Spotlight

Oxford Bibliographies - Science Fiction
A selection of annotated bibliographic articles across the literature and cinema studies modules in Oxford Bibliographies. These articles have been made freely available and explore the growing scholarly area of Science Fiction. From Metropolis to The Matrix, and from Mary Shelley to Octavia Butler, this project aims to cover the major themes and works in the field, and will continue to grow in the coming years.

These bibliographic articles are helpful if you want to find the major scholarship on a particular topic.

Article not available?

If the article you need is not available through the UT Library, you can submit a "Get a Scan" request. A PDF will be emailed to you, for free!

Book not available?

If a book you need is not available at UT, you can place an InterLibrary Loan (ILL) request. UT will borrow the book from another library and send you an email when the book is available for you to pick up.