My research focuses on the cultural history of science. I am especially interested in the interrelationship of science and culture from the Romantic Period to the present day. Many of my current publications examine the role, presence, and representation of science in science fiction. Beyond my written work I have also made major contributions to the study of science and culture by establishing an ongoing specialist area at the PCA/ACA annual conference, and co-founding the Journal of Science and Popular Culture (published by Intellect).
In my thesis I used my joint training in history and media studies to analyze the ways in which science fiction television works through cultural debates about the status and role of scientific knowledge, authority, and practice. My work has been published in several peer reviewed journals and edited collections, and I am the author of Science Wars through the Stargate: Explorations of Science and Society in Stargate SG-1 (Rowman & Littlefield).
During the last decade of the twentieth century the status of science as well as its relation to ... more During the last decade of the twentieth century the status of science as well as its relation to society was debated by scientists and scholars, often very publicly, in what is known as the Science Wars. Around the same time as that event hit its peak, Stargate SG-1, currently the longest-running North American science fiction television series, began its prodigious original broadcast. This book critically analyzes the representations of science in SG-1 and the ways in which its narratives work through cultural debates about science and society, using the Science Wars as a discursive and historical context against which to read the series. Remarkably few studies focus on science and science fiction, and those that do heavily privilege print and film. Science Wars through the Stargate contributes to this discourse by specifically analyzing the innovative dimensions that television adds to the genre’s engagements with science. Similarly, SG-1 has received little academic attention relative to its duration, popularity, and significance. Narratives from the series prominently feature scientific study and scientist characters making SG-1 a particularly rich text through which to examine the interrelationship of science and popular culture. With the integral place of science in Western society as well as the current proliferation of science on television and film, it is more important than ever to examine what popular texts are telling us about science, as well as their capacity to illuminate intellectual debates. Studying science in popular culture is essential to understanding how scientific ideas are taken on and utilized, especially in the case of fiction and entertainment programming. It is also necessary to challenge some of the still entrenched views that popular culture largely presents either anti-scientific or naively optimistic portraits of science. SG-1 offers a case study where the role and position of science is subjected to critical interrogation through linked thought experiments made possible by the serialized nature of the show’s narrative, and thus provides an example for understanding how contemporary culture processes and represents science.
As time passes, controversial figures often lose a great deal of their controversial status. One ... more As time passes, controversial figures often lose a great deal of their controversial status. One man for whom the passage of time has failed to dim the flames of controversy is Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). More than four centuries after he was put to death, Bruno continues to generate animated discussion especially in the public arena. When he is invoked, it is usually as either a heretic or a martyr, both renderings that overly privilege his Inquisitorial trial and execution rather than his life and thought. But in 2014, Bruno was brought to popular attention by Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) as a landmark figure in the transition from pre-Copernican models to more familiar understandings of the cosmos based on his espousal of an infinite universe comprised of innumerable heliocentric solar systems. There is a lot that one never learns in Cosmos’ Bruno sequence. However, it would be unfair to expect comprehensive coverage from a short portrait of a complex historical figure who lived in an even more complex historical context. What Cosmos offers is a step toward evaluating how and why Bruno fits into the history of science.
Peer Reviewed Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-473-34578-5, 2015
This article explores the question: is The X-Files dangerous to Science Fiction (SF) and science?... more This article explores the question: is The X-Files dangerous to Science Fiction (SF) and science? Certainly it is one of the most prominent series that, despite being frequently appended with the SF television label, seems to challenge and sometimes eschew basic conceptualisations of the genre. Furthermore, at the height of its success the series was criticised by scientists such as Richard Dawkins for disseminating and popularising anti-rational and potentially anti-scientific perspectives. On these grounds, the answer to our question appears to be yes. However, detailed analysis of the series reveals quite a different picture. Firstly, even attempts to distance the series from SF effectively encapsulate reasons for that very labelling. These specifically revolve around the use of the phrase ‘extreme possibilities’. Secondly, far from presenting a simplistic juxtaposition of belief and reason, the series instead involves a dialogic exchange that helps to articulate the role of scientific inquiry in approaching the unknown.
New Review of Film and Television Studies, Vol. 12, Issue 2 (2014): 178-202, Feb 6, 2014
Narrative structure in television fiction has moved past the ability to simply categorise program... more Narrative structure in television fiction has moved past the ability to simply categorise programs by the standard terms series or serial. Vacillation of form where series take on the attribute of seriality in order to facilitate greater narrative complexity has become more common in recent decades. Stargate: SG-1 (1997-2007) achieved a successful balance in this regard and serves as a salient example of the historical changes that have happened within television fiction. This article analyses the narrative composition of SG-1 in relation to discourses concerning serialisation and complexity in television fiction. Since its formative first season SG-1 demonstrated a balancing of episodic and serialized narrative demands. These features extend over the series’ ten seasons producing a complex narrative with highly developed characters and an expansive fictional universe.
Australasian Journal of Popular Culture 2, no.2 (2013): 239-51
Science Fiction (SF) articulates many of the central issues faced in culture and society and none... more Science Fiction (SF) articulates many of the central issues faced in culture and society and none greater than the role, capacities and implications of scientific knowledge. As a genre it displays a heightened capacity to engage in philosophical debates giving salient insights. Contemporary scientific knowledge or ‘mainstream science’ provides the critical grounding on which the extraordinary worlds of SF are naturalized. However, complete adherence to known facts would render SF incapable of facilitating the speculative dimensions in which it revels. To counterbalance this, marginal science is often engaged as a means to extend the known and explore new possibilities whilst maintaining a noticeable link to scientific rationality. Invader ZIM (Nicktoon Productions 2001–2003, 2006), an animated television (TV) series about an alien’s efforts to conquer Earth and the attempts of a young paranormal enthusiast to stop him, provides a way to articulate this positioning of science.
When discussed as a genre, Telefantasy may be regarded as a hybrid category because it subsumes e... more When discussed as a genre, Telefantasy may be regarded as a hybrid category because it subsumes existing labels. Although Telefantasy is a composite genre, the characteristics of its constituent elements - namely Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror - are often in conflict, requiring an appraisal of the tensions between them. This article explores the prospects of using Telefantasy as a generic classification by showing the collective presence of these
different genres within The X-Files (1993-2002). It traces the historical interaction between the three genres that make up Telefantasy through a series of examples from Edgar Allan Poe to H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), thus providing a historical grounding for generic interaction. The present article forms part of a larger project concerning the interaction of generic motifs in North American cultural history. Here, the focus of that project is directed at examining Telefantasy and the utility of composite genre to the study of television programs.
The Past from the Present, The Future from the Past: Television Explores Time Travel, edited by Sherry Ginn and Gillian Leitch (Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming)
Discourse surrounding remake television largely focuses on the outright remaking of a series or t... more Discourse surrounding remake television largely focuses on the outright remaking of a series or the adaptation of a property from another medium. In such discourse a series which is not identified as a remake or adaptation is usually labelled an original. Taking terms such as ‘original’ and ‘remake’ at face value suggests an unbalanced distribution of creative agency and overlooks the similarity of intertextual influences in both cases. An entire show need not be subject to remaking. Several originals utilise basic narrative elements such as a premise from earlier texts, thus remaking only aspects of their predecessors. This chapter analyses the concept of the remaking of a premise to illustrate the complexity of the remake phenomenon which extends beyond new and more-or-less explicit productions of older properties. It does this through the examination of a succession of originals centred on The X-Files (1993-2002).
Working with a distinguished international board, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture aims... more Working with a distinguished international board, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture aims to create a unique forum in which to analyse, chronicle, and interpret the interrelationship of science and global society through original research articles, editorials, book and new media reviews, notes, and essays. Contributions from academics, scientists, communicators, industry professionals, and practitioners with an interest in the interface of science and culture are invited. Any scholarly approaches or disciplines may be used and focus extends across contemporary and historical contexts. The Journal of Science and Popular Culture strongly reinforces interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, opening up new possibilities for inquiry across and between the humanities and sciences. Each issue will feature research articles and other relevant material including pieces of science communication/popularization, interviews, reflective essays, and creative works.
During the last decade of the twentieth century the status of science as well as its relation to ... more During the last decade of the twentieth century the status of science as well as its relation to society was debated by scientists and scholars, often very publicly, in what is known as the Science Wars. Around the same time as that event hit its peak, Stargate SG-1, currently the longest-running North American science fiction television series, began its prodigious original broadcast. This book critically analyzes the representations of science in SG-1 and the ways in which its narratives work through cultural debates about science and society, using the Science Wars as a discursive and historical context against which to read the series. Remarkably few studies focus on science and science fiction, and those that do heavily privilege print and film. Science Wars through the Stargate contributes to this discourse by specifically analyzing the innovative dimensions that television adds to the genre’s engagements with science. Similarly, SG-1 has received little academic attention relative to its duration, popularity, and significance. Narratives from the series prominently feature scientific study and scientist characters making SG-1 a particularly rich text through which to examine the interrelationship of science and popular culture. With the integral place of science in Western society as well as the current proliferation of science on television and film, it is more important than ever to examine what popular texts are telling us about science, as well as their capacity to illuminate intellectual debates. Studying science in popular culture is essential to understanding how scientific ideas are taken on and utilized, especially in the case of fiction and entertainment programming. It is also necessary to challenge some of the still entrenched views that popular culture largely presents either anti-scientific or naively optimistic portraits of science. SG-1 offers a case study where the role and position of science is subjected to critical interrogation through linked thought experiments made possible by the serialized nature of the show’s narrative, and thus provides an example for understanding how contemporary culture processes and represents science.
As time passes, controversial figures often lose a great deal of their controversial status. One ... more As time passes, controversial figures often lose a great deal of their controversial status. One man for whom the passage of time has failed to dim the flames of controversy is Giordano Bruno (1548–1600). More than four centuries after he was put to death, Bruno continues to generate animated discussion especially in the public arena. When he is invoked, it is usually as either a heretic or a martyr, both renderings that overly privilege his Inquisitorial trial and execution rather than his life and thought. But in 2014, Bruno was brought to popular attention by Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014) as a landmark figure in the transition from pre-Copernican models to more familiar understandings of the cosmos based on his espousal of an infinite universe comprised of innumerable heliocentric solar systems. There is a lot that one never learns in Cosmos’ Bruno sequence. However, it would be unfair to expect comprehensive coverage from a short portrait of a complex historical figure who lived in an even more complex historical context. What Cosmos offers is a step toward evaluating how and why Bruno fits into the history of science.
Peer Reviewed Proceedings of the 6th Annual Conference Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, 2015 ISBN: 978-0-473-34578-5, 2015
This article explores the question: is The X-Files dangerous to Science Fiction (SF) and science?... more This article explores the question: is The X-Files dangerous to Science Fiction (SF) and science? Certainly it is one of the most prominent series that, despite being frequently appended with the SF television label, seems to challenge and sometimes eschew basic conceptualisations of the genre. Furthermore, at the height of its success the series was criticised by scientists such as Richard Dawkins for disseminating and popularising anti-rational and potentially anti-scientific perspectives. On these grounds, the answer to our question appears to be yes. However, detailed analysis of the series reveals quite a different picture. Firstly, even attempts to distance the series from SF effectively encapsulate reasons for that very labelling. These specifically revolve around the use of the phrase ‘extreme possibilities’. Secondly, far from presenting a simplistic juxtaposition of belief and reason, the series instead involves a dialogic exchange that helps to articulate the role of scientific inquiry in approaching the unknown.
New Review of Film and Television Studies, Vol. 12, Issue 2 (2014): 178-202, Feb 6, 2014
Narrative structure in television fiction has moved past the ability to simply categorise program... more Narrative structure in television fiction has moved past the ability to simply categorise programs by the standard terms series or serial. Vacillation of form where series take on the attribute of seriality in order to facilitate greater narrative complexity has become more common in recent decades. Stargate: SG-1 (1997-2007) achieved a successful balance in this regard and serves as a salient example of the historical changes that have happened within television fiction. This article analyses the narrative composition of SG-1 in relation to discourses concerning serialisation and complexity in television fiction. Since its formative first season SG-1 demonstrated a balancing of episodic and serialized narrative demands. These features extend over the series’ ten seasons producing a complex narrative with highly developed characters and an expansive fictional universe.
Australasian Journal of Popular Culture 2, no.2 (2013): 239-51
Science Fiction (SF) articulates many of the central issues faced in culture and society and none... more Science Fiction (SF) articulates many of the central issues faced in culture and society and none greater than the role, capacities and implications of scientific knowledge. As a genre it displays a heightened capacity to engage in philosophical debates giving salient insights. Contemporary scientific knowledge or ‘mainstream science’ provides the critical grounding on which the extraordinary worlds of SF are naturalized. However, complete adherence to known facts would render SF incapable of facilitating the speculative dimensions in which it revels. To counterbalance this, marginal science is often engaged as a means to extend the known and explore new possibilities whilst maintaining a noticeable link to scientific rationality. Invader ZIM (Nicktoon Productions 2001–2003, 2006), an animated television (TV) series about an alien’s efforts to conquer Earth and the attempts of a young paranormal enthusiast to stop him, provides a way to articulate this positioning of science.
When discussed as a genre, Telefantasy may be regarded as a hybrid category because it subsumes e... more When discussed as a genre, Telefantasy may be regarded as a hybrid category because it subsumes existing labels. Although Telefantasy is a composite genre, the characteristics of its constituent elements - namely Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror - are often in conflict, requiring an appraisal of the tensions between them. This article explores the prospects of using Telefantasy as a generic classification by showing the collective presence of these
different genres within The X-Files (1993-2002). It traces the historical interaction between the three genres that make up Telefantasy through a series of examples from Edgar Allan Poe to H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), thus providing a historical grounding for generic interaction. The present article forms part of a larger project concerning the interaction of generic motifs in North American cultural history. Here, the focus of that project is directed at examining Telefantasy and the utility of composite genre to the study of television programs.
The Past from the Present, The Future from the Past: Television Explores Time Travel, edited by Sherry Ginn and Gillian Leitch (Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming)
Discourse surrounding remake television largely focuses on the outright remaking of a series or t... more Discourse surrounding remake television largely focuses on the outright remaking of a series or the adaptation of a property from another medium. In such discourse a series which is not identified as a remake or adaptation is usually labelled an original. Taking terms such as ‘original’ and ‘remake’ at face value suggests an unbalanced distribution of creative agency and overlooks the similarity of intertextual influences in both cases. An entire show need not be subject to remaking. Several originals utilise basic narrative elements such as a premise from earlier texts, thus remaking only aspects of their predecessors. This chapter analyses the concept of the remaking of a premise to illustrate the complexity of the remake phenomenon which extends beyond new and more-or-less explicit productions of older properties. It does this through the examination of a succession of originals centred on The X-Files (1993-2002).
Working with a distinguished international board, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture aims... more Working with a distinguished international board, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture aims to create a unique forum in which to analyse, chronicle, and interpret the interrelationship of science and global society through original research articles, editorials, book and new media reviews, notes, and essays. Contributions from academics, scientists, communicators, industry professionals, and practitioners with an interest in the interface of science and culture are invited. Any scholarly approaches or disciplines may be used and focus extends across contemporary and historical contexts. The Journal of Science and Popular Culture strongly reinforces interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, opening up new possibilities for inquiry across and between the humanities and sciences. Each issue will feature research articles and other relevant material including pieces of science communication/popularization, interviews, reflective essays, and creative works.
With the integral place of science in Western and global society as well as the current prolifera... more With the integral place of science in Western and global society as well as the current proliferation of science and technology on television and in films, it is more important than ever to examine what popular culture texts are telling us about science. Such analyses serve to illuminate where science features in these texts, as well as how science is viewed, digested, and discussed by the public. Studying science in popular culture is essential to understanding how scientific ideas are utilized, explored, critiqued and sometimes exploited outside of their formal contexts. The common fascination with science has also created a popular culture niche of its own, giving rise to new engagements with scientific knowledge, practices, and technologies. Proposals should be 100-250 words in length and can address any aspect of the complex interrelation of science and popular culture. Potential topics include (but are not limited to): Representations of science/scientists in television, film, art, print, and other media The cultural influence of science/influences of culture on science and scientists Use of popular culture texts (novels, films, television series, etc.) to argue for or against scientific theories such as evolution and climate change Internet culture and science Science-related cultural artefacts Scientists as celebrities/celebrity advocates of science Science communication, popularization and education Non-Western cultures and Science Intersections of science and the humanities Use of science in advertising and marketing Science fiction/science and fiction The artistic dimensions of science/science as art Critical examinations of scientifically framed popular beliefs and pseudoscience Public and popular dimensions of scientific debates Moments of conflict between scientific discoveries/knowledge/work and culture
With its first issue set to appear in 2017 and ongoing biannual publication beginning in 2018, th... more With its first issue set to appear in 2017 and ongoing biannual publication beginning in 2018, the Journal of Science and Popular Culture is now seeking submissions. Full article manuscripts of 6,000-8,000 words (inclusive of notes, references and other material) or shorter proposals can be submitted directly to editors, Steven Gil and Bill Lott. Accepted submissions will be double blind peer-reviewed and must meet Intellect Style Guidelines. Suggestions for ancillary material are also welcome. If you have something you would like us to review or a review that you would like to write, please send your inquiry to the editors.
Call for Papers: Science Area of PopCAANZ
Papers, panels, and round tables are now invited for t... more Call for Papers: Science Area of PopCAANZ
Papers, panels, and round tables are now invited for the Science Area of the Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) 7th Annual Conference being held at Sydney University Village in Sydney, Australia from 29 June - 1 July, 2016.
Proposals must include a 150 word abstract and 100 word bio, and can address any aspect of the complex interrelationship of science, culture and society, including (but not limited to):
• Representations of science/scientists in television, film, art, print, and other media • Use of science in popular culture • The cultural influence of science • Influences of culture on science and scientists • The social impact of science/social impacts on science • Science fiction • Internet culture and science • Science-related cultural artefacts • Scientists as celebrities/celebrity advocates of science • Science communication, popularisation and education • Non-Western cultures and Science • Translations of science into the public domain • Molecular gastronomy and other food science • Intersections of science and the humanities • Use of science in advertising and marketing • The artistic dimensions of science/science as art • Public understandings of science • Science and the paranormal/pseudoscience • Public and popular dimensions of scientific debates • History and philosophy of science • Moments of conflict between scientific discoveries/knowledge/work and cultural beliefs
PopCAANZ will publish double-blind peer reviewed Conference Proceedings online following the conference, and presenters will be invited to submit suitable articles to our new journal, The Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture (Penn State University Press) from June 2016. Papers from the Science Area will also be eligible for consideration for inclusion in the upcoming, Journal of Science and Popular Culture (Intellect).
Deadline for abstracts: March 1, 2015
The Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zeala... more Deadline for abstracts: March 1, 2015
The Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) is devoted to the scholarly understanding of everyday cultures. It is concerned with the study of the social practices and the cultural meanings that are produced and are circulated through the processes and practices of everyday life. As a product of consumption, an intellectual object of inquiry, and as an integral component of the dynamic forces that shape societies.
If you have relevant material please refer to the Journal of Science and Popular Culture CFP. Thi... more If you have relevant material please refer to the Journal of Science and Popular Culture CFP. This special issue is now closed adn will no longer appear in JPTV.
Contributions are now invited for a special issue of the Journal of Popular Television which seeks to analyse the presence, representation, and role of science in television.
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different genres within The X-Files (1993-2002). It traces the historical interaction between the three genres that make up Telefantasy through a series of examples from Edgar Allan Poe to H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), thus providing a historical grounding for generic interaction. The present article forms part of a larger project concerning the interaction of generic motifs in North American cultural history. Here, the focus of that project is directed at examining Telefantasy and the utility of composite genre to the study of television programs.
different genres within The X-Files (1993-2002). It traces the historical interaction between the three genres that make up Telefantasy through a series of examples from Edgar Allan Poe to H.P. Lovecraft and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), thus providing a historical grounding for generic interaction. The present article forms part of a larger project concerning the interaction of generic motifs in North American cultural history. Here, the focus of that project is directed at examining Telefantasy and the utility of composite genre to the study of television programs.
Papers, panels, and round tables are now invited for the Science Area of the Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) 7th Annual Conference being held at Sydney University Village in Sydney, Australia from 29 June - 1 July, 2016.
Proposals must include a 150 word abstract and 100 word bio, and can address any aspect of the complex interrelationship of science, culture and society, including (but not limited to):
• Representations of science/scientists in television, film, art, print, and other media
• Use of science in popular culture
• The cultural influence of science
• Influences of culture on science and scientists
• The social impact of science/social impacts on science
• Science fiction
• Internet culture and science
• Science-related cultural artefacts
• Scientists as celebrities/celebrity advocates of science
• Science communication, popularisation and education
• Non-Western cultures and Science
• Translations of science into the public domain
• Molecular gastronomy and other food science
• Intersections of science and the humanities
• Use of science in advertising and marketing
• The artistic dimensions of science/science as art
• Public understandings of science
• Science and the paranormal/pseudoscience
• Public and popular dimensions of scientific debates
• History and philosophy of science
• Moments of conflict between scientific discoveries/knowledge/work and cultural beliefs
The deadline for proposals is 1 March 2016
Submissions and inquiries can be sent to Steven Gil:
science@popcaanz.com
PopCAANZ will publish double-blind peer reviewed Conference Proceedings online following the conference, and presenters will be invited to submit suitable articles to our new journal, The Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture (Penn State University Press) from June 2016. Papers from the Science Area will also be eligible for consideration for inclusion in the upcoming, Journal of Science and Popular Culture (Intellect).
The Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand (PopCAANZ) is devoted to the scholarly understanding of everyday cultures. It is concerned with the study of the social practices and the cultural meanings that are produced and are circulated through the processes and practices of everyday life. As a product of consumption, an intellectual object of inquiry, and as an integral component of the dynamic forces that shape societies.
Contributions are now invited for a special issue of the Journal of Popular Television which seeks to analyse the presence, representation, and role of science in television.