The term"speculative fiction"first appeared in 1889.In the twentieth century,the term was primarily used as an alternative or differential term for science fiction,but in the twenty-first century,it has evolved into a broad literary genre that encompasses a variety of fictional narrative forms,including science fiction,fantasy,horror and utopian literature.Contemporary speculative fiction explores alternative possibilities for the historical,the present and the future human worlds in a transgressive manner,freeing itself from the ideological and expressional shackle of the Campbellian science fiction narrative mode.Speculative fiction of the twenty-first century is both a form of thought-experimental narrative that transcends the boundaries of genre and materiality,and a field of cultural politics for female,ethnic minority and third-world-country writers,giving them a space for creating alternative fantasy representations beyond the tradition of Western science fiction.Speculative fiction today is an important genre that is experimental,open and forward-looking.
speculative fictionscience fictionthought-experimentationfield of cultural politics