Speculative Fiction

Most frequently, “speculative fiction” is a synonym for science fiction. Since its genesis as an adventure narrative, science fiction has alwaysspeculatedabout what isbeyond –from across the sea, space, and time – based on contemporaneous worldviews and technologies. Historically situated, like other incarnations of science fiction, “speculative fiction” was coined in 1948 by Robert Heinlein and represents the concerns of the increasingly fragmented world of high technology evident after World War II. Speculative fiction often poses a “What if?” question that challenges assumptions of empirical experience or reality. Speculative fiction includes all of the characteristics of science fiction, but often has a broader scope, including alternate histories, magic realism, contemporary fantasy, and so on. As part of its more inclusive purview, speculative fiction also breaks with the traditional concerns of a white, male‐dominated readership and authorship to include marginalized voices and concerns like those of differing class, race, gender, and sexuality.