Representing female-friendly science and technology in fiction and film

摘要

I am developing a socio-historical and literary analysis concerning the continuing problem of under-representation of women in science and engineering education and professions. Fictional representations of women engaged with science and technology offer images reflecting and refracting historical and contemporary cultural values regarding those influencing and affected by the consequences of innovative technologies. This paper examines three fictional texts delineating the roles of women in technology-Lydia Maria Child's 1846 short story "Hilda Silfverling: A Fantasy", and two Hollywood movies: "IQ" (1994; directed by Fred Schepisi) and "Contact" (1997; directed by Robert Zemickis).