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Faculty and Administration
Jad Smith
Associate Professor
Office: 3605 - Coleman Hall
Phone:
Email: jdsmith3@eiu.edu
Office Hours: TR 12:15-1:45; R 10:00-11:00
Jad Smith is Associate Professor of British Literature and Cultural Studies. His interests include eighteenth-century British literature and science fiction. He teaches graduate seminars titled Enlightenment Sexualities, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama in Performance, and SF Vanguards: New Wave and Cyberpunk, as well as a wide range of undergraduate courses.
Jad Smith is Associate Professor of British Literature and Cultural Studies. His interests include eighteenth-century British literature and science fiction. He teaches graduate seminars titled Enlightenment Sexualities, Restoration and Eighteenth-Century Drama in Performance, and SF Vanguards: New Wave and Cyberpunk, as well as a wide range of undergraduate courses.
Publications
Books
John Brunner, Modern Masters of Science Fiction Series (University of Illinois Press, January 2013)
Q & A about John Brunner with the University of Illinois Press
Review and Comment
"University of Illinois Press plan forthcoming books on Gregory Benford, Alfred Bester, Ray Bradbury,
Lois McMaster Bujold, Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Greg Egan, William Gibson, Joe Haldeman,
China Miéville, and Connie Willis. If they’re as good as Jad Smith’s John Brunner I’ll be buying them
all."
- George Kelley
"John Brunner proves to be an excellent model for what later volumes in the series might look like – clearly and
accessibly written, free of theoretical or historical hobbyhorses, and meticulously researched. . . . Smith paints a
fascinating portrait of the rapidly changing world of Anglo-American SF of the 1950s through the 1980s, and of
the significant role that Brunner played as a kind of bridge between SF traditions."
- Gary K. Wolfe, Locus Magazine
"Smith’s analyses caused me to hunt out stories I have (in the yellowing and fragile pages of the Nova
magazines) in order to read them at last: fine and often ground-breaking work that really does seem to have
been all but forgotten for decades....It is to be hoped that this book succeeds in its aim of establishing John
Brunner in his rightful place as one of the truly important modern writers of fantastic fiction."
- John Howard, Wormwood 20
"Smith writes in an engaging style, unstintingly chronicling the vicissitudes of the man’s life as well asmagazines) in order to read them at last: fine and often ground-breaking work that really does seem to have
been all but forgotten for decades....It is to be hoped that this book succeeds in its aim of establishing John
Brunner in his rightful place as one of the truly important modern writers of fantastic fiction."
- John Howard, Wormwood 20
rightfully hailing his triumphs. . . . As a general conclusion, if this is the calibre of entries in this series,
then there is much to look forward to."
- Simon Marshall-Jones, The Spectral Press
"Though coming from a university press -- it forms part of the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series from the
University of Illinois Press -- this book isn't steeped in literary criticism or swamped in jargon; general readers
interested in the subject will find it perfectly accessible. . . . This book left me keen to read more Brunner, and
also to read further titles in the Modern Masters range."
- Stephen Theaker, interzone
"The comparative neglect of the late John Brunner probably derives from the fact that he does not fit
"Though coming from a university press -- it forms part of the Modern Masters of Science Fiction series from the
University of Illinois Press -- this book isn't steeped in literary criticism or swamped in jargon; general readers
interested in the subject will find it perfectly accessible. . . . This book left me keen to read more Brunner, and
also to read further titles in the Modern Masters range."
- Stephen Theaker, interzone
"The comparative neglect of the late John Brunner probably derives from the fact that he does not fit
comfortably into any of the standard models of discourse within science-fiction criticism; one of the strengths
of Jad Smith’s work is that it addresses this. . . . He also pays appropriate amounts of attention to Brunner’s
exploration of other genres – fantasy, horror, and crime – and his non-genre work."
- Roz Kaveney, Times Literary Supplement
"Ora, la bella biografia di Jad Smith, pubblicata dall’Università dell’Illinois nella collana Modern Masters of
Science Fiction, sembra destinata a restituire Brunner al posto che gli spetta nel pantheon della letteratura
fantascientifica,e promette di riaprire i dibattiti e le controversie sull’opera dell’autore."
- Il futuro è tornato
"Based on extensive research and filled with thoughtful commentary and insights, Jad Smith's book will
stand alone as the one essential resource on John Brunner, an important science fiction writer who merits
much more attention than he has so far received."
- Gary Westfahl, author of Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction
"The University of Illinois is publishing a series of monographs called Modern Masters of Science Fiction.
They've started with an excellent, and all too forgotten, one: John Brunner. Jad Smith has given him a
"Teaching Ephemera: The Eighteenth-Century Culture of Charity in the Contemporary Classroom," in
Encountering Ephemera 1500-1800: Theory and Practice, eds. Joshua B. Fisher and Rebecca
Steinberger (forthcoming 2013)
"Disequencing: Chris Kahler's New Exhibition," essay to accompany paintings, Disequencing Exhibition
Catalog, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis (April 2013)
"Charity Education and the Spectacle of 'Christian Entertainment,'" inThe Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-
Century England, eds. Linda Zionkowski and Cynthia Klekar (2009)
"Custom, Association, and the Mixed Mode: Locke's Early Theory of Cultural Reproduction," English Literary
History 73.4 (2006)
"How Fanny Comes to Know: Sensation, Sexuality, and the Epistemology of the Closet in Cleland’s Memoirs,"
The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation 44.2-3 (2003)
"Völkisch Organicism and the Use of Primitivism in Lawrence’s The Plumed Serpent," D. H. Lawrence
Review 30.3 (2002)
of Jad Smith’s work is that it addresses this. . . . He also pays appropriate amounts of attention to Brunner’s
exploration of other genres – fantasy, horror, and crime – and his non-genre work."
- Roz Kaveney, Times Literary Supplement
"Ora, la bella biografia di Jad Smith, pubblicata dall’Università dell’Illinois nella collana Modern Masters of
Science Fiction, sembra destinata a restituire Brunner al posto che gli spetta nel pantheon della letteratura
fantascientifica,e promette di riaprire i dibattiti e le controversie sull’opera dell’autore."
- Il futuro è tornato
"Based on extensive research and filled with thoughtful commentary and insights, Jad Smith's book will
stand alone as the one essential resource on John Brunner, an important science fiction writer who merits
much more attention than he has so far received."
- Gary Westfahl, author of Hugo Gernsback and the Century of Science Fiction
"Smith gives an insightful, succinct account of a tireless writer disparaged from both ends during his peak
years—the ‘60s and ‘70s—as too literary and too pulpy. Smith’s biography shows how Brunner balanced
craft and conscience in stories at once page turning and complex."
- David Luhrssen, Express Milwaukee
"Il est extrêmement agréable de rencontrer enfin un ouvrage qui propose une vision de Brunner qui sorte
des clichés habituels. Il faut remercier Jad Smith pour son analyse solidement étayée qui dépasse le cadre
habituel de la seule prise en considération des 4 romans dystopiques (Stand on Zanzibar/The jagged orbit/
The sheep look up/The shockwave rider, la "tétralogie noire", un terme inventé et circoncis à certain sites
francophones)."
years—the ‘60s and ‘70s—as too literary and too pulpy. Smith’s biography shows how Brunner balanced
craft and conscience in stories at once page turning and complex."
- David Luhrssen, Express Milwaukee
"Il est extrêmement agréable de rencontrer enfin un ouvrage qui propose une vision de Brunner qui sorte
des clichés habituels. Il faut remercier Jad Smith pour son analyse solidement étayée qui dépasse le cadre
habituel de la seule prise en considération des 4 romans dystopiques (Stand on Zanzibar/The jagged orbit/
The sheep look up/The shockwave rider, la "tétralogie noire", un terme inventé et circoncis à certain sites
francophones)."
- GHOR: Guide Hervéien des Ouvrages de Référence de Science Fiction
"The University of Illinois is publishing a series of monographs called Modern Masters of Science Fiction.
thorough and perceptive treatment. Highly recommended."
- Arthur D. Hlavaty, editor of Nice Distinctions
"If you have any interest in science fiction and have read John Brunner, then I see this as an essential
read."
- Stephen C. Ormsby, author of Long Lost Song
"I recommend this book to anyone who is an admirer of John Brunner or is a fan of science fiction history."
- The Website at the End of the Universe
Selected Articles- Arthur D. Hlavaty, editor of Nice Distinctions
"If you have any interest in science fiction and have read John Brunner, then I see this as an essential
read."
- Stephen C. Ormsby, author of Long Lost Song
"I recommend this book to anyone who is an admirer of John Brunner or is a fan of science fiction history."
- The Website at the End of the Universe
"Teaching Ephemera: The Eighteenth-Century Culture of Charity in the Contemporary Classroom," in
Encountering Ephemera 1500-1800: Theory and Practice, eds. Joshua B. Fisher and Rebecca
Steinberger (forthcoming 2013)
"Disequencing: Chris Kahler's New Exhibition," essay to accompany paintings, Disequencing Exhibition
Catalog, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis (April 2013)
"Charity Education and the Spectacle of 'Christian Entertainment,'" inThe Culture of the Gift in Eighteenth-
Century England, eds. Linda Zionkowski and Cynthia Klekar (2009)
"Custom, Association, and the Mixed Mode: Locke's Early Theory of Cultural Reproduction," English Literary
History 73.4 (2006)
"How Fanny Comes to Know: Sensation, Sexuality, and the Epistemology of the Closet in Cleland’s Memoirs,"
The Eighteenth Century: Theory and Interpretation 44.2-3 (2003)
"Völkisch Organicism and the Use of Primitivism in Lawrence’s The Plumed Serpent," D. H. Lawrence
Review 30.3 (2002)
