Alumnus, Associate Provost Collaborate on Science Fiction Book
Work shows the genre’s connection to political philosophy and its range in culture
Sacred Heart University alumnus Timothy McCranor ’05 has published his first book, Science Fiction and Political Philosophy: From Bacon to Black Mirror, co-edited with SHU’s associate provost, Steven Michels.
Since earning his political science degree at SHU, McCranor has kept in touch with Michels and collaborated on two of Michels’ books. The duo also co-wrote a chapter on Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist for Short Stories and Political Philosophy, which Lexington Books published last year.
As McCranor and Michels finished their piece on Kafka’s short story in 2017, they began to entertain the idea of collaborating on a longer project. Michels said he had been “kicking around” the idea of doing a volume on science fiction and political philosophy, and McCranor suggested they work on the project together. Michels sent an email to his editor regarding the idea, received immediate encouragement, and the writers began drafting a proposal.
The volume’s 11 chapters each focus on the relevance of science fiction to political thought and the range of science fiction in culture. Each chapter features a famous work such as William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Aldous Huxley’s A Brave New World and Kazu Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. Other chapters have been allocated to television shows such as Star Trek and Black Mirror.
Throughout the process, McCranor and Michels built a relationship as friends and partners, rather than student and teacher. “I only knew Tim two to three years as a student, and he’s been out of school for so long that my memory of him as an undergraduate student is limited,” Michels said. “He's more of a friend and partner than anything. And I’m sure over the course of our working together, I’ve learned far more from him than he has ever learned from me.”
For his part, McCranor, whose mother, Maggie, retired from the University after working as an administrative assistant, is thankful for his time at Sacred Heart, especially for his relationship with Michels. “He’s been an incredible mentor and friend to me,” McCranor said.
McCranor’s keen eye for “seeing the weak points of an argument,” as Michels puts it, added greatly to the book’s quality. He also wrote its introduction. In addition to the editing, Michels contributed two chapters, co-written with other contributors.
Because McCranor, a graduate student in political science at Boston College, lives in Boston, the bulk of their work took place virtually through Dropbox and Evernote. The two only met about a half-dozen times in person, often at SHU’s campus on weekends.
After years of hard work, their book is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.