Cambridge University Science Fiction Society
The Cambridge University Science Fiction Society (CUSFS) is a society at the University of Cambridge for discussing science fiction and fantasy literature.[1] It was founded in 1963. Its most popularly visible effects beyond the University have probably been in running a "Science Fiction Looney" candidate for parliament in the 1976 Cambridge by-election,[2] starting the trend for joke candidacies under the "Loony" name, and in creating "The Game", a mental game where the objective is to avoid thinking about the game itself.[3] The society also owns one of the largest dedicated science fiction and fantasy borrowing libraries in the UK, at over five thousand books.[4]
Since 1974, CUSFS has published its magazine TTBA (for the first two years of its existence standing for Title To Be Announced, and since then for a succession of humourous or topical backronyms) containing reviews and short fiction, including work by several writers,[5] who went on to achieve note in the field, including the fiction writers Alison Spedding, Guy T. Marland[6] and Julian Todd, the RPG author Phil Masters and the film reviewer Nick Lowe.
The fantasy side of the society uses Norse-derived terminology showing influences from (or, more likely, paying homage to) the Victorian fad[7] for Viking-themed clubs and the like. The Victorians' fascination with the Vikings was one of the factors contributing to the creation of the University's unique ASNAC faculty, and it seems plausible that some past ASNAC with an interest in fantasy literature thought that the adoption of such titles as 'reeve', 'geldjarl' and 'jómsvíkingar' (the last a reference to the Jómsvíkinga saga, a cornerstone of both the Victorians' fashion and the literary study of the Old North[8]) would add an appropriate touch of Icelandic flavour.
Other past members have included Alexander Guttenplan, who is a former Chairbeing of the society,[9] and the Fantasy author Steph Swainston.
The society's President is Stephen Hawking.
References[edit]
- ↑ "About ¤ CUSFS". cusfs.soc.srcf.net. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ "14 strange sci-fi candidates who campaigned in REAL elections". SyfyWire. 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ Stryker, Cole (2011-09-01). Epic Win for Anonymous: How 4chan's Army Conquered the Web. The Overlook Press. ISBN 9781590207383. Search this book on
- ↑ "Library ¤ CUSFS Library". cusfs.soc.srcf.net. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ "TTBA: complete index of contents". cusfs.soc.srcf.net. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ "This Took Bloody Ages". www.guytmartland.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
- ↑ Andrew Wawn, The Vikings and the Victorians: Inventing the Old North in 19th-Century Britain (Boydell & Brewer, 2000), p8
- ↑ Wawn (2000), p181
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/your-starter-for-10where-is-the-student-who-taught-politicians-how-to-handle-paxman-1934725.html
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