The Sword and Laser discussion

I'm writing an essay for my anthropology class and I thought it would be great to write about anthropology as envisioned in science-fiction.

I'm looking for books about, or featuring "space anthropologists". They don't have to run a science research (but it would be the best), they can just accidentally happen to be on a planet among the alien population and they autonomously start to run a research and observations how their cultures differ. And how the observer treats aliens from the beginning (do they consider them as less intelligent, more like animals, or maybe they have a feeling that apart from differences we all have the same aims in life? ). I would like to focus on observers' attitude towards alien populations.

So, do you know any books that would be good to write an essay like that?

Look for Author Julie Czerneda and her Species Imperative series that starts with Survival.

In Jack McDevitt's The Academy series, scientists examine old alien artifacts, but don't necessarily meet the aliens.

How humans treat aliens is pretty much the whole point of Little Fuzzy (both versions, read both to also get a feeling as to how attitudes have changed in the last 50 years).

Second Little Fuzzy, and also the classic The Mote in God's Eye, since there are people TRAINED for first contact situations and they have 1-2 anthropologists on board.

The first Revelation Space book ( Revelation Space ) follows an archaeologist as he works to uncover the remains of a dead alien species. Lots of discussion of how the species developed and formed its mythology and society.

Doh. I red both of those.

Try the Diving into the Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch series. Book 3 just came out.

A young adult that examines some of those questions is Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Engdahl, where representatives of three civilisations at different developmental stages encounter each other. It's sort of an examination of the evolution of the Prime Directive.

I'd also recommend Octavia Butler, in this context particularly the Lilith's Brood series.

You could try the books that take place after Ender's Game, not the newer Shadow books but Speaker for the Dead and it's sequels. Where Ender tries to make humans understand aliens and prevent a war like the one he fought in.

A Woman of the Iron People- Fantastic book. "Lixia and the members of her human crew are determined not to disturb the life on the planet circling the Star Sigma Draconis which they have begun exploring. But the factions on the mother ship hovering above the planet may create an unintended chaos for both the life on the planet and the humans exploring it. As the anger increases on the ship, the ground crew becomes more and more affected by the conflict and begins to rely on their instincts to keep the project moving forward. Unexpected danger plagues the mission as Lixia is determined to expand her knowledge."

The Left Hand of Darkness. A classic.
"A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can change their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction."

Emile and the Dutchman
This is a collection of short stories of the "Thousand Worlds Contact Service" based on a small team of first contact specialists. Very good reading.

I would absolutely second the "Ender" series of sequels to "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card. Lord, that's all they talk about.

Another one that came to mind was "Sundiver." The whole concept of that book (series) is that species have to "uplift" lower species to sentience in order to join the greater collection of known species in the Universe. This results almost in a caste system because each species becomes linked to the one who "uplifted" it. The more other species one species has "uplifted," the more prestige they acquire. This particular book focuses on a mission to Sol to establish contact with a new species living in the sun. There's all kinds of politics going on because humanity qualified to be part of the greater collective without having been uplifted by any other species. As a result, humanity developed technology and concepts completely radical from the "known" universe. I haven't read any other books in the series.

There's also James Hogan's series around the Giants of Ganymede/Minera. It will take you a while to get to the part that you're interested in - maybe the second or third book. The first book is more forensics based ("Inherit the Stars"). But "Gentle Giants of Ganymede" and "Giant's Star" delve more into what you're talking about.

One that ticked me off because it was so poorly written from that point of view (so, a BAD example) is "Time's Last Gift" by Philip Jose Farmer. Scientists from the future travel back in time to earth's past and get all involved with historic man instead of just observing him.

I've always been fascinated by Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series for this very reason. The premise is that an undisclosed alien race brings back to life humans from all parts of time and location. They live on a huge planet, near a river that snakes the planet. The hero of the story is determined to figure out what is going on. Along the way, a few rebel aliens contact the hero to help him on his journey to find answers. The first in the series is called "To Your Scattered Bodies Go." I just think it's fascinating to see which historical figures rise to the top when ALL of humanity is alive at one time.

Also, I found this link for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropo...

And if you want to look at how differently science ficton itself has changed in dealing with these issues, take a look at the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It's little more than a pulp western set on Mars. But since I read it basically 100 years after it was published, I thought the way his hero approached aliens and their culture was an interesting contrast to the way a similar book would be written today. I've only read the first book in the series. I think there may be additional aliens that show up later who manipulate the other alien species.