Of body snatchers and cyberpunks

Abstract

The editors wish to acknowledge the financial support of the U.S. Consulate General Hamburg and the committee for the allocation of tuition fees (Studienkommission der Philosophischen Fakultät Göttingen), and the Department of Linguistics, Literature and Media Science of the University of Siegen toward the organization of the joint undergraduate conference "Of Body Snatchers and Cyberpunks: American Science Fiction Films from the 1950s to the Present" with students from both the University of Göttingen and the University of Siegen that took place in Göttingen from July 3 to July 5, 2009. Special thanks go to Daniel Stein and Rebecca Scorah for their help with the conference organization. For their valuable comments and suggestions regarding the introductory essay, we would also like to thank Carola Surkamp and Daniel Stein. We are further indebted to Prof. Eric S. Rabkin. Not only did he come all the way from Ann Arbor, Michigan (USA) to join us in Göttingen as an expert in the field of science fiction studies. He enriched the conference with his wonderful keynote lecture and his great wealth of knowledge. We are delighted that he contributed an original essay to the present volume. Needless to say, we thank all the students from Siegen and Göttingen who participated in the conference and made it a successful event. All students who eventually contributed to this volume deserve our thanks for the enthusiasm and hard work they invested in this project.