Science Fiction Language in Action

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A01=Jennifer Kelso Farrell
Author_Jennifer Kelso Farrell
Category=DSBH
Category=DSK
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
fictional language
Golden Age of Science Fiction
L. Ron Hubbard
language and reality
Scientology
the subjunctive

Product details

  • ISBN 9781666949971
  • Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
  • Publication Date: 13 Nov 2025
  • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Publication City/Country: US
  • Product Form: Hardback
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In this book, Jennifer Kelso Farrell investigates the way in which L. Ron Hubbard used his background in science fiction to create a language for his religion that served to gatekeep outsiders out and insulate insiders.
Examining the works of science fiction authors such as George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Anthony Burgess, and Samuel Delany, Farrell explores the relationship between language and reality and the role language can play in reprogramming individuals. The author also draws upon high profile biographies from former members such as Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology and My Billion Year Contract to display how indoctrination into such language often causes a language barrier between those within Scientology and those outside of it, thus further isolating members and perpetuating Scientologese within their inner circle. Bridging the gap between fiction and reality, Farrell illustrates how this language came to be, and how it continues to persist today.

Jennifer Kelso Farrell is Professor at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.

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