She and He

Ursula leGuin

Neal Stephenson

Snowcrash

Diamond Age

Cryptonomicon

Baroque Cycle

Anathem

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (1929 - 2018)

daughter of Alfred Louis Kroeber and Theodora Kroeber

spent her childhood in highly stimulating environment (community of Berkeley anthropologists)

married historian Charles le Guin in 1953, stayed with him ever since

6 Hugo Awards; 8 Nebula Awards; 25 Locus Awards; 2nd woman honored (in 2003) as a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

main topics / influences: cultural anthropology & the Golden Bough; (jungian) archetypes; (philosophical) taoism; mythology

two major cycles: Earthsea cycle (high fantasy) and Hainish cycle (soft sci-fi)

in cca 20 minutes You will be asked a question: "Is the planet on which Earthsea cycle stories unfold part of the Ekumen/Hain universe ?"

The last Ishi

Ishi (c. 1861 – March 25, 1916) was the last known member of the Native American Yahi people from the present-day state of California in the United States. The rest of the Yahi (as well as many members of their parent tribe, the Yana) were killed in the California genocide in the 19th century. Widely described as the "last wild Indian" in the United States, Ishi lived most of his life isolated from modern North American culture, and was the last known Native manufacturer of stone arrowheads.

Ishi, which means "man" in the Yana language, is an adopted name. The anthropologist Alfred Kroeber gave him this name because in the Yahi culture, tradition demanded that he not speak his own name until formally introduced by another Yahi. When asked his name, he said: "I have none, because there were no people to name me", meaning that there was no other Yahi to speak his name on his behalf.

Earthsea cycle

Ged%20on%20a%20quest%20for%20ring%20of%20Ereth-Akbe%20coincidentially%20liberates%20Tenar%20from%20the%20Tombs%20of%20Atuan.

Ged on a quest for ring of Ereth-Akbe coincidentially liberates Tenar from the Tombs of Atuan.

Collection of six "high fantasy" books taking place on the world of Earthsea : a vast archipelago of hundreds of islands surrounded by mostly uncharted ocean. In most of the cycle, it narrates

the story of Duny - Sparrowhawk - Ged (secret name!) as he matures from (arrog|ignor)ant boy into one of the wisest and most powerful magicians in the land

the story of transformation of Tenar, raised to perform rites for divinities long dead, into protectrice of Life & those oppressed.

Hainish cycle

Hainish cycle is set in a future history that features civilizations of human beings on planets orbiting a number of nearby stars, including Terra ("Earth"); these humans are contacting each other for the first time and establishing diplomatic relations, as well as setting up a confederacy under the guidance of the oldest of the human worlds, the peaceful planet Hain. In this history, human beings did not evolve on Earth, but they were instead the result of interstellar colonies planted by Hain in the distant past, after which interstellar travel ceased for an extended period.

Note: time dilation caused by NAFAL (Nearly As Fast As Light) interstellar voyages is an important factor in many stories

Ekumen

The Ekumen is a loose confederation of cca 83 human worlds in Ursula K. Le Guin’s Hainish cycle. It is not an empire but a network for communication, exchange, and mutual recognition among civilizations long separated by time and distance.

Lacking armies or central authority, the Ekumen relies on envoys, trust, and dialogue rather than force. Its guiding aim is to reconnect humanity after millennia of isolation, preserving cultural difference while enabling cooperation, shared knowledge, and slow, fragile interstellar understanding.

Archetypes: Observers & Messengers

LeGuin's most favorite archetypes are those of "Observers" / "Messengers" / "Bridge-Builders-Between-Worlds". According to their code-of-conduct, emissaries should not interfere with politics / culture of the planet they are sent to.

Their mission is to observe, take notes and make sure that valuable (anthropological) knowledge does not get lost.

But more often than not, the main hero(in)es end up involved in domestic affairs (re)-establishing communicative link between different worlds.

Left hand of Darkness (1969)

As%20(s)he%20brings%20Genly%20into%20safety%2C%20Estraven%20underwents%20multiple%20%22kemmer%22%20phases%20of%20herhis%20reproductive%20cycle.

As (s)he brings Genly into safety, Estraven underwents multiple "kemmer" phases of herhis reproductive cycle.

Hainish novel set on Gethen (Winter), where humans undergo 24-day "somer" (ambisexual) and 2-day "kemmer" (male or female; fertility and receptiveness) cycles.

Terran envoy Genly Ai tries to bring Gethen into the Ekumen. Estraven, an politician exiled from Karhide to Orgoreyn becomes Genly’s uneasy ally.

Gender as a social system—what changes when “man/woman” isn’t a permanent category?

The 80-day ice-crossing becomes the story’s moral center.

The story of loyalty (&betrayal), friendship, love and death.

The word for world is forest (1972)

Referat.

The Dispossessed (1974)

Shevek%2C%20nailing%20down%20the%20last%20equation%20leading%20to%20invention%20of%20the%20first%20Ansible.

Shevek, nailing down the last equation leading to invention of the first Ansible.

Paired worlds: Anarres (anarchist, austere) and Urras (capitalist, lush) — one origin, two social experiments.

Physicist Shevek leaves Anarres to complete a theory of time and restore true communication between worlds.

Anarres: no property, no state — but social pressure replaces law; conformity replaces freedom.

Urras: abundance and beauty, built on inequality, exploitation, and silenced labor.

Nonlinear structure: past and present interwoven, mirroring Shevek’s theory of simultaneity.

Central tension: revolution must stay unfinished—or it hardens into authority.

The Telling (2000)

We'll spend great deal of next summer-semester analyzing this book.

Questio

Is the planet on which Earthsea cycle stories unfold part of the Ekumen/Hain universe ?

🎄 merry Christmas, dear colleagues !🎄

"Hope is a slighter, tougher thing even than trust… In a good season one trusts life; in a bad season one only hopes. But they are of the same essence… Without trust, a man lives, but not a human life; without hope, he dies."

(Ursula K. Le Guin, City of Illusions)

P.S. Slava Ukrajine 🇺🇦