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Alan Neil Shapiro (born April 23, 1956 in Brooklyn, New York) is a software developer, computer scientist, and author and translator in the field of contemporary cultural phenomena.

Alan's most important early experience was the 4 years that he spent as a pupil at the Sands Point Academy on the North Shore of Nassau County, near the cliffs and beaches of Long Island Sound. The Sands Point school for gifted children, founded by Marie L. Fetsch with Benjamin Fine as headmaster, was a first taste of utopia and harmony.

As an undergraduate, he studied mathematics/science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and government, history, literature at Cornell University. He also has an M.A./A.B.D. in sociology from New York University.

Originally from New York City, Shapiro has worked in several European countries. Since 1991 he has been living in Germany. His academic career includes work as a lecturer at New York University, and lectures at the University of Erlangen, the University of Limerick, the Humboldt University of Berlin (Institute for Media Studies), the University of Oldenburg (American Studies Dept.), and at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie in Karslruhe.

Shapiro's major work to date is his book Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance (2004).

His second book is entitled Betting on Longshots. The nearly finished manuscript is currently being read by two editors at the AVINUS Press.

Betting on Longshots consists of four chapters. Each chapter consists of 7 essays and/or stories.

Chapter 1: Stories of New York, USA and Venice, Italy; Sports and Gambling; American Slang

Chapter 2: Science Fiction Film and TV

Chapter 3: Towards a New Sociology (in honour of Jean Baudrillard)

Chapter 4: Towards a New Computer Science (in honour of Jacques Derrida)

In his lengthy review-essay of Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance in Science Fiction Studies, coeditor Istvan Csicsery-Ronay, Jr. remarks:

Shapiro’s study of Star Trek is one of the most original works of sf-theory since Scott Bukatman’s Terminal Identity (1993).[1]

In his book The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction, Csicsery-Ronay, Jr. devotes a section called 'Star Trek Science' to Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance.[2]

In his review in the International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, Karim Remtulla writes:

'Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance' represents a complex and quintessentially postmodern analysis of the technologies of Star Trek and their socio-cultural significance... The crux of Shapiro’s argument comes about largely through a discourse of 'disappearance' between Jean Baudrillard’s notion of 'simulacra' as it signifies the machinations of Star Trek’s culture industry and Paul Virilio’s notion of 'accident' as it problematizes Star Trek’s technologies... Shapiro’s close examination of the technologies in Star Trek is unabashedly extensive... Shapiro viscerally immerses himself in technology, anticipates and participates actively in its inception and evolution, and witnesses its nascent creativity and potential uncertainty and reversibility. When it comes to technology, his outlook is innately that of an 'insider’s', and, from 'the inside out'.[3]

In his review at the Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies, Radim Hladik writes::

When Alan N. Shapiro embarked on writing 'Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance', he was endowed with a threefold qualification as the author. Firstly, he has the competence of a humanities scholar; secondly, he is educated in natural and computer sciences (with years of experience as a software engineer); finally, he is a professed fan of Star Trek... Shapiro's personal love for Star Trek is truly crucial for his endeavor, for it enables him not only to produce an exhaustive and meticulous analysis, but it also prepares him for full immersion into the hyper-reality of Star Trek... The stimulating tension between the 'stories themselves' and the 'culture industry' is illuminated... This object-oriented approach is the foundation of the study's formidable strength... In activating the creative potential of Star Trek, Shapiro draws on Jean Baudrillard's concepts, such as hyper-reality, simulation, or seduction. Although not every reader may be a partisan of all implications of Baudrillardian thought, one has to admit that the ingenuity with which Shapiro employs this conceptual apparatus and applies it to the object of his inquiry makes a strong case in its favor.[4]

In his review at NoemaLab.com, the founder of Noema, Pier Lugi Capucci, writes:

The book considers in great depth an impressive collection of Star Trek episodes, both televisual and cinematic, grouping them into eleven thematic chapters. It is structured in multiple layers to which different typographies correspond. The episodes are retold and described, establishing the context to initiate a vast array of reflections, principles, anecdotes and references, ranging from philosophy to physics, from sociology to history, from technology to communication. This prolific feat of writing contributes to placing the Star Trek phenomenon in the framework of the culture of the last thirty years.[5]

A negative and critical view of Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance was expressed by Adam Sanitt in his review in The Pantaneto Forum:

Any discussion... must start with the obscure typography that makes the book an exhausting read. The text is buried beneath a blizzard of inappropriate punctuation. Quotation marks used for emphasis - scare-quotes - disfigure every page, practically every sentence. Bold typeface is used in the same overwhelming quantities with the same perverse result. These devices obscure meaning rather than reveal it. As if this were not enough, the author feels the need to pepper the text with obscure, gnomic sentiments. These are normally a substitute for real insight which is a pity, because in fact the real insights are there... (The book) stands in a peculiar relationship to its subject matter. It is, clearly, a book about Star Trek. It is, consequently, a part of the industry it is criticising. It is, furthermore, effectively a plea for fewer books about Star Trek.[6]

In an essay in The Yearbook of English Studies, published by the Modern Humanities Research Association, Mark Bould makes extensive reference to the philosophy of language and cybernetics developed in Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance.[7]

In The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction, Technologies of Disappearance is cited and discussed in the chapter on Language and Linguistics, and in the chapter on Empire.[8]

A 6-page interview with Shapiro on Star Trek and the philosophy of technology appeared in the philosophy journal Anthropos in 2005. The interview was conducted by Miroslav Marcelli, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bratislava.'[9]

Shapiro was interviewed for one hour about Star Trek technologies on the Gerry Ryan radio show (Ireland's most popular FM radio programme). He has been interviewed 5 times on Irish radio, talking about Star Trek, Lost, or cybernetic epistemology.[10]

As a consultant, Shapiro has been employed directly by Volkswagen (brainstorming the "car of the future"), Internationale Projekt Consult (IPC), Hannover EXPO, KomTech Institut für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung, Rhea Systems, Daghdha Dance Company, Iconstorm, and Lohmeyer-Zink.

As a freelancer, Shapiro has worked for CARMEQ, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bahn, ID-Media, HALM Elektronik, ABB-Dacom, Swisscom, Ascom, Hachette, and Bertelsmann.

On May 7, 2009, Shapiro gave a lecture in Berlin, sponsored by A MAZE and the Computerspiele Museum, on "The Future of Software".

On June 5, 2009, Shapiro gave a lecture in Berlin, at the Media Studies Institute of the Humboldt University, on "Jean Baudrillard and Science".

Major Publications


Selected Translations

References

  1. ^ Csicsery-Ronay, Istvan, Jr., "Escaping Star Trek", Science Fiction Studies 32:3 (November 2005) 503-511.
  2. ^ Csicsery-Ronay, Istvan, Jr., The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction (Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2008), 136-138.
  3. ^ Remtulla, Karim, "Where few have gone before...", International Journal of Baudrillard Studies 2:2 (July 2005).
  4. ^ Hladik, Radim, "Review of Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance", Resource Center for Cyberculture Studies (October 2006).
  5. ^ Capucci, Pier Luigi, "Review of Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance", NoemaLab (2004).
  6. ^ Sanitt, Adam, "Review of Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance", Pantaneto Forum (April 2005).
  7. ^ Bould, Mark, "On the boundary between oneself and the other: aliens and language in the films AVP, Dark City, The Brother from Another Planet, and Possible Worlds", The Yearbook of English Studies (July 2007).
  8. ^ Mark Bould, Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint, eds., The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction (Routledge Literature Companions) (New York: Routledge, 2009), 228-234 passim, 370-372.
  9. ^ Miroslav Marcelli interviews Alan N. Shapiro, Anthropos (ISSN 136-5541, 2005). 74-80.
  10. ^ Ryan, Gerry, "The Gerry Ryan Show Most Requested Interviews".


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