Carl Howard Freedman (born 1951) is an American writer, literary theorist and professor of English literature at Louisiana State University.
Freedman's most highly cited work is his 2000 book, Critical Theory and Science Fiction,[1] where he examines the analytical potential of SF.
[6] The book focuses on novels from five authors:[7] It presents the case that the above works constitute the "aesthetic and political core" of SF (per Gerlach and Hamilton).
[9][10] This has been described as a Marxist and utopian approach to SF: by placing readers in a world different from their own, it challenges them to imagine alternatives to the status quo.
[13][14] Other writers that have been the subject of Freedman's work include Robert A. Heinlein and Kim Stanley Robinson, with focus on their authorship of utopian SF.