Alien Plots: Female Subjectivity and the Divine in the Light of James Tiptree’s ‘A Momentary Taste of Being

At the heart of this study is a science fiction story by James Tiptree Jr (Alice Sheldon-Bradley, 1916-1987) about a brother and sister (and 58 other human beings) who encouter an alien while on a starship travelling to discover a habitable planet. The study also includs an outline of Tiptree’s work, and her life as the only child of jungle explorers. The author argues in favour of a framework of interdisciplinari ty of literary, theological and cultural theory, converging on the question of how women’s writing, particularly in science fiction, can be a source and site for women’s studies in theology. The interpretation of A Momentary Taste of Being is central, using the method of a critical dialogue between literary text and theory.