SFE20709 English: Science Fiction: The Future as History (Autumn 2009)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Obligatory subject within the 90 study credits English Extension Course. May be taken as part of theBachelor of Arts in Society, Language and Culture. May also be taken as an elective.

Prerequisites

The one-year English program (60 ECTS credits), or equivalent knowledge of English.

Lecture Semester

English Extension Course; 3. semester (autumn),

Content

After a brief review of the historical roots of this literary form, the course focuses on the period from the classic 'Golden Age' and up to contemporary American Science Fiction (1945 to the present), also drawing on selected works of British SF authors. The course is interdisciplinary in its approach; that is, lectures and seminars will make use of selected novels, short stories, and films, as well as historical, sociological, scientific and literary texts to provide students with a foundation from which they can form a critical and independent view of the genre.

Forms of teaching and learning

Lectures, seminars and advisory sessions.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

None.

Examination

Students must complete a 2000-3000 word paper on a topic chosen in consultation with the course lecturer. The paper must be analytical and research-based with a bibliography and footnotes.  Students will sit for an oral examination based upon the submitted paper. The oral examination may adjust the final result one step up or down on the grading scale A-F.

Literature

Novels:

The Time Machine, H. G. Wells (1895)

Foundation, Isaac Asimov (1951)

The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin (1969)

A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick (1977) 

Neuromancer , William Gibson (1984)

Blood Music, Greg Bear (1985)

Short Stories:

“There Will Come Soft Rains”, Ray Bradbury (1951)   

“Flowers For Algernon”, Daniel Keyes (1959)

 “The Ballade of Lost C’mell”, Cordwainer Smith  (1962)

"Mozart in Mirrorshades", Bruce Sterling (1985)

"Evil Robot Monkey", Mary Robinette Kowal (2008)

“Story of Your Life”, Ted Chiang (1998)

Films:

Required :

2001, A Space Odyssey, 1968

Close Encounters of a Third Kind, 1977

Blade Runner, 1982

The Matrix, 1999

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004

A Scanner Darkly, 2006

Optional: To be screened:

Silent Running, 1973

Star Wars, 1977

Alien, 1979

The Terminator, 1984

The Abyss, 1989

Jurassic Park, 1993

Serenity, 2005

Theoretical and Historical Texts:

Contemporary American Science Fiction, The Age of Maturity 1970-2000, Darren Harris-Fain (2005)

Compendium selections from:

Science Fiction, Roger Luckhurst (2005)

            “From Atomjocks to Cultural Critique: American SF, 1939 – 1959,” pp. 92-120   

The History of Science Fiction, Adam Roberts (2005)

            “The Impact of New Wave Science Fiction, 1960s-1970s”, pp. 230-264  

Screening Space; The American Science Fiction Film, Vivian Sobchack (1997)

            “The Limits of the Genre: Definitions and Themes”, pp. 17-25, 55-64

In addition, an estimated 50 pages of selections will be made from the following texts dealing with specific novels, short stories, films and authors, as well as articles dealing with forms and critiques of SF:

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, (1993) eds. John Clute & Peter Nicholls

The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, (2003) eds. Edward James & Farah Mendelsohn

Anatomy of Wonder; A Critical Guide to Science Fiction, (2004) Neil Barron

A Companion to Science Fiction, ed. David Seed (2005)