SFE20709 English: Science Fiction: The Future as History (Autumn 2011)
Facts about the course
- ECTS Credits:
- 10
- Responsible department:
- Faculty of Business, Languages, and Social Sciences
- Course Leader:
- Robert Mikkelsen
- Teaching language:
- English
- Duration:
- ½ year
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 the Bachelor in Society, Language and Culture.
Lecture Semester
English Extension course: 1st semester (autumn).
Bachelor in Society, Language and Culture: 3rd or 5th semester (autumn).
The student's learning outcomes after completing the course
The object of this course is to provide students with the historical and literary context of Science Fiction (SF). In doing so, it will trace the connections between SF and its contemporary trends and issues. This will provide a basis for students to understand how SF may provide social and political criticism of the time in which it is written, as well as envisage future developments. This will, in turn, entail identifying how SF makes use of the fields of history, literature and science to create its unique visions. In an age in which the pace of technological change is increasing, this course will provide students with tools to evaluate and manage the impact such developments have on our societies and our individual perspectives. In all these activities, students will be encouraged to explore the rich world of SF through the choice of literature and films.
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
A written paper with oral 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. The paper will have to be assessed as a pass before the student is allowed to take the oral exam.
Students will sit for an oral examination (approx. 30 minutes) based upon the submitted paper and the course curriculum. The final grade will then be given by grade scale A-F.
Course evaluation
To improve the course, we need the evaluations from the students. The course is evaluated by the students in the middle of the semester and in the end of the semester.
Literature
Novels:
The Time Machine, H. G. Wells (1895)
Foundation, Isaac Asimov (1951)
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin (1969)
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)
'Eutopia' by Poul Anderson (1967)
'Story of Your Life', Ted Chiang (1998)
"Evil Robot Monkey", Mary Robinette Kowal (2008)
Films:
Required :
2001, A Space Odyssey, 1968
Blade Runner, 1982
The Matrix, 1999
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
A Scanner Darkly, 2006
Theoretical and Historical Texts:
Contemporary American Science Fiction, The Age of Maturity 1970-2000, Darren Harris-Fain (2005)
Compendium selections from:
Anatomy of Wonder; A Critical Guide to Science Fiction, (2004) Neil Barron
Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory, (2004, 3d) eds. Andrew Bennett & Nicholas Royle
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, (1993) eds. John Clute & Peter Nicholls
The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction, (2003) eds. Edward James & Farah Mendelsohn
Science Fiction, Roger Luckhurst (2005)
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, (2001) ed. George Mann
The History of Science Fiction, Adam Roberts (2005)
A Companion to Science Fiction, (2005) ed. David Seed