SFE20709 English: Science Fiction: The Future as History (Autumn 2012)

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: 1^st semester (autumn).

Bachelor in Society, Language and Culture: 3^rd or 5^th semester (autumn).

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

Knowledge:

This course provides students with the historical and literary context of Science Fiction (SF). It traces the connections between SF and its contemporary trends and issues. This  provides 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.

Skills:

The course shows students how SF makes use of the fields of history, literature and science to create its unique visions.

General Competence:

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 will be assessed on the basis of 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 then will sit for an oral examination (approx. 30 minutes) based upon the submitted paper and the course curriculum. An adjusted final grade for the course will then be given. Grade scale A-F.

 

Course evaluation

Feedback from students is gathered from bi-weekly logs, a mid-semester oral evaluation and a questionnaire at the end of the course.

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:

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)