Course details
Name: ENGL - 378
Title: SCIENCE FICTION
Section: 01
Semester: Fall - 2019
Credits: 3
Description:
This Science Fiction course will focus on the theme of “The Posthuman” and texts that feature men creating new life through artificial means. Each unit offers the opportunity for students to compare the writing of male and female authors. The reading includes two historical examples of the genre. E. T. A. Hoffmann’s novella, “The Sandman” (1817), and Sigmund Freud’s analysis of the tale establish the concept of the uncanny or eerie doubles. In that unit, we will also read Mary Shelley’s novel, "Frankenstein" (1818), as a way to discuss male mothers. Most of the course is devoted to twentieth-century science fiction, including short fiction by Isaac Asimov, James Tiptree, Jr. (a pseudonym for Alice Sheldon), and work from two novelists: Philip K. Dick, famous for "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (1968), the basis for the film "Blade Runner" (1982), and Octavia Butler, author of the "Xenogenesis" trilogy (1987-89), of which we will read at least one part.
Last updated on 2019-03-06 By
Nielsen Wendy (nielsenw)
Schedule: Tuesday,Thursday From 11:30 am To 12:45 pm
Graduation requirements:
- Any Literature (1e)
- Genre Study (Fiction)
- Post-1900 (1d)
- Women and Gender Studies (3c)
- Class Issues (3d)
Teaching Faculty: Nielsen Wendy (nielsenw)
Is course canceled: No