ENGL - 235. Science Fiction

3 credit(s)
This course will examine the category of literature usually designated as Science Fiction, SF, or Speculative Fiction. Science Fiction, in all its forms, is essentially a literature of ideas, in which the “facts” of current reality are altered in some way to answer the question “What if?” The course will consider these questions: How is Science Fiction defined? Where does Science Fiction begin? (With Verne and Wells, with Shelley’s Frankenstein, or even earlier?) How is the literary category of Fantasy to be distinguished from Science Fiction? How do we evaluate the aesthetics of Science Fiction? Readings will include novels and short stories by authors such as H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Ursula LeGuin, Philip K. Dick, Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney, William Gibson, and others.

Attribute: ARTS, CAL, ENLR, LTTP, MINR