ENGL XR012I - Science Fiction: Major Themes & Motifs

Course Description

An introduction to science fiction from the nineteenth century to the present examining the influence of other literary forms, including:

• utopian
• folklore
• medieval

You will also discuss scientific, historical, social, political, and religious trends on the genre.

Learner Outcomes

• Introduce science fiction as a genre and discuss who gets to persist into the future and who decides.
• Discuss how systems of power create narratives about what is possible.
• Discuss narratives about the future that may delimit our imagination in the classroom, the laboratory, and in government chambers.
• Discuss how queer people, people of color, and disabled people write themselves into narratives about the future that traditionally they have been left out of.
• Analyze the rich history of science fiction written by marginalized authors that insists on a future in which we are central to its construction rather than an afterthought.