North American College Courses in Science Fiction, Utopian Literature, and Fantasy
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DePauw University Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University Modern Languages Faculty publications Modern Languages 1996 North American College Courses in Science Fiction, Utopian Literature, and Fantasy Arthur B. Evans DePauw University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.depauw.edu/mlang_facpubs Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons Recommended Citation Arthur B. Evans. "North American College Courses in Science Fiction, Utopian Literature, and Fantasy." Science Fiction Studies (1996) pp. 437-528 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Modern Languages at Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Modern Languages Faculty publications by an authorized administrator of Scholarly and Creative Work from DePauw University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COLLEGE COURSES IN SCIENCE FICTION 437 North American College Courses in Science Fiction, Utopian Literature, and Fantasy Compiled by Arthur B. Evans and R.D. Mullen Although a few have been slightly edited to save space and facilitate paging (“science fiction” has frequently been reduced to “sf”), the responses to our questionnaire are for the most part printed verbatim, which accounts for the differences in implied reader and tone. Most of the course descriptions were originally printed in the college’s general catalogue or in the instructor’s syllabus. In some cases the course is a general course in which some sf, utopian, or fantasy texts are used. The listing is alphabetical by state or province, except that entries received too late for proper placement appear at the end of the list. Alabama. University of South Alabama, Mobile 1. EH 201. Science Fiction. Analyses of short stories, viewed from the postmodern perspective. TEXTS: Anthologies of short stories, currently The Norton Book of Science Fiction.—Thomas A. Brennan, English Dept., Univ. of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 36688. Alabama. Troy State University, Troy 2. English 326. Science Fiction. Explores the literary, social, and genre importance of science fiction in the twentieth century. COURSE OBJECTIVES: 1. to appeciate the method and artistry of the works studied, 2. to develop an understanding of the nature of speculative fiction, 3. to enable students to analyze theme and method in literature, 4. to develop skills in original research, 5. to develop skill at presenting ideas in class discussions, oral reports, and written papers. COURSE CONTENT: 1. historical overview of the development of science fiction, 2. definitions of key terms and techniques, 3. in each work, primary focus on theme, with attention to narrative structure and characterization, 4. understanding the various trends developing in the genre, 5. discussion of the role of science and technology in modern life, as reflected in the works. TEXTS: Dick, Ubik, Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness, Lem, Solaris, Shippey, ed. The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories.—Jim Davis, English Dept., Troy State Univ., Troy, AL 36082. Alaska. University of Alaska, Fairbanks 3. English 111. Freshman English. In one segment of the semester, we examined Fredric Brown’s “Arena” and compared it to the 1960’s Star Trek version of the story. Not only were visual similarities and differences discussed but also we surmised possible sociopolitical reasons for these changes.—Todd Sformo, c/o ASIC, ABE/GED Dept., PO Box 749, Barrow, AK 99723. 4. English 692. Seminar on 20th Century Fiction. Sf works used here and there in several courses. Sf TEXT in English 692: Le Guin, The Left Hand of Dark- ness.—Eric Heyne, English Dept., Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775. Alberta. University of Alberta, Edmonton 5. English 483. Studies in the Literature of Popular Culture: Sf and Postmodernism. Sf and postmodernism have been linked in various ways in recent years. Postmodern theorists have taken up Sf to show how the traditional boundaries of genre have collapsed in the fluid new culture of postmodernity. Students of the Chaos paradigm have turned to sf texts as touchstones for understanding the transformation of Western culture into a culture of chaos, while other critics of both sf and postmodernism argue that sf has become the preeminent literary form of the postmodern era, since its generic protocols and thematic systems are able to cope with 438 SCIENCE-FICTION STUDIES, VOLUME 23 (1996) the various and drastic transformations, especially in information/simulation technologies, of the postindustrial West. It has been argued that “sf has an advantage over most other disciplines in that it has had something like a theory of postmodernism ingrained in its futurism for many years,” and that “with the catastrophic failure of traditional humanistic thought, sf has rushed in with a treasury of powerful metaphors and icons capturing the reality of insecure borders: the Female Man, xenogenesis, the cyborg, the simulacrum, viral language, cyberspace, Mechs and Shapers, and many others.” In this course, we will look at various texts from the past three decades which will allow us to explore the fruitful connections between sf and postmodernism. There will be comparative analyses as well as close individual readings of specific texts. TEXTS: Banks, The Player of Games; Dick, Ubik; Fowler, Sarah Canary; Gibson, Neuromancer; Jones, White Queen; Le Guin, Fisherman of the Inland Sea; Powers, The Anubis Gates; Russ, The Female Man; Ryman, The Child Garden; Stephenson, Snow Crash; Sterling, ed, Mirrorshades; Womack, Random Acts of Senseless Violence.—Douglas Barbour, Department of English, University of Alberta, Edmonton. Canada T6G 2E5. Alberta. University of Calgary, Calgary 6. English 393. Science Fiction. This second-year “basic” sf course is taught annually by various English dept. faculty, including Susan Stone-Blackburn, R. Ramraj, Linda Howell, Janis Svilpis, et al. English 393 explores varieties of Otherness in science fiction through the 19th and 20th centuries. It investigates alien creatures, fantastic voyages, strange worlds, weird science, and extraordinary technologies. Questions about the changing social impacts of literature and science help to frame class lectures and discussions, while film viewings explore the visual realm of the science fiction imagination. TEXTS: Benford, Timescape, Shelley, Frankenstein, Wells, The Time Machine, Zamyatin, We, Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Clarke, Childhood’s End, Dick, The Man in the High Castle, Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Herbert, Dune, Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness, Warrick et al. eds., Science Fiction: The SFRA Anthology. FILMS: Metropolis, Blade Runner.—Susan Stone-Blackburn, 3323 Constable Pl. NW, Calgary, AB, CANADA T2L 0K9, (403) 220-3153, “[email protected]”. 7. English 453. Topics in Twentieth Century American Fiction: Contemporary American Science Fiction. In the 1960s, American science fiction entered a new era of critical respectability. Ursula K. Le Guin and Samuel Delany opened the doors of the academy to this popular literature. These and other writers such as Joanna Russ, Suzette Haden Elgin, Greg Bear, and Gregory Benford will be studied for their blend of science fiction conventions with literary sophistication and contemporary thought. TEXTS: Delany, Babel 17, Nova, Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, Russ, The Female Man, Benford, Timescape, Bear, Blood Music, Elgin, Native Tongue.—Stone-Blackburn. 8. English 453. Topics in Twentieth Century American Fiction: American Women’s Speculative Fiction. A study of utopian and dystopian novels that portray a spectrum of alternative societies. Texts range from fantasy to science fiction and present a variety of perspectives on gender and society. TEXTS: Gilman, Herland, Bryant, The Kin of Ata Are Waiting for You, Le Guin, The Dispossessed, Russ, The Female Man, Gearhart, The Wanderground, Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time, Slonczewski, A Door into Ocean, Tepper, The Gate to Women’s Country.—Stone- Blackburn. Alberta. Mount Royal College, Calgary 9. English 3393. Seminar in Science Fiction. A course intended to acquaint the student with a selection of major authors of science fiction and their works, with several of the major themes to be found in sf, with the history of sf, and with the interrelationship between sf as an art form and science as a mode of perceiving reality. COLLEGE COURSES IN SCIENCE FICTION 439 In particular, the course will strive 1. to acquaint the student with the precursors to modern sf, with the history and evolution of the genre, and with its contemporary manifestations, such as New Wave, Feminist, and Cyberpunk, all of this with special reference to the clash between science and religion and to attempts at their reconcilia- tion; 2. to evolve a definition of sf, including significant enough differentia that this genre can be distinguished from other similar genres, such as fantasy literature and gothic novels; 3. to examine sf as comparative literature since its formulation and influence cut across the national, cultural, and linguistic barriers that frequently circumscribe other genres; 4. to analyze the sf film and to probe its relation to the literature of science fiction; 5. to see in sf a means for bridging the gap between what C.P. Snow has called “the two cultures,” science and the humanities, inasmuch as this genre is both scientific and literary; 6. to gain a basic understanding of the sciences that form the backdrop for science fiction, such as astronomy, relativity theory,