2020-2021 Academic Catalog

Nov 23, 2024

2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 115 - Speculative Fiction

Speculative fiction (more popularly known as science fiction) entertains the “what if” and presents alternative conceptions of history, society, and identity. Committed to exploring the possibilities and limitations of the alternative and the different, these works interrogate established boundaries of identities and provide critical perspectives on prevailing beliefs and ideologies. The course moves chronologically through works that fall loosely under the speculative fiction subgenres of fantasy/horror, alternative histories, future dystopias, and political allegories. We will also devote some attention to formal analysis, specifically the ways in which speculative fiction narratives experiment with and break from traditional literary conventions to offer new ways of perceiving, constructing, and deconstructing our social realities. Authors include Mary Shelley, H. P. Lovecraft, H.G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, Philip K. Dick, Ursula Le Guin, Octavia E. Butler, William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Ted Chiang. Fulfills the Verbal Expression (VE) requirement. You must be placed at the Verbal Expression level to be admitted into this seminar.

Prerequisites: VE Placement Required

Course Designation/Attribute: VE

Anticipated Terms Offered: Periodically