Course Description
Imagining the future is one of the most consequential things we do as human beings, affecting both how we understand the past and how we act in the present. This course focuses on how science fiction has both reflected and facilitated the historical change from the early modern to the present.
Athena Title
History of Sci-Fi
Pre or Corequisite
One course in HIST or ENGL or CMLT or BIOL or ASTR or PHYS or INTL
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
- By the end of this course, students will be able to arrive at conclusions about science fiction by gathering and weighing evidence, logical argument, and listening to counter argument.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to write stylistically appropriate papers and essays about science fiction. Students will be able to analyze ideas and evidence, organize their thoughts, and revise and edit their finished essays.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to identify how the history of science fiction shaped diverse social and cultural attitudes toward science, politics, media, technological change, and cultural anxiety over modernity, encouraging them to understand diverse worldviews and experiences.
- By the end of this course, students will be able to apply appropriate methodological approaches to their analysis of primary sources in science fiction history and to organize their evidence to show historical continuities and discontinuities.
Topical Outline
- The history of sci-fi and the "Imaginary Journey"
- The history of sci-fi and media
- The history of sci-fi and political satire
- The history of sci-fi and technological change
- The history of sci-fi and cultural anxiety
