This course introduces the academic study of science fiction, following the history of the genre from its beginnings in the late 1800s to the present. Though very familiar especially in its contemporary TV and film forms, science fiction has been many things over its history: a kind of prophecy, a way of envisioning alternatives to the present, a form of escapist fantasy, a meditation on technology, a challenge to the authority of science or of prestige literature. We will pay particular attention to science fiction’s changing cultural position, from its genesis in cheap American pulp-fiction magazines, to attempts to elevate it to serious literary status, to its complex position today as simultaneously a niche subculture and a blockbuster cross-media category. Students will learn how to analyze a genre both in its own terms and in terms of social and historical developments.
Detailed syllabus (pdf). This page will be updated with links to in-class materials.
Last updated: September 14, 2023.
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September 7. Introduction.
- In class: Bisson, “They’re Made Out of Meat.”
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September 11. Origins.
- Wells, “The Star.”
- Rokeya, “Sultana’s Dream.”
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September 14. Early pulps (1).
- Hamilton, “The Man Who Evolved.”
- Stone, “The Conquest of Gola.”
- Explore the scan of Wonder Stories 2, no. 11 (Pulp Magazines Project).
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September 18. Early pulps (2).
- Lovecraft, “The Colour Out of Space.”
- Suvin, “On the Poetics of the Science-Fiction Genre.”
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September 21. Early pulps (3).
- Moore, “Shambleau.”
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September 25. Asimov (1).
- Asimov, “Reason.”
- Asimov, Foundation, pts. 1–3.
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September 28. Asimov (2).
- Asimov, Foundation, complete.
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October 2. Astounding.
- Sturgeon, “Thunder and Roses.”
- Campbell, “Power” (editorial).
- Luckhurst, Science Fiction, 66–75.
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October 5. Bradbury.
- Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains.”
- Rieder, Science Fiction, 13–31.
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(October 6. Paper 1 exercise due.)
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October 9. Galaxy/F&SF.
- Knight, “To Serve Man” (Galaxy).
- Bester, “Fondly Fahrenheit" (F&SF).
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October 12. Ellison, Dick.
- Ellison, “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman.”
- Ellison, introduction to Dangerous Visions.
- Dick, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale."
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(October 13. Paper 1 due.)
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October 16. Ballard.
- Ballard, “The Cage of Sand.”
- Ballard, “Which Way to Inner Space?” and “Fictions of Every Kind.”
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October 19. Le Guin (1).
- Le Guin, Left Hand of Darkness, chaps. 1–7.
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October 23. Le Guin (2).
- Le Guin, Left Hand, chaps. 1–14.
- Le Guin, “Is Gender Necessary?”
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October 26. Le Guin (3).
- Le Guin, Left Hand, complete.
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October 30. Le Guin (4).
- Le Guin, Left Hand, continued.
- Jameson, “World Reduction in Le Guin.”
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November 2. Delany.
- Delany, “Aye, and Gomorrah…."
- Delany, “About 5,750 Words.”
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November 6. Feminism and SF.
- Russ, “When It Changed.”
- Tiptree, “And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side.”
- Khatru nos. 3–4, 17–22, 73–79.
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November 9. Lem.
- Lem, “The Seventh Voyage” (trans. Kandel).
- Lem, “How Microx and Gigant Made the Universe Expand.”
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November 13. Gibson.
- Gibson, “Burning Chrome."
- Gibson, “Time Machine Cuba.”
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November 16. Butler.
- Butler, “Speech Sounds."
- Butler, “Bloodchild.”
- Butler, “Positive Obsession.”
- Canavan, Octavia E. Butler, 76–80, 85–92.
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November 20. ST:TNG.
- “Darmok.”
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(November 21. Paper 2 due.)
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November 27. VanderMeer (1).
- VanderMeer, Annihilation, 3–67.
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November 30. VanderMeer (2).
- VanderMeer, Annihilation, 3–119.
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December 4. VanderMeer (3).
- VanderMeer, Annihilation, complete.
- Contemplate VanderMeer’s yard.
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December 7. Chiang.
- Chiang, “Exhalation."
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December 11. Course conclusion.
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December 21, 8 a.m.–11 a.m. Final exam.