Literature and The Science
Times
Monday 2 pm - 3 pm, Wednesday 2 pm - 4 pm
Instructor Information
T. Dancer
Course Description
Appropriate for non-humanities students. Like science fiction? Argue with your friends about the depiction of future and fictional worlds? Want to learn how to talk with more sophistication about what you like and dislike about art, fiction, and film? Ever wonder what science fiction novels, stories, and movies tell us about ourselves, our future as a species, the trajectory of technology? Then this class is for you. This class aims to develop a critical appreciation of popular science fiction, popular culture, and film from the perspective of literary analysis. Central to critical appreciation is the recognition of literature as carefully crafted art form, which basically means coming up with a cogent account of:
- What a piece of literature means;
- What it is trying to to to/for the audience;
- What technical, verbal, and structural choices the author has made and how they contribute to the overall experience of reading;
- And so on...
This course introduces students, without the background in literary analysis, to the writing basics of analysis, interpretation, and the study of literature. It is a course that emphasizes the development of reading, thinking, and communication skills.
Required Readings
- The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin
- Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer
- Stories by Ursula Le Guin, Geoffrey Landis, Cixin Liu
- Movies: Rogue One, Mad Max: Fury Road
- Television episodes from Futurama and Doctor Who
First Three Authors/Texts:
- Liu
- Le Guin
- Landis
Methods of Evaluation
- Quizzes (22%)
- Reading Journal (25%)
- Written Analysis (20%)
- Final Exam (33%)