ENGL G147: Introduction to Science Fiction

Course Outline of Record
Item	Value
Curriculum Committee Approval Date	11/02/2021
Top Code	150300 - Comparative Literature
Units	3 Total Units
Hours	54 Total Hours (Lecture Hours 54)
Total Outside of Class Hours	0
Course Credit Status	Credit: Degree Applicable (D)
Material Fee	No
Basic Skills	Not Basic Skills (N)
Repeatable	No
Grading Policy	Standard Letter (S)
Local General Education (GE)	GWC Arts, Lit, Phil, Lang (GC)
California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC)	Cal-GETC 3B Humanities (3B)
Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)	IGETC 3B Humanities (3B)
California State University General Education Breadth (CSU GE-Breadth)	CSU C2 Humanities (C2)

Course Description

This course will critically engage with science fiction texts written by American and international authors, and they will consider the aesthetic, cultural, historical, political, religious, and social implications of these works. In addition, students will explore the ways these narratives can be better understood through a rigorous application of a variety of literary theories. Given that the course will emphasize the importance of analytical close-reading, students will complete this course having arrived at a fuller and more nuanced comprehension of the literary value of science fiction. PREREQUISITE: ENGL C1000 or ENGL C1000E. Transfer Credit: CSU; UC.

Course Level Student Learning Outcome(s)

Course Outcomes
Analyze science fiction through the use of a variety of literary theories.
Construct written critical arguments in response to science fiction that synthesize both primary and secondary texts.
Recognize vital cultural, historical, political, and social contexts which have surrounded many of the key works of science fiction.

Course Objectives

1. Interpret, analyze, and evaluate works of science fiction.
2. Discuss contributions to science fiction made by a wide variety of cultural, ethnic, religious, and gender groups from both the United States and abroad.
3. Identify the ways in which various works of science fiction have responded to certain enduring artistic, cultural, gender, political, and social matters.
4. Articulate a critical awareness of the roles that folklore, mythology, religious, and fairy tales play in specific works of science fiction.
5. Describe the evolution of science fiction from its early development through contemporary examples.
6. Produce writing in response to works of science fiction, which will take the form of in-class essays, take-home essays, and timed examinations.
7. Identify the major literary traditions in science fiction.
8. Analyze a single text from multiple approaches.

Lecture Content

Introduction to Science Fiction Components of Narrative in Science Fiction Plot Setting (Place) Character Symbolism Point of View(s) Themes (Motifs) Tone Subtext The Monomyth Archetypes Identify the dominant traits on foundational science fictions texts such as Utopia (Thomas More) Somnium (Johannes Kepler) The Man in the Moon (Francis Godwin) New Atlantis (Francis Bacon) Memoirs of the Twentieth Century (Samuel Madden) Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) The Mummy!: Or a Tale of the Twenty-Second Century (Jane C. Loudon) The Time Machine (H.G. Wells) Science Fiction and the Age of Enlightenment Historical overview Enlightenment values and philosophies Analysis of selected works displaying Enlightenment values Science Fiction in the Post-Enlightenment and Modernist Eras Historical Overview: developments in technology, industry, psychology, and science The effects of World War I and its aftermath Analysis and discussion of key Post-Enlightenment works The rise of mass market publishing The role of communal, spiritual, and technological alienation Science Fictions responses to Post-Colonialism and the Nuclear Age (otherwise known as Science Fictions “Golden Age”) Historical Overview: the end of the British Empire, the development of the nuclear bomb; the rise of fascism Approaches to Post-Colonialism and Post-Modernism Understanding the Manhattan Project, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and Orson Welles The “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast Science Fictions New Wave The Ri se of Mass Market and Small Press Publishing Discussion of the central values and qualities of the New Wave Discussion of key New Wave texts Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk Historical overview of Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk Discussion of Cyberpunks and Post-Cyberpunks key philosophical and aesthetic values Reading and analysis of key Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk texts New Directions Historical overview of Science Fiction in the present-day Discussion of key present-day texts Analysis and speculation on the possible future direction of Science Fiction as the 21st Century progresses Literary Criticism Psychoanalytic Marxist Feminist Structuralist Post-Structuralist Reader-Response Gender Studies and Queer Theory Aesthetic New Criticism New Historicism Cultural Materialism Mythological Ethnic Studies Sociological Biographical Formalist

Method(s) of Instruction

Lecture (02)
DE Live Online Lecture (02S)
DE Online Lecture (02X)

Instructional Techniques

Instructor Lectures Assigned Readings Class Discussion Powerpoint (Multimedia) Collaborative Group Work Peer-Group Writing Individual Instructor Conferences Watching Films

Reading Assignments

Science Fiction novels, short stories, poetry, and drama as well as secondary sources on the literature. Representative texts to assign: 1. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. (Philip K. Dick) (Classic)2. Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert A. Heinlein) (Classic)3. The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin) (Classic)4. Contact (Carl Sagan) (Classic)5. I Am Legend (Richard Matheson) (Classic)6. The Time Travelers Wife (Audrey Niffenegger) (Classic)7. Kindred (Octavia Butler) (Classic)8. Journey to the Center of the Earth (Jules Verne) (Classic)9. Neuromancer (William Gibson) (Classic)10. Consider Phlebas (Iain Banks) (Classic)11. Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton) (Classic)12. Metro (Dmitry Glukhosvsky) (Classic) 13. Everfair (Nisi Shaw) 14. Snowcrash (Neal Stephenson) (Classic)15. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury) (Classic)16. Guerra Justa (Carlos Orsi) (Classic)17. Paraiso Liquido (Luiz Bras) (Classic)18. Lovestar (Andri Magnason) (Classic)19. The Blazing World (Margaret Cavendish) (Classic)20. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley) (Classic)21. Foundation (Isaac Asimov) (Classic)22. Solaris (Stanislaw Lem) (Classic)23. Dune (Frank Herbert) (Classic)24. Ice (Anna Kavan) (Classic)25. Oryx and Crake (Margaret Atwood) (Classic)26. The Queue (Basma Abdel Aziz) (Classic)27. Rosewater (Tade Thompson)

Writing Assignments

Students will submit a minimum of 4,000 words of evaluated writing, which includes essays, exams, and other writing assignments. Writing assignments are assessed for critical thinking, conceptual understanding, structure, style, and mechanics. These assignments will emphasize close reading and textual explication to develop and support original interpretations of literary works. Additional assignments may include reading responses, quizzes, oral reports, small research projects, presentations, and annotated bibliographies.

Out-of-class Assignments

Writing assignments that have students evaluate, interpret and analyze texts. Close reading and textual explication to develop and support original interpretations of literary works.

Demonstration of Critical Thinking

Writing assignments, quizzes, exams that demonstrate application and analysis of course content. Discussions of the works and ideas related to them.

Required Writing, Problem Solving, Skills Demonstration

Write a minimum of four thousand words of evaluated writing: the other writings may be in the form of tests requiring primarily short and/or long essay responses, journal writings, creative modeling of the literature, or other types of writings that demonstrate an understanding of the literature.

Eligible Disciplines

English: Masters degree in English, literature, comparative literature, or composition OR bachelors degree in any of the above AND masters degree in linguistics, TESL, speech, education with a specialization in reading, creative writing, or journalism OR the equivalent. Masters degree required.

Textbooks Resources

1. Required Dick, Philip K.. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep., ed. Del Rey (Classic) , 1996 Rationale: This is one of the seminal works of American Science Fiction. 2. Required Le Guin, Ursula K. . The Left Hand of Darkness, ed. Ace (Classic) , 1987 Rationale: This is one of the seminal works of Science Fiction. 3. Required Butler, Octavia. Kindred, ed. Beacon (Classic) , 2003 Rationale: This is one of the seminal works of American Science Fiction. 4. Required Magnason, Andri. LoveStar, ed. Seven Stories (Classic) , 2012 Rationale: This is a vital work of modern international Science Fiction. 5. Required Lem, Stanislaw. Solaris, ed. Mariner (Classic) , 2002 Rationale: Perhaps the most famous work of Russian Science Fiction. 6. Required Kavan, Anna. Ice, ed. Penguin Classics, 2017 7. Required Atwood, Margaret. Oryx and Crake, ed. Anchor (Classic) , 2004 Rationale: One of the greatest works by one of the worlds greatest Science Fiction authors. 8. Required Abdel Aziz, Basba. The Queue, ed. Melville (Classic) , 2016 Rationale: A vital work of contemporary Middle Eastern Science Fiction. 9. Required Thompson, Tade. Rosewater, ed. Orbit , 2018 10. Required Dozois, Gardner. Modern Classics of Science Fiction, ed. St. Martins (Classic) , 1993 Rationale: A wonderful anthology of Science Fiction narratives.

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