Science Fiction

Catalog description

This LIT course on the literature of Science Fiction is designed to introduce students to the genre of Science Fiction (SF) from works that were written between the mid-nineteenth century and the late twentieth. As a uniquely modern form of literature, it is important to contextualize the genre historically, politically, and culturally, as it reflects attitudes about science, progress, and the human condition that dominated at the time the works were written and, often, provide clues to cultural orientations that persist to this day. We will examine both SF short stories and novels to more clearly understand how this genre of literature has become one of the most popular forms of social commentary on the past, present, and future of humanity.