First-Year Research Seminar: Science Fiction and Social Critique

Catalog description

In her 1975 essay "American SF and the Other," Ursula K. Le Guin accused American science fiction of "brainless regressivism" in its treatment of "The Other"the being who is different from yourself" in race, class, gender, or planetary origin. Le Guin"s critique and her call for science fiction to embrace the radical idea of equality are the starting points for this class. The first half of the class focuses on stories of otherworldly invasion; readings may include Nnedi Okorafor"s Lagoon and Joanna Russ"s "When It Changed." These narratives will be the subject of the first writing assignment, which asks students to develop original arguments that engage with both primary and secondary sources. In the second half of the course, we"ll consider how authors have used science fiction to experiment with ideas of gender, and to imagine post-apocalyptic futures; readings may include Le Guin"s Left Hand of Darkness, Samuel Delany"s "Aye, and Gomorrah . . .", and W. E. B. DuBois"s "The Comet." We"ll pair these narratives with non-fiction readings that exemplify the types of sources that can appear in research essays. Thus the second half of the semester builds towards the final essay, for which students will research and write about a science fiction text of their choosing. In addition to the two formal papers, assignments will include response papers, peer review, and leading class discussion.