Science Fiction and Medicine

Catalog description

This elective course's primary objective is to study medicine and medical ethics through the lens of science fiction. Since at least the 1818 publication of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, science fiction has been a medium in and through which humanity has contemplated and processed complex metaphysical and ethical issues arising in current and future medicine. While much science fiction is on the written page, much of it has been adapted or specifically created for film, television, or radio/podcast. This is especially true of science fiction concerning medicine, particularly modern medical technologies, which post-date the earliest decades of science fiction writing. To that end, this course examines science fiction themes in film, television, and radio/podcast.