How Great Science Fiction Works

Examine what makes science fiction an enduring phenomenon that has reflected and inspired our highest technological aspirations-as well as our darkest fears.

Syllabus

01: Mary Shelley and the Birth of Science Fiction
02: Science Fiction in the 19th Century
03: Science Fiction Treatments of History
04: Evolution and Deep Time in Science Fiction
05: Utopian Dreams and Dystopian Nightmares
06: The Rise of the Science Fiction Pulps
07: The Golden Age of Science Fiction Stories
08: The Spaceship As a Science Fiction Icon
09: The Robot: From Capek to Asimov
10: The Golden Age of the Science Fiction Novel
11: From Mars to Arrakis: The Planet
12: The Science Fiction Wasteland
13: Invasions, Space Wars, and Xenocide
14: Religion in Science Fiction
15: Science Fiction's New Wave
16: Encounters with the Alien Other
17: Environmentalism in Science Fiction
18: Gender Questions and Feminist Science Fiction
19: Cyberpunk and the 1980s
20: The 1990s: The New Space Opera
21: The Artifact as a Science Fiction Icon
22: Science Fiction's Urban Landscapes
23: Science Fiction in the 21st Century
24: The Future of Science Fiction
By This Professor

Taught by

Gary K. Wolfe

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