| Course Type | Elective Course |
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| Course Level | Bachelor's Degree |
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| Year of Study | - |
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| Semester | - |
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| ECTS | 4 |
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| Name of Lecturer(s) |
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| Learning Outcomes |
At the end of this course, the students;
- Recognize the different subgenres of science fiction and its elements.
- Analyze the thematic, formal, and stylistic characteristics of American Science Fiction Literature.
- Comprehend the connection between the science fiction genre and issues of race, gender, politics, and technology that are topics discussed in the light of American culture.
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| Mode of Delivery | Face to face |
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| Prerequisites | No |
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| Recommended Optional Programme Components | |
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| Course Description | This course aims to analyze the thematic, formal, and stylistic characteristics of American science fiction literature. At the same time, the limits of the genre, its connections to political ideologies, its relation to the developments in science and technology, gender and the nature of time are discussed. |
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| Course Contents |
| WEEK |
TOPICS |
|
1st Week |
General Framework of the Course |
|
2nd Week |
Definition(s), Science Fiction and Fantasy Relationship, History - Short Story and Movie "They're Made Out of Meat" |
|
3rd Week |
Representation of the Fantastic: Folk and Fairy Tales - Freud, Jung and Campbell, Hero's Quest, Jungian Octave (lecture) - J. R. R. Tolkien, "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" - Ursula Le Guin, "Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?" - First Reflection (in-class assignment) |
|
4th Week |
Displays of the Fantastic on Screen - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland (movie) - Neil Gaiman, "Coraline" (short story or movie) |
|
5th Week |
Utopia and Dystopias - Thomas More, Utopia (lecture) - Terry Eagleton, "Utopias, Past and Present: Why Thomas More Remains Astonishingly Radical" - Herland as a Feminist Utopia (lecture) - George Orwell's 1984 - Equilibrium (2002) - District 9 (2009) |
|
6th Week |
Others in Fantasy: Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts and Aliens - Part I: Others That We Created - George Landow's "The Cyborg" (resource webpage) - Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics - Isaac Asimov, I, Robot (selected chapters) - Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Blade Runner |
|
7th Week |
Others in Fantasy: Vampires, Werewolves, Ghosts and Aliens - Part II: Those Who Visit Us - Wikipedia Entry "Extraterrestrials in Fiction" - "Representations of the Body in Alien" - Donna Haraway, "Cyborg Manifesto" (In-Class Reflection II) - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) - Alien Series |
|
8th Week |
Midterm |
|
9th Week |
Representation of Alternative Universes and Time Travel - Wikipedia Entry "Time Travel in Fiction" - Robert Heinlein, "All You Zombies" and Film Version |
|
10th Week |
Representation of Alternative Universes and Time Travel - Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future Trilogy - Prometheus (2012) - Interstellar (2014) |
|
11th Week |
Representation of Cityscape and Ecological Concerns - Logan's Run (1976) - Gattaca (1997) - Ghost in the Shell (2017) - Don't Look Up (2021) |
|
12th Week |
Representations of Class Issues - The Hunger Games - The Platform I and II (Netflix) - Elysium (2013) |
|
13th Week |
Representation of Race - Afrofuturism: Black Panther and Wakanda Forever - Mexican Border Short Video: "Border Brujo" on YouTube - Sleep Dealer - Race and Ecological Concerns: Avatar |
|
14th Week |
Representation of Gender: Female Cyborgs and Artificial Intelligence - Ex Machina (2014) - Her (2013) - Under the Skin (2013) - Lucy (2014) - I Am Mother (2019) - Reflection Paper III, In-Class Writing, Course Evaluation |
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| Recommended or Required Reading | Booker, Keith. Monsters, Mushroom Clouds, and the Cold War: American Science Fiction and the Roots of Postmodernism, 1946-1964, 2001.
Buker, Derek M. Science Fiction and Fantasy Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Cyborgs, Aliens, and Sorcerers, American Library Association, 2002.
Chernaik, Laura. Social and Virtual Space: Science Fiction, Transnationalism, and the American New Right, Farleigh Dickinson UP, 2005.
Dillon, Grace L. Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigeneous Science Fiction, U of Arizona P, 2012.
Hubble, Nick. The Science Fiction Handbook, Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
Latham, Rob. Science Fiction Criticism: An Anthology of Essential Writings, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
Lavender III, Isaac. Race in American Science Fiction, Indiana UP, 2011.
November, Sharyn. Firebirds Rising: An Anthology of Original Science Fiction and Fantasy, Firebird, 2006.
Vint, Sherryl. Science Fiction: A Guide for the Perplexed, Bloomsbury Academic, 2014.
|
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| Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods |
|
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| Assessment Methods and Criteria |
|
Quantity |
Percentage (%) |
| Mid-term |
1 |
30 |
| Assignment |
1 |
20 |
| Practice |
3 |
10 |
| Total(%) |
|
60 |
| Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) |
|
60 |
| Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) |
|
40 |
| Total(%) |
|
100 |
|
| ECTS Allocated Based on Student Workload |
| Activities |
Quantity |
Duration (Hour) |
Total Workload (Hour) |
| Midterm exam |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Preparation for Quiz |
|
|
|
| Individual or group work |
14 |
3 |
42 |
| Preparation for Final exam |
1 |
10 |
10 |
| Course hours |
14 |
3 |
42 |
| Preparation for Midterm exam |
1 |
10 |
10 |
| Laboratory (including preparation) |
|
|
|
| Final exam |
1 |
2 |
2 |
| Homework |
1 |
6 |
6 |
| Article Presentation |
1 |
6 |
6 |
| Total Work Load | 120 |
| Total Work Load / 30 (h) | 4 |
| ECTS Credit of the Course | 4 |
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| Language of Instruction | English |
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| Work Placement(s) | No |
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