Intro to Lit: Genre (Science Fiction)

The goals of the course are

  • to enjoy reading and
    discussing some excellent novels and short stories;
  • to help students improve
    their writing, particularly of essays focused on persuasion and analysis;
  • and to exercise our
    critical faculties by learning about the discipline and art of
    interpretation.

There will be some lectures, but most classes will be devoted
to class discussion. Attendance and participation are mandatory.

Writing assignments:

  • four three-page essays
  • six one-page reaction
    papers
  • an in-class oral
    presentation
  • a final exam.

Reading list:

  • Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
  • H. G. Wells, The Time
    Machine
  • H. G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau
  • Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
  • Octavia Butler, Kindred
  • Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
  • short stories by Stanley
    Weinbaum, James Tiptree, Jr., William Gibson, and others