This course will explore science fiction from the 20th century into the 21st. How did writers and artists imagine the rapid technological changes of the modern world? How did science fiction respond as those technologies arrived, transforming everyday life, labor, war, media, communication, and social relations? How has science fiction been used to explore the meaning of work, the future of democracy, the nature of sociality, and the limits of sympathy?
A central unit of the course will focus on artificial intelligence, placing classic works of science fiction in conversation with current technological developments. We will ask how earlier writers imagined thinking machines, artificial persons, automated labor, and technological systems, and how artists today are rising to the challenge of addressing our current moment.
Throughout the semester, we will read short stories, novellas, and novels by authors including Isaac Asimov, Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick, Ted Chiang, and James Tiptree Jr.; explore philosophical and critical essays; watch films including Metropolis, Ghost in the Shell, and Her; and engage with music videos, visual art, and other cultural forms.
The course will be conducted through Zoom.
Like all WI courses, much of the evaluation will be based on writing approximately 20 pages of academic prose. This writing will be organized around an initial short paper, a longer essay involving original research, and a creative final project.