We will endeavor to locate the emergence of the Science Fiction (SF) genre and unravel how SF came to be the preeminent literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. To accomplish this, we will read and watch significant examples of SF from its long history beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. To demonstrate what you have learned, you will have brief, daily writing assignments, three non-cumulative exams, and a research essay. In addition to the readings, viewings, and lectures, students are strongly encouraged to add their SF knowledge to our discussions.
We will endeavor to locate the emergence of the Science Fiction (SF) genre and unravel how SF came to be the preeminent literature of the 20th and 21st centuries. To accomplish this, we will read and watch significant examples of SF from its long history beginning with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. To demonstrate what you have learned, you will have brief, daily writing assignments, three non-cumulative exams, and a research essay. In addition to the readings, viewings, and lectures, students are strongly encouraged to add their SF knowledge to our discussions.
An introduction to the research methodologies utilized in the social and behavioral sciences, beginning with the fundamentals of research design, through data collection, analysis, interpretation, and the final reporting of results. Both quantitative and qualitative designs are examined using software to aid in inquiry and analysis.
An introduction to the research methodologies utilized in the social and behavioral sciences, beginning with the fundamentals of research design, through data collection, analysis, interpretation, and the final reporting of results. Both quantitative and qualitative designs are examined using software to aid in inquiry and analysis.
This interdisciplinary course examines science fiction texts from a physics perspective, focusing on both the long and short-term ability of science fiction to inspire and give ethical boundaries to otherwise abstract modeling of theoretical physics. In turn, the course will also demonstrate how the field of physics historically informed the development of science fiction and culture. Significant themes and trends in the futuristic worlds of science fiction, such as space exploration and nanotechnology will be discussed alongside the ways that private industry, government, and global scientific communities approach the politics of envisioning the future.
This interdisciplinary course examines science fiction texts from a physics perspective, focusing on both the long and short-term ability of science fiction to inspire and give ethical boundaries to otherwise abstract modeling of theoretical physics. In turn, the course will also demonstrate how the field of physics historically informed the development of science fiction and culture. Significant themes and trends in the futuristic worlds of science fiction, such as space exploration and nanotechnology will be discussed alongside the ways that private industry, government, and global scientific communities approach the politics of envisioning the future.