Whether you’re looking for rich world building like Game of Thrones or Hunger Games style dystopias, or whether you just need a summer course that doesn’t conflict with your work schedule, this online course traces the roots of modern science fiction and explore the themes and writers that underlie today’s best-sellers. Taught by genre writer and editor Leigh Grossman, who has worked with everyone from Ray Bradbury to George R. R. Martin over more than twenty-five years as a publishing professional.
* Asynchronous course - you don’t need to be on at a certain time of day as long as discussions and assignments are completed by the due date. You have a 24-hour window in which to take assessments, so you can fit them into your schedule.
* Discussion focused course - whether you are a longtime fan or new to genre fiction, you’ll be able to contribute to the discussions with time to think about your answers before posting them - no pressure to think up a perfect answer on the spot.
Science Fiction Literature
English 3623:70
May 30-July 7
This course traces major themes and concepts in science fiction from the Golden Age writers of the 1930s, through the New Wave of the 1960s and 1970s, to the present day. You will read works by Isaac Asimov, Octavia Butler, Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke, Samuel Delany, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, Ursula Le Guin, and other seminal writers—some still well-known and some almost forgotten—and learn about their impact on the field. Mostly, the course traces the development and impact of particular ideas in speculative fiction, along with the relationship of science fiction literature to other genres and other media. The state of the SF publishing field today—from the dramatic editorial and demographic shifts of the last few years to the “Sad Puppy” crisis that recently shook the field—will also be an ongoing focus of the course.
For more information, contact: Leigh Grossman, English Department at leigh.grossman@uconn.edu