Speculative Fiction
LALW418-01
Start Date
06/11
Time
1:30pm–4:30pm
Format
Remote
End Date
07/30
Meeting Day
Tuesdays & Thursdays
Credits
3
This online course features the following types of interaction:
- Live meetings
- Live critiques
Speculative fiction is a field of storytelling in which imaginative scenarios are created to illuminate real-life questions and problems. It encompasses many genres including science fiction, gothic novels, plays, films, and even operas and graphic novels. The syllabus ranges from *Utopia* to *Frankenstein*, Octavia Butler’s *Parable of the Sower*, *Ursula K. La Guin’s *Left Hand of Darkness*, and Alan Moore’s graphic novel *Watchmen*, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s *Klara and the Sun*. Assignments include oral presentations, two short critical essays, and a final project, incorporating writing and artwork, in which students design and illustrate a speculative fiction scenario addressing a contemporary question or problem.
This is an online class that will meet on ZOOM.
No class July 4th.
BFA Students: This course satisfies the Summative Elective.
Joshua Cohen
Joshua Cohen holds a BA from Haverford College, and an MA and PhD from Boston University. He is Professor of English at MassArt. He has been published in the Classic Record Collector.