From Frankenstein to The Matrix: science fiction and film

HSTM20301 (10-credit); HSTM20801 (20-credit)

Semester One, Mondays, 14.00-16.00

Aims

To explore through literature and film the ways that ordinary people have reacted to developments in science and technology, and their fears as well as hopes for the future. This course takes a selection of classic texts and films from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries to see what continuities and differences there have been in the public imagination of science and technology over this period.

Intended Learning Outcomes

to develop the ability to take historical approaches to science, technology & medicine in literature & film
to understand Science Fiction as a genre
to demonstrate knowledge of the chronology of changes in popular responses to science, technology and medicine over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
to enhance critical thinking skills through an exploration of debates about the relationship between literature & science
to take part in informed discussions of these topics and issues
to comprehend Science Fiction’s impact on the cultural meanings of science, technology and medicine
to improve their science literacy through an understanding of the ways scientific images are constructed, interpreted, and transformed for Science Fiction.

20 credit unit only:

to find and research a topic of their own choosing;
to find and assess critically primary and secondary sources;
to write, with full scholarly apparatus, a report on their individual research project

Lecture Content

Lectures form a connected series of explorations across the history of SF and will include several guest lectures from British SF authors. Lectures will cover the following SF texts:

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
H.G. Wells, The Time Machine
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Walter Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz
Geoff Ryman, Air
Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward and William Cameron Menzies, Things to Come
Andrew Niccol, GATTACA
Tony Ballyntyne, Twisted Metal
Andy and Larry Wachowski, The Matrix and Ridley Scott, Blade Runner
James Cameron, Avatar and Neill Blomkamp, District 9

Seminar Content

Seminars consolidate lecture material through a set of weekly SF readings and media texts.

Assessment

10 credit unit (HSTM20302) - 1500 word essay (50%); Seminar Responses (50%)

20 credit unit (HSTM20802) - 1500 word essay (50%); Seminar Responses (25%); 3000 word research project based on a case study (50%)

Feedback

Students may ask questions at any time during lectures and seminars. Teaching staff can usually answer specific queries by email or during office hours, and will provide contact details in the course handbook or at lectures. All submitted coursework will be returned with annotations and an assessment sheet explaining the mark awarded.

Prerequisites

None.