CLS2080

Science Fiction: From Monsters to Cyborgs

(ART)

Andrew Milner

6 points + 2 hours per week + First semester + Clayton + Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in English, Literary Studies or Cultural Studies or permission + Prohibition: CLS3080

Synopsis: This unit will introduce students to contemporary discussion and debate about science fiction. It will examine: i) various theoretical approaches to the analysis of science fiction; ii) the historical development of the genre from the gothic through to cyberpunk; iii) the debates over the genre's social role, whether as a source for the stabilisation or for the subversion of social norms; iv) a number of key science fiction texts, drawn from the novel, film and television. The approach will be from a cultural studies perspective, which will seek to problematise the conventional binary oppositions between high and low culture, literature and fiction.

Assessment: Essay (2500 words): 50% + Examination (2 hours): 50%