units

ATS2413

Faculty of Arts

18 September 2017 23 December 2024
Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
OfferedNot offered in 2014
Coordinator(s)TBA

Notes

Previously coded CLS2080

Synopsis

This unit will introduce students to contemporary discussion and debate about science fiction. It will examine:

  1. Various theoretical approaches to the analysis of science fiction.
  2. The historical development of the genre from the gothic through to cyberpunk.
  3. The debates over the genre's social role, whether as a source for the stabilisation or for the subversion of social norms.
  4. 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.

Outcomes

At the conclusion of the unit, students should be able:

  1. To demonstrate a knowledge both of various theoretical approaches to the analysis of science fiction and of the historical development of the genre from the Gothic through to Cyberpunk.
  2. To demonstrate a critical understanding both of the debates over the genre's social role, whether as a source for the stabilisation or for the subversion of social norms, and of a number of science fiction texts, drawn from the novel, film and television.
  3. To understand, feel comfortable with and be able to articulate the analytical skills, theoretical vocabularies and conceptual apparatuses studied.
  4. To demonstrate a sense of their own personal and cultural reflexivity as they observe and interpret the theories, concepts and texts analysed in the unit.
  5. To write clear, grammatically and syntactically appropriate, independent essays on the various topics provided or chosen for assessment.

Assessment

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

Chief examiner(s)

TBA

Workload requirements

One 2-hour seminar per week or 22 hours per semester

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Literary studies

Prerequisites

A gateway unit in Literary Studies or permission of the unit coordinator

Prohibitions

ATS3413