Welcome to the Course!


Welcome to the official course site for Dr. Grasso's English 1213/Comp 2, focusing on the conversation of science fiction. Why read and write about sci-fi? Well, it seems that every other film, book, and TV show these days takes place in the future, on another world, with people who have either escaped an apocalypse or are expecting a new one. Perhaps this is because we’re still newly arrived in the 21st century, where anything can happen—if we don’t destroy ourselves first. So what can we, in the “real world,” learn from science fiction? To answer this, we will read and respond to numerous works in this genre to answer questions such as: how is science fiction a metaphor for our own fears and desires? How does looking into the future help us understand the present and the past? And who are the “aliens” and “robots” in our own world? The four papers and numerous writing responses in this class will help you see the reality behind science fiction, where the galaxy far, far away is always our own.

Make sure to get the following books as soon as possible, esp. since we're reading The Martian for Thursday's class: 

Weir, The Martian
Levin, The Stepford Wives
Millar, Superman: Red Son
ed. Joe Hill, Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy 2015

We'll use this site instead of Blackboard, so bookmark this site and check back for assignments, handouts, and other announcements. See you next week! 

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