British Science Fiction 1945-1989 3301-LB2044
The course British Science Fiction 1945-1989 is dedicated to students interested in science fiction as a genre, its evolution and development in the last decades of the 20th century, as well as the relationship between science and literature in general. Selected novels and short stories written by British science fiction authors during the Cold War period are discussed in order to show how political unrest was reflected in popular fiction and how the fears and anxieties of that time found their way into mass culture. During the term students will learn about the dystopian tradition in British fiction, catastrophic motifs in the contemporary novel, post-apocalyptic stories, the 'New Wave in British Science Fiction',and how psychoanalysis influenced science fiction. Special attention will be paid to 'urban catastrophes' in the British novel and to feminist fantasies.
Type of course
Learning outcomes
KNOWLEDGE
• Students are familiar with geographical, historical, political and economic contexts vital for English-speaking countries
• students understand the cultural codes which define interactions between different cultures, especially in the context of English-speaking countries
• students are aware of the meaning of cultural symbols and their role in decoding products of culture- literature, arts and popular culture, especially as far as science fiction is concerned
SKILLS
• students can interpret, analyze, classify and synthesize information about linguistic, cultural, social, historical and economic phenomena and their manifestations
• students recognize cultural symbols and apply cultural codes in interactions with the representatives of different cultures of the English-speaking world in both the personal and intercultural aspect
• students have the ability to use modern technologies in his/her general development, they know and are able to apply literary theories to science fiction texts
SOCIAL ABILITIES
• students are aware of the practical aspect of their knowledge and skills in forging communal interactions
• students participate in their own national culture, respects European cultural heritage, and are interested in cultural diversity
• students respect diverse cultures and accept divergent individual opinions of other people
Assessment criteria
At the end of the term students should EITHER write a semester paper OR take an oral exam.
Bibliography
Primary:
Aldous Huxley Brave New World (selected)
George Orwell 1984 (selected)
Clarke, A.C. "The Star"
H.F. Heard "The Great Fog"
John Wyndham The Midwich Cuckoos
J.G. Ballard "Thirteen to Centaurs"
Anthony Burgess "A Clockwork Orange"
Robert Jones "The Island"
Kingsley Amis "Mason's Life"
Peter Philips "Dreams Are Sacred"
Angela Carter Heroes and Villains
Brian Aldiss two selected stories
J.G. Ballard High-Rise
J.T. McIntosh "Made in U.S.A."
Tanith Lee "Written in Water"
Secondary:
Aldiss, B. Billion Year Spree, London 1973
Ash, B. Faces of the Future. The Lessons of Science Fiction, London 1975
Ballard, J.G. Baudrillard, J. America, tłum. C. Turner, London, New York 1994
Bretnor, R. Science Fiction Today and Tomorrow, Baltimore 1974
Clareson, T.D. Science Fiction. The Other Side of Realism. Essays on Modern Fantasy and Science Fiction, Bowling Greek 1971
Clute, J. and Nicholls, P. (red.) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, London 1993
Csicsery-Ronay, I. The SF of Theory: Baudrillard and Haraway [w]: „Science Fiction Studies” nr 55, listopad 1991
Dish, T. On SF, Ann Arbor 2005
Graaf, V. Homo futurus , tłum. Z. Fonferko, Warszawa 1975
Gunn, J. The British Way (vol. 7 of The Road to Science Fiction), Clarkston 1998
Handke, R., Okólska, B. i Jęczmyk, L. (red.) Spór o SF, Poznań 1989
Haraway, D. A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century, [w:] Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, New York 1991
Hollinger, V., Gordon, J. (red.) Edging into the Future. Science Fiction and Contemporary Cultural Transformation, Philadelphia 2002
Jackson, R. Fantasy the Literature of Subversion, London 1991
Kagarlicki, J. Co to jest fantastyka naukowa?, tłum. K. W. Malinowski, Warszawa 1977
Kuhn, A. (red.) Alien Zone. Cultural Theory and Contemporary Science Fiction Cinema, London 2003
Lem, S. Cosmology and Science Fiction, tłum. F. Rottensteiner, [w:] Science Fiction Studies nr 12, lipiec 1977
Luckhurst, R. Border Policing: Postmodernism and Science Fiction, [w:] Science Fiction Studies nr 55, listopad 1991
Lundwall, S.J. Science Fiction. What It’s All About, New York 1971
Merill, J. England Swings SF, New York 1968
Pańków, I. Filozofia utopii, Warszawa 1990
- Parrinder, P. Science Fiction. Its Criticism and Teaching, London, New York 1980
- (red.) Learning from Other Worlds: Estrangement, Cognition and the Politics of Science Fiction and Utopia, Liverpool 2000
- Science Fiction. A Critical Guide, London, New York 2002
Punter, D. The Literature of Terror, New York 1996
Scholes, R., Rabkin, E. Science Fiction. History. Science. Vision, Oxford 1977
Scholes, R.E. The Fabulators, Oxford 1967
Science Fiction Studies, nr 12, lipiec 1977
- nr 13, listopad 1986
- nr 15, lipiec 1988
- nr 54, lipiec 1991
- nr 55, listopad 1991
- nr 59, marzec 1993
Smith, C.C. (red.) Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers, New York 1979
Sterling, B. Cheap Truth [newsletters], www.its.caltech.edu/erich/cheaptruth 14 października 2008
Suvin, D. Metaphors of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre, New Haven 1979
Todorov, T. The Fantastic. A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre, tłum. R. Howard, London 1973
Westfahl, G., Slusser, G. (red.) Science Fiction, Canonization, Marginalization and the Academy, Westport, London 2002
Wyndham, J. The Midwich Cuckoos, London 1957
Ziegfeld, R.E. Stanisław Lem, New York 1985
Zgorzelski, A. Fantastyka. Utopia. Science Fiction, Warszawa 1980
Additional information
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