BA Seminar: Envisioning the Future. Media Science Fiction in the United States 4219-ZS011
The focus of this BA seminar is science fiction in its medial forms (film, television, music, video games, comics as well as other digital forms) and the ways in which, using the idiom and strategies of the genre, such texts reflect and comment on any and all issues and problems of contemporary United States. These include, but are not limited to, politics, gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, ecology, economics, and others. A typical BA paper written within this seminar will provide an in-depth analysis of one selected media text, demonstrating how the sf tropes, themes, and icons serve to illuminate and critique the American now and here. We will start the semester with discussions of sample analyses of texts with a focus on politics. Over the course of the semester students will be expected to develop their BA paper, find and evaluate potential sources, prepare a detailed outline, present their theses and findings, and write a BA paper.
Type of course
B.Sc. seminars
Learning outcomes
Knowledge:
* students have a knowledge of theoretical apparatus of cultural studies and media studies.
* students have in-depth knowledge of selected aspects of American popular culture, specifically those related to the representation of broadly understood politics.
* students have in-depth knowledge in the field of their individual research.
Skills:
* students can plan and conduct research necessary to prepare a BA paper.
* students can formulate their theses and findings in writing.
* students are able to evaluate the quality and relevance of sources and document their work.
Competences:
* students can present their work to their peers.
* students can offer constructive and polite feedback on the work of others.
* students can answer questions about their research projects, evaluate feedback they received, and apply relevant commentary to their work.
Assessment criteria
Pass or fail, based on the timely submission of a BA paper.
Bibliography
Readings will be selected based on specific interests of the seminar members.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: