Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Westminster College Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Westminster College Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 451 - Science Fiction

Semester Hours: 4

Warp speed. Wormholes. Time travel. Transporters. Androids. Aliens. Space cowboys and Saurian brandy. This is the stuff of science fiction, of future worlds and alternate universes. Syd Mead’s definition focuses our study since science fiction stories should lie within the realm of scientific possibility. (Think Captain Kirk’s communicator and then look down at your cell phone.) In this course, we’ll boldly explore what critics call the “literature of ideas,” the genre that bridges the arts and sciences, and we’ll discuss how writers have used science fiction as a vehicle for social criticism and a commentary on the human condition.