Speculative Cultures: Science Fiction in Emergent Digital Practices

This course explores the intersections of emergent digital practices and cultures with extrapolative thought experiments, technical speculations, and social criticisms of science fiction. Students read, discuss, write, and otherwise respond to primary texts by the likes of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Cory Doctorow, Philip K. Dick, and Hiroshi Yamamoto. Science fiction studies may also include sub-genres (steampunk, hard science fiction, ecological) and regional categories (Japanese sci-fi), as well as consider science fiction in other media formats (sound recordings, film, games). For output, students produce written materials in a variety of formats, culminating in a formal essay or interactive publication.