Module Details
The information contained in this module specification was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change, either during the session because of unforeseen circumstances, or following review of the module at the end of the session. Queries about the module should be directed to the member of staff with responsibility for the module.
Title Science Fiction and the Contemporary
Code ENGL731
Coordinator Dr WG Slocombe
English
W.Slocombe@liverpool.ac.uk
Year CATS Level Semester CATS Value
Session 2019-20 Level 7 FHEQ First Semester 10

Aims

This module aims to introduce students to the field of science fiction writing, and some of its dominant themes and tropes. Enable students to consider how imaginative and speculative writing responds to its time and place of production. Demonstrate the ways in which science fiction texts articulate issues of “the contemporary”.

Learning Outcomes

(LO1) By the end of this module, students will be able to demonstrate advanced skills in textual analysis of a range of science fiction works with detailed attention to questions of genre, form and narrative structure

(LO2) Analyse with a sophisticated conceptual grasp how science fiction texts engage with and articulate ideas of time, and in particular, “the contemporary”

(LO3) Demonstrate a systematic understanding of ways in which science fiction texts are historically and culturally situated, reflecting their time and/or place of production

(LO4) Critically engage with academic research and/or theoretical discourses, and relate these to specific science fiction texts

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Academic writing (inc. referencing skills)

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving - Critical analysis

(S3) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Presentation skills – oral

(S4) Communication (oral, written and visual) - Listening skills

(S5) Information skills - Critical reading

(S6) Research skills - All Information skills

(S7) Skills in using technology - Using common applications (work processing, databases, spreadsheets etc.)

(S8) Research skills - Awareness of /commitment to academic integrity

Syllabus
 

Whilst the syllabus changes yearby year, the core topic areas covered will not. Over the duration of the module students will study, over the four sessions: Temporality and Narrative; Re-imagining the Past/Future Histories; Utopias and Dystopias; and Speculatingon the Present.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Teaching Method 1 - Seminar
Description:
Attendance Recorded: Not yet decided
Notes: 4 x 2 hour seminars

Teaching Schedule
  Lectures Seminars Tutorials Lab Practicals Fieldwork Placement Other TOTAL
Study Hours   8

         8
Timetable (if known)              
Private Study 92
TOTAL HOURS 100

Assessment
EXAM Duration Timing
(Semester)		 % of
final
mark		 Resit/resubmission
opportunity		 Penalty for late
submission		 Notes
             
CONTINUOUS Duration Timing
(Semester)		 % of
final
mark		 Resit/resubmission
opportunity		 Penalty for late
submission		 Notes
Assessment 1 There is a resit opportunity. Standard UoL penalty applies for late submission. This is an anonymous assessment. Assessment Schedule (When) :Semester One  3,000-3,500 words    100       

Recommended Texts
Reading lists are managed at readinglists.liverpool.ac.uk. Click here to access the reading lists for this module.