This module enables students to re-conceptualise a number of established tropes of SF writing within a broader contextual and theoretical framework. Using theories and theorists of the body, of environments, and of systems, the sf texts under consideration will be interrogated for the politics they adopt, reject, or appropriate, as well as the ways in which they position the body historically, socially, and culturally.

(LO1) By the end of the module, students will be able to analyse the ways in which science fiction, and its associated tropes, can be situated within relevant historical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

(LO1) By the end of the module, students will be able to analyse the ways in which science fiction, and its associated tropes, can be situated within relevant historical, theoretical, and cultural contexts.

(LO2) Reflect critically on the ways in which science fiction utilises notions such as ‘the body’ and ‘space’ to reflect social concerns and positions.

(LO2) Reflect critically on the ways in which science fiction utilises notions such as ‘the body’ and ‘space’ to reflect social concerns and positions.

(LO3) Demonstrate a nuanced understanding in which texts can be oriented in relation to their conceptions of ‘the body’ and the frameworks in which it is placed.

(LO3) Demonstrate a nuanced understanding in which texts can be oriented in relation to their conceptions of ‘the body’ and the frameworks in which it is placed.

(LO4) Engage rigorously with relevant critical debates.

(LO4) Engage rigorously with relevant critical debates.

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual).

(S1) Communication (oral, written and visual).

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving.

(S2) Critical thinking and problem solving.

(S3) Communication (oral, written and visual).

(S3) Communication (oral, written and visual).

(S4) Information skills.

(S4) Information skills.

(S5) Research skills.

(S5) Research skills.

(S6) Skills in using technology.

(S6) Skills in using technology.

(S7) Research skills.

(S7) Research skills.

This module considers the ways in which various kinds of ‘bodies’ might be said to occupy various kinds of ‘spaces’ across science fiction. This includes considerations of planetary bodies (and space ships!), in relation to attitudes towards colonisation, space travel, and terraforming; embodiment and presence in sf environments, including virtual environments and alternative physical and political spaces; and the various ways of considering the relationship between human and non-human bodies and their environments. Texts may vary from year to year but an indicative list of writers includes: Edgar Rice Burroughs, Naomi Mitchison, Marge Piercy, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Nnedi Okorafor.

Teaching Method 1 - Seminar
Description: 6 x 2 hours
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Self Directed Student Hours: 138