Welcome to The History of Science Fiction. This is a high school level English class (check under the same title for the non-flex class). We will review or learn the historical/cultural backgrounds that led to different movements in the development of Science Fiction. We will discuss the historical and modern themes of Science Fiction and learn about SF through a variety of mediums (novels, novellas, short stories, TV, movies). 

This is a flexible course so students will not have a set class time or any live meetings. Students will be responsible for reading or watching various outside material, viewing the pre-recorded video for the class, doing homework, writing or recording a video to answer the discussion questions, and commenting on classmate's videos each week. The outside material varies from reading a piece of literature to watching a short biographical or historical video. Pre-recorded videos will focus on the general history of the time period, the themes of the literature we are studying, the most important authors and the ways that this period influenced modern science fiction.  Throughout the semester, students will have the opportunity to tailor homework to their individual interest.  The final exam will be a series of take home essay questions (20% of the grade).  The final project will be chosen by the student and presented in the final week to the class as a whole (30% of the grade). 

This is a discussion intensive course. All students are expected to interact in their comments and homework with respect and civility.  I understand that the topics and themes can be controversial and I invite disagreement. However, kindness facilitates productive and persuasive conversation. 

I will mark and return all homework or projects.  The act of editing and revising is what makes students better writers.  However, homework and projects will be graded based on the thought process shown and improvement made from one draft to the next.  Spelling, grammar and writing conventions are important, however they are not the focus of this class. Students and parents should understand that the teacher considers plagiarism as well as the use of generative AI in composition to be unacceptable.  Parents will be contacted if such a problem is suspected and no grade or feedback will be given.  If a student finds reading and writing difficult, I am willing for them to access the material in mostly audio format and to submit their homework in video form. Please contact me before the semester begins to discuss accommodations. 

Week 1:  Gothic literature as the predecessor of SF with a focus on "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein". 

Week 2: Psychology/madness as a theme in SF including analyzing "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde".

Week 3: The theme of technology and the rise of steam punk with a focus on "Around the World in 80 Days".

Week 4: Themes in "The Time Machine" including eugenics, utopia/dystopia, and theme of time travel.

Week 5: Students will use an online archive to visit the pages of the famous magazine, "Amazing Stories" and talk about the birth of "science fiction" as a genre.  Writers covered this week will include Heinlein and Asimov. 

Week 6: Students will use another online archive to visit the pages of "The Arrow" one of the many superheroes springing up in the 1940s. We will discuss the historical pressures that led to the rise of the superhero and see if any of them apply to recently popular DC and Marvel movies.  Students will have the opportunity to independently explore the archives as part of their homework. 

Week 7:  Japanese culture and history and the development of the Godzilla movies and anime's place in modern SF. 

Week 8: Television as a medium for SF, including Star Trek and Dr. Who, and political activism in SF.

Week 9: AI and the Turing test.  All students' rough drafts of their projects are due this week! 

Week 10: We will spend this class presenting our final projects and celebrating what we have learned.