In this science fiction-themed distance section of English 2307, we will look at the art of world building. Some stories take place on water worlds devoid of land; others on a planet all sand, devoid of oceans; still others on a planet where ice and snow never recede. Four of our authors are male, three are female: we will ask, how do science fiction storyworlds reflect the gender of their creator? One of our authors is African-American: now we can ask, how do science fiction storyworlds reflect both the gendered and the racial complexion of their creators? Over the semester, we will investigate how such fictions of radical difference may be understood to express important cultural, sexual, and political concerns right here on Earth. Instructor: Dr. Bruce Clarke. Texts: Stanislaw Lem, Solaris; Ursula Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness; Frank Herbert, Dune; Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; Octavia Butler, Dawn; Joan Slonczewski, A Door into Ocean; Kim Stanley Robinson, Aurora. Email bruce.clarke@ttu.edu for more information.
