This online course will explore the theme of children in 20h-century speculative fiction. How have major texts texts in the genre portrayed children? What kinds of social and philosophical issues do such representations evoke? If children are the future, then in what ways do they seem both terrible and wonderful at the same time? Why?

Selecting texts from throughout the century, we will wrestle with this theme, getting a basic introduction to the history of SF and to ways of reading and writing about it critically as we go.  The course will be taught primarily by Len Hatfield, and other faculty will participate in the online discussions.

NOTE: As an "online" course, this section of English 2344 will not have formal, face-to-face meetings in Blacksburg. All required course work will be assigned, turned in, discussed, graded, and returned on-line. Most of the the course-work will be done through the web site and e-mail, but we will meet weekly in the MOO, which will require everyone accessing this virtual space at a common time. We will work out together the scheduling of these MOO sessions once the course has begun.