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Blurb . . . Speculative fiction is a term that includes both traditional science fiction and fantasy, but also stretches to address emerging forms such as 'magic realism,' 'metafiction,' and other still newer kinds of postmodern non-realistic narrative. Contemporary speculative fiction reaches beyond the confines of science fiction, and participates in the redefinition of postmodern narrative fiction in the process.

In this course, in addition to sampling the range of this kind of writing, we'll focus on one of the major cultural concerns of these writers, namely their reworkings of such culturally sanctioned oppositions as high/low culture, male/female representation, and fantastic/realistic narrative, ranging widely to see how postmodern speculative fiction writers deconstruct these oppositions. Our texts include works that invite connections with the emerging theories of postmodern SF, and you will sample some of the fiction-writers' non-fiction work, along with relevant theory and critical commentary.

Book List . . .
  (In reading order; NB: books ordered through Tech Bookstore on Main St.)

	Jorge Borges	Labyrinths	New Directions, $9.95
	John Brunner	Shockwave Rider	Ballantine, $5.99
	Joanna Russ	Female Man	IU Press, $12.95
	Samuel R. Delany	Tales of Neveryon	Univ. Press of New England, $12.95
	Milorad Pavic	Dictionary of the Khazars... (Female Edition)	Random House, $12.00
	Italo Calvino	Mr. Palomar	Harcourt Brace, $12.95
	Angela Carter	Fire Works	Viking/Penguin, $9.95
	Marge Piercy	He, She, & It	Random House, $4.99
	Pamela Sargent, ed.	Women of Wonder...(Contemporary Years)	Harcourt Brace, $15.00

Tentative Calendar


Student Labor . . . Student work will consist of class participation, a group electronic information project (involving a hypertextual annotated bibliography on a World Wide Web site for the class, as well as other elements), in-class presentations of the term project, and a research project at the end of term (either as a traditional essay or as a hyperdocument). All materials will be converted into HTML and made available on the class web server; you'll be able to contribute to this collective project.

Grades