ENG 108: Introduction to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Land Acknowledgment

Oregon State University in Corvallis is located within the traditional homelands of the Marys River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya.

Oregon State is committed — in the spirit of self-reflection, learning, reconciliation and partnership — to ensure that this institution of higher learning will be of enduring benefit, not only to the state of Oregon, but also to the people on whose ancestral lands it is now located.

Read the University’s full land acknowledgment here.

Course

Information

Description

Focuses on modern and contemporary examples of science fiction and fantasy literature (collectively, speculative fiction) with particular attention paid to the historical evolution as well as the structural constitution of each genre. Hypothesizes that both genres reflect the anxieties and aspirations of the eras that produce and consume them, as well as their characteristic material constraints and affordances. Introduces students to a range of modern classics in both genres, including contemporary science fiction and fantasy written by women and people of color.

Expectations for Time and Participation

This course combines approximately 90 total hours of instruction, in-class activities, and assignments for 3 credits. Regular attendance is expected. Active participation includes completing assigned readings.

Course-Specific Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

This course fulfills the Baccalaureate Core requirement in the Perspectives — Literature and the Arts (CPLA) category. It does this by asking students not only to demonstrate knowledge about a wide variety of historical and contemporary science fiction and fantasy texts, but also to practice and demonstrate their ability to close read (analyze and reflect upon) specific elements in those texts and genres.

Bacc Core and Course Outcomes

Books

Books are available at the OSU library and bookstore. Please note that the number of copies available on reserve is limited.

If you decide to buy your books elsewhere, please consider shopping at a local bookstore.

• The Big Book of Science Fiction (BBSF)¹
• The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (BBCF)²
• The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (BBMF)³
• Paper Girls (PG)⁴

Fair Use

Any readings not in required books will be available on Canvas.

The readings available on Canvas may include copyrighted material, the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I have determined this to be “fair use” of the copyrighted material as referenced and provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use any of this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain express permission from the copyright owner.

https://policy.oregonstate.edu/policy/copyright-fair-use

Calendar

• Please complete the readings for a given date before we meet.

Thu Sep 24

Course introduction. Overview of speculative fiction. Review syllabus.

Unit 1 — Welcome to Tomorrow and Yesterday · Sep 29 – Oct 1

Tue Sep 29

• PG, issues 1–3

Thu Oct 1

• PG, issues 4–5
• “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (BBCF 18)

Unit 2 — Origins: 19th-Century Fables and Fantasies · Oct 6 – Oct 8

Tue Oct 6

• “The Transformation” by Mary Shelley (BBCF 41)
• “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” by Charles Dickens (BBCF 61)

Thu Oct 8

• “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (BBCF 115)
• “The Magic Mirror” by George MacDonald (BBCF 162)

Unit 3 — Pulp Fiction and the Golden Age of SF · Oct 13 – Oct 22

Tue Oct 13

• “The Star” by H.G. Wells (BBSF 1)
• “The Comet” by W.E.B. Du Bois (BBSF 53)

Thu Oct 15

• “The Plant Men” by Edgar Rice Burroughs (BBCF 475)
• “September 2005: The Martian” by Ray Bradbury (BBSF 164)

Tue Oct 20

• “The Liberation of the Earth” by William Tenn (BBSF 240)
• “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov (BBSF 300)

Thu Oct 22

Midterm Exam

Unit 4 — Early Twentieth-Century Fantasy · Oct 27 – Nov 5

Tue Oct 27

• “The White People” by Arthur Machen (BBCF 387)

Thu Oct 29

• “The Aunt and Amabel” by E. Nesbit (BBCF 426)
• “Through the Dragon Glass” by Abraham Merritt (BBCF 523)

Tue Nov 3

• “The Shadow Kingdom” by Robert E. Howard (BBCF 675)
• “Uncle Monday” by Zora Neale Hurston (BBCF 724)

Thu Nov 5

• “Leaf by Niggle” by J.R.R. Tolkien (BBCF 798)

Unit 5 — The New Wave of SF · Nov 10 – Nov 17

Tue Nov 10

• “Beyond Lies the Wub” by Philip K. Dick (BBSF 215)
• “2BR02B” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (BBSF 446)

Thu Nov 12

• “The Voices of Time” by J.G. Ballard (BBSF 403)

Tue Nov 17

• “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” by Harlan Ellison (BBSF 491)
• “Aye, and Gomorrah” by Samuel R. Delany (BBSF 527)

Unit 6 — Cyberpunk and Beyond · Nov 19 – Dec 3

Thu Nov 19

• “New Rose Hotel” by William Gibson (BBSF 794)

Tue Nov 24

• “Swarm” by Bruce Sterling (BBSF 720)
• “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler (BBSF 755)

Thu Nov 26

No class (Thanksgiving).

Tue Dec 1

• “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang (BBSF 1097)

Thu Dec 3

Finals Week · Dec 7 – Dec 11

The university has not yet announced the date and time of the final exam. Once available, it will appear here.

Evaluation of Student Performance

• Artificial intelligence tools necessitate a return to pen-and-paper exams to assess student learning.
• I reserve the right to curve exam grades after the fact.

Grading Scale

Assignment weights

Assignment descriptions

Discussion leadership

You and one or more peers will be randomly assigned to lead group discussion of one text during the course. This will involve creating a short presentation (slides optional) to introduce the text and its author to your classmates, preparing several discussion questions, and leading discussion. Discussion leaders may divide this work as they see fit. Discussion leaders will submit their contributions individually. Dates will be assigned after the first class. See the assignment rubric for further details.

In-class quizzes

Most class periods with readings will include in-class quizzes that simulate the types of questions that students will encounter on the midterm and final exams. In-class quizzes are graded complete or incomplete based on good-faith effort in class, not correctness. If you miss a quiz, you cannot make it up. However, you will be able to review the quiz to practice for the exams.

Midterm exam

80 minute pen-and-paper exam administered during class. This exam will test students by asking them to define key terms, identify passages from readings, close read evidence from a provided quotation, and compare at least two texts.

Final exam

110 minute pen-and-paper exam administered during finals week. This exam will test students by asking them to define key terms, identify passages from readings, close read evidence from a provided quotation, and compare at least two texts.

Passage identifications on the final exam will only come from texts read after the midterm exam. However, other aspects of the final exam will test material from the entire course.

Extra credit book club

Students can earn up to 8% extra credit by participating in the extra credit book club.

Renowned science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson is the inaugural recipient of the Malamud Family Distinguished Writer Award at Oregon State University. Robinson will be visiting OSU this academic year, culminating in a major event on May 7, 2027 at PRAx.

In anticipation of Robinson’s time at OSU, his writing will be the subject of the extra credit book club.

Requirements

1. Sign up for the book club by Thursday, October 1.
2. Book club members will select at least 200 pages of Robinson’s work to read together. (It is fine to plan to only finish part of a novel during the term.) Book club members may choose to read different works. However, each book club group must discuss the same text(s). No group may have fewer than three people.
3. Groups reading the same text(s) will set their own reading schedules. They may receive extra credit for meeting up to four times outside of class during the term. Each meeting must last for at least thirty minutes.

Earning the extra credit

At the end of each book club meeting, all group members who are present will sign a book club log with the following information: names, date, time, location, what you all read for that meeting (e.g., The Ministry for the Future, page 1 to 50), and at least one topic you discussed. One group member will then submit the signed log on behalf of the group.

For each log submitted, signatories will receive +2% extra credit, with a maximum of +8%.

Course Policies and Statements

Instructor Communication

• Please ask questions not addressed in the syllabus in class so that the whole class may benefit from the answer.
• For personal questions, email me.
• If I do not reply to an email within two business days, write me again.

Attendance

If you must miss class, please let me know in advance when possible. This is especially important if your absence overlaps with the day you lead discussion.

Extensions

• Extension requests made for unforeseeable reasons will be granted.
  • For example, getting sick counts as unforeseeable.
• Email me as soon as possible to request an extension.
  • For example, suppose you are called for jury duty, and your jury dates conflict with an exam. Let me know, and I will happily arrange for you to take the exam on another day.

Incomplete

When a requirement of a course has not been completed for reasons acceptable to the instructor and the rest of the academic work is passing, a report of “I” (incomplete) may be made and additional time granted, according to Academic Regulation 17 of OSU Academic Regulations.

If you are having any difficulty that might prevent you completing the coursework, please don’t wait until the end of the term; let me know right away.

Content Warnings

Literature often deals with difficult topics, including (but not limited to) violence, racism, sexism, and death. If you find something we read too difficult to finish or discuss, please contact me to arrange for an alternative to that week’s reading or discussion.

At the beginning of the term, I will solicit anonymous requests for content warnings. If you would like to receive content warnings for specific topics for any reason, that is your opportunity to request them. In my view, this is better than trying to provide general content warnings for each text, which may not respond to the needs of particular classes. For example, most people would not expect a content warning for a scene in which a character drowns, but someone with hydrophobia might want one.

Academic Integrity

It is important that you understand what constitutes academic misconduct at Oregon State University. Refer to the OSU Student Code of Conduct and the Office of the Dean of Students. If you are unsure if something will violate OSU’s academic integrity policy, ask your professors, GTAs, academic advisors, or academic integrity officers.

Academic misconduct, or violations of academic integrity, can fall into seven broad areas, including but not limited to: cheating; plagiarism; falsification; assisting; tampering; multiple submissions of work; and unauthorized recording and use.

Artificial Intelligence

I do not restrict the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT in this course. My AI policy is lenient because of how I evaluate your learning.

You are welcome to use AI if it helps you understand the readings or learn about speculative fiction. However, you cannot do well on the exams without doing the reading. For example, AI tools will refuse to quote extensively from texts to avoid producing evidence of copyright infringement. Even if AI tools can help you understand what a story is about, they will not help you correctly identify passages from readings.

University-Wide Statements

Academic Calendar

All students are subject to the registration and refund deadlines as stated in the Academic Calendar: https://registrar.oregonstate.edu/osu-academic-calendar

Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities

Oregon State University is committed to making learning experiences accessible to all, which includes consideration of the course design, course learning outcomes, and barriers experienced by the disabled student. Disability Access Services (DAS) staff and students work together to determine reasonable accommodations. Students connected with DAS who have questions about their accommodations should reach out to their DAS Adviser. Students who have not yet completed the process for setting up accommodations, please contact DAS at 541-737-4098, visit the DAS website, or email disability.services@oregonstate.edu to explore accommodations for a disability (e.g., mental health diagnoses, chronic health conditions, learning disabilities, physical conditions/injuries, etc.). Students and faculty members are encouraged to collaborate around the implementation of accommodations.

Accessibility of Course Materials.

All materials used in this course are accessible. If you require accommodations please contact Disability Access Services (DAS). Additionally, Canvas, the learning management system through which this course is offered, provides a vendor statement certifying how the platform is accessible to students with disabilities.

Statement Regarding Religious Accommodation.

Oregon State University is required to provide reasonable accommodations for employee and student sincerely held religious beliefs. It is incumbent on the student making the request to make the faculty member aware of the request as soon as possible prior to the need for the accommodation. See the Religious Accommodation Process for Students.

Expectations for Student Conduct

Student conduct is governed by the university’s policies, as explained in the Student Conduct Code (https://beav.es/codeofconduct). Students are expected to conduct themselves in the course (e.g., in class, on Canvas, and in email) in compliance with the university’s regulations regarding civility.

Student Bill of Rights

OSU has twelve established student rights. They include due process in all university disciplinary processes, an equal opportunity to learn, and grading in accordance with the course syllabus: https://asosu.oregonstate.edu/advocacy/rights

Reach Out for Success

University students encounter setbacks from time to time. If you encounter difficulties and need assistance, it’s important to reach out. Consider discussing the situation with me or with your academic advisor. You can also learn about resources that support wellness and academic success at Reach Out for Success.

• For mental health: Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) provides mental health support for OSU students. If you are in immediate crisis, please call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or Crisis Text Line by texting 741-741.
• For financial hardship: Any student whose academic performance is impacted by financial stress or the inability to afford groceries, housing or other necessities, for any reason, is urged to contact the Office of Student Care

College of Liberal Arts Diversity Statement

The College of Liberal Arts is a community that includes and values the voices of all people. As such, we recognize the social barriers that have systematically marginalized and excluded people and communities based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, socioeconomic background, age, disability, national origin and religion. We are committed to the equity of opportunities, and strive to promote and advance diverse communities. We value and proactively seek genuine participation from these historically under-represented and underserved groups, and recognize them as an essential component of creating a welcoming and rich academic, intellectual, and cultural environment for everyone.

Student Learning Experience Survey

During Fall, Winter, and Spring term the online Student Learning Experience surveys open to students the Wednesday of week 9 and close the Sunday before Finals Week. Students will receive notification, instructions, and the link through their ONID email. They may also log into the survey via MyOregonState or directly at https://beav.es/Student-Learning-Survey. Survey results are extremely important and are used to help improve courses and the learning experience of future students. Responses are anonymous (unless a student chooses to “sign” their comments, agreeing to relinquish anonymity of written comments) and are not available to instructors until after grades have been posted. The results of scaled questions and signed comments go to both the instructor and their unit head/supervisor. Anonymous (unsigned) comments go to the instructor only.

Technical Assistance

Contact the IS Service Desk for technical assistance.

Further reading

Students interested in further reading in the histories of science fiction and fantasy are directed to the following texts.

Science Fiction

• Utopia by Thomas More (1516)
• New Atlantis by Francis Bacon (1627)
• Somnium by Johannes Kepler (1634)
• Itinerarium extaticum by Athanasius Kircher (1656)
• The Other World: Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon by Cyrano de Bergerac (1657)
• The States and Empires of the Sun by Cyrano de Bergerac (1662)
• The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish (1666)
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
• Niels Klim’s Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg (1741)
• Micromégas by Voltaire (1752)
• Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (1818)
• The Last Man by Mary Shelley (1826)
• The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall by Edgar Allan Poe (1835)
• The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar by Edgar Allan Poe (1845)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)
• From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne (1865)
• Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne (1869–70)
• El anacronópete by Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau (1887)
• Looking Backward: 2000–1887 by Edward Bellamy (1888)
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)
• The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells (1896)
• The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (1897)
• The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898)
• A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912)
• R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek (1920)
• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924)
• Ralph 124C 41+ by Hugo Gernsback (1925)
• Les Navigateurs de l’Infini by J.-H. Rosny aîné (1925)
• The Skylark of Space by E. E. “Doc” Smith (1928)
• Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan (1928)
• Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon (1930)
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)
• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950)
• The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
• Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov (1951–53)
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953)
• The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke (1953)
• More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon (1953)
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)
• Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by Ivan Yefremov (1957)
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1959)
• Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)
• Solaris by Stanisław Lem (1961)
• Perry Rhodan by various authors (1961)
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)
• The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard (1962)
• Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1966)
• This Immortal by Roger Zelazny (1966)
• Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany (1966)
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1967)
• Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison (1967)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968)
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968)
• Nova by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
• Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (1968)
• Ubik by Philip K. Dick (1969)
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (1972)
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)
• Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (1975)
• The Female Man by Joanna Russ (1975)
• Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (1979)
• Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
• Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (1986)
• Lilith’s Brood (Xenogenesis) by Octavia E. Butler (1987–89)
• Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992-96)
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler (1993)
• Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (2002)
• The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (2007)

Fantasy

• Grimms’ Fairy Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen) by the Brothers Grimm (1812–1857)
• Fairy Tales Told for Children by Hans Christian Andersen (1835)
• The King of the Golden River by John Ruskin (1851)
• The Rose and the Ring by William Makepeace Thackeray (1855)
• Phantastes by George MacDonald (1858)
• Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
• Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll (1871)
• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872)
• She by H. Rider Haggard (1887)
• The Happy Prince and Other Tales by Oscar Wilde (1888)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)
• A House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde (1891)
• The Well at the World’s End by William Morris (1896)
• The Happy Hypocrite by Max Beerbohm (1897)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
• The Wallet of Kai Lung by Ernest Bramah (1900)
• The Gods of Pegāna by Lord Dunsany (1905)
• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1911)
• Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell (1919)
• A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay (1920)
• The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison (1922)
• Lady into Fox by David Garnett (1922)
• The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany (1924)
• Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees (1926)
• Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)
• The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft (1928)
• Hyperborean cycle by Clark Ashton Smith (1931)
• The Phoenix on the Sword by Robert E. Howard (1932)
• Zothique by Clark Ashton Smith (1932)
• Jirel of Joiry by C. L. Moore (1934)
• The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney (1935)
• The Island of the Mighty by Evangeline Walton (1936)
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
• The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis (1938–45)
• Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Fritz Leiber (1939)
• Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake (1946)
• The Dying Earth by Jack Vance (1950)
• Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (1950)
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (1950–56)
• The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (1954–55)
• The Once and Future King by T.H. White (1958)
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968)
• Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny (1970)
• Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz (1970)
• Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock (1972)
• Lord Foul’s Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson (1977)
• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (1977)
• The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (1977)
• Xanth by Piers Anthony (1977)
• The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (1980–83)
• Little, Big by John Crowley (1981)
• Magician by Raymond E. Feist (1982)
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983)
• Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984)
• The Black Company by Glen Cook (1984)
• Memory, Sorrow and Thorn by Tad Williams (1988)
• The Sandman by Neil Gaiman (1989–96)
• The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (1990)
• Anita Blake by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993)
• His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (1995)
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996)
• Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (1997)
• Perdido Street Station by China Miéville (2000)
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001)
• The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris (2001)
• Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini (2002)
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2004)
• Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan (2004)
• Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (2010)
• The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (2015)

Acknowledgments

This course was originally designed by Evan Gottlieb and has been adapted from previous iterations taught by Gottlieb, Joseph Bohlinger, and Annette Rubado.

References