ENG 108: Introduction to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Land Acknowledgment

Oregon State University recognizes the impact that its land grant history had on Indigenous communities in Oregon. Through the Morrill Act of 1862, which established land grant universities in the United States, the federal government seized nearly 11 million acres of land from 250 sovereign tribal nations, with little or no compensation.

In 1868, the state legislature designated Corvallis College as Oregon’s land grant institution. Soon after, Oregon received 90,000 acres of federal lands — taken from the Klamath, Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw and Coquille people — to be sold to create an endowment supporting the growth of the new college, which would become Oregon State University.

Oregon State University in Corvallis is located within the traditional homelands of the Marys River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians. Indigenous people are valued, contributing members of the Oregon State community and represent multiple sovereign tribes among students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Oregon State University accepts its responsibility for understanding the continuing impact of that history on these communities. 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.

Course

Information

Description

ENG 108 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 and answering questions on the days you are on call.

Course-Specific Measurable Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the generic and stylistic conventions of science fiction and fantasy texts and situate them within the historical and cultural moments that produced them.
• Compare how science fiction and fantasy texts from different eras reflect the anxieties, aspirations, and material constraints of their moments of production.
• Close read specific passages from course texts to interpret symbolic detail, narrative form, and thematic significance.

Core Education and Baccalaureate Core Outcomes

This is a Core Education course that fulfills the requirements for the Arts & Humanities: General category. In addition, this course also fulfills the Baccalaureate Core requirements for the Literature and the Arts category.

Arts & Humanities: General (Core Education) Learning Outcomes

Students in this course will:

1. Describe genres, forms, perspectives, events and/or ideas that have shaped and recorded the human experience.
2. Analyze examples of human expression and/or human perspectives in changing cultural and/or historical contexts.
3. Employ humanistic, theoretical, and/or philosophical methods to explore the human experience.

Literature and the Arts (Baccalaureate Core) Learning 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.

All books below are required in their print editions. The calendar, class discussion, and exams all refer to print page numbers, and digital devices are not permitted in class (see No digital technology in class). If you have an accommodation registered with Disability Access Services, or another reason you cannot use a print copy, email me and we will arrange an alternative.

• The Big Book of Science Fiction (BBSF)¹
• The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (BBCF)²
• Paper Girls, Volume 1 (PG)³

If you are a completionist, you may prefer to buy Paper Girls: The Complete Story⁴ instead. (The Complete Story contains all of the issues; volume 1 only contains the issues that we will read in class.)

Video Game

We will also play an SF video game, Disco Elysium: The Final Cut (DE) in this course.⁵

If you want to play the game on your own device, you may purchase it for a computer or video game console. If you have never purchased a video game for a computer before, the easiest way to do so is via Steam.

If you do not have a device that can run the game or do not wish to purchase it, you will be able to play the game for free at OSU’s New Media Game Lab.

Plan to play at least three hours of DE before we discuss it on Thursday, December 3. You are not expected to finish the game.

External Sources

If you find it helpful to do additional reading about the authors or texts that we study beyond what appears in the anthologies, I recommend using The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE).⁶

Wikipedia entries on SF are often quite good as well, but the SFE is the best reference to use for this class.

Calendar

• Complete the readings for a given date before we meet.
• The median day of class has 23 pages of reading from the anthologies.
• My slides will be available on the calendar shortly after class.

Thu Sep 24

Course introduction. What is speculative fiction?

Tue Sep 29

• PG, issues 1–5
  • Content Warning: Stylized violence (including death), comparable to PG-13 action film

Thu Oct 1

• “Hans-My-Hedgehog” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (BBCF 7–10)
• “The Story of the Hard Nut” by E.T.A. Hoffmann (BBCF 11–17)
• “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving (BBCF 18–28)

Tue Oct 6

• “Transformation” by Mary Shelley (BBCF 41–50)
• “The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton” by Charles Dickens (BBCF 61–67)
• “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti (BBCF 188–195)

Thu Oct 8

• “Feathertop: A Moralized Legend” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (BBCF 115–126)
• “The Magic Mirror” by George MacDonald (BBCF 162–173)

Tue Oct 13

• “The Star” by H.G. Wells (BBSF 1–8)
• “Sultana’s Dream” by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (BBSF 9–16)
• “The Comet” by W.E.B. Du Bois (BBSF 53–61)

Thu Oct 15

• “The Plant Men” by Edgar Rice Burroughs (BBCF 475–481)
• “The Conquest of Gola” by Leslie F. Stone (BBSF 98–107)
• “September 2005: The Martian” by Ray Bradbury (BBSF 164–172)

Tue Oct 20

• “The Liberation of Earth” by William Tenn (BBSF 240–251)
• “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov (BBSF 300–308)

Thu Oct 22

• Midterm Exam

Tue Oct 27

• “The White People” by Arthur Machen (BBCF 387–408)

Thu Oct 29

• “The Aunt and Amabel” by E. Nesbit (BBCF 426–430)
• “Through the Dragon Glass” by A. Merritt (BBCF 523–530)
• “Friend Island” by Francis Stevens (BBCF 565–571)

Tue Nov 3

• “The Shadow Kingdom” by Robert E. Howard (BBCF 675–691)
• “The Spirit Chief Names the Animal People” and “Coyote Juggles His Eyes” by Mourning Dove (BBCF 719–723)
• “Uncle Monday” by Zora Neale Hurston (BBCF 724–729)

Thu Nov 5

• “The Debutante” by Leonora Carrington (BBCF 752–753)
• “Leaf by Niggle” by J.R.R. Tolkien (BBCF 798–818)

Tue Nov 10

• “Beyond Lies the Wub” by Philip K. Dick (BBSF 215–220)
• “The Snowball Effect” by Katherine MacLean (BBSF 221–229)
• “2BR02B” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (BBSF 446–451)

Thu Nov 12

• “The Voices of Time” by J.G. Ballard (BBSF 403–423)

Tue Nov 17

• “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman” by Harlan Ellison (BBSF 491–499)
• “Aye, and Gomorrah” by Samuel R. Delany (BBSF 527–533)
• “And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side” by James Tiptree, Jr. (BBSF 608–614)

Thu Nov 19

• “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” by Ursula K. Le Guin (BBSF 577–595)
• “When It Changed” by Joanna Russ (BBSF 602–607)

Tue Nov 24

• “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler (BBSF 755–767)
• “New Rose Hotel” by William Gibson (BBSF 794–801)
• “Before I Wake” by Kim Stanley Robinson (BBSF 969–977)

Thu Nov 26

• No class

Tue Dec 1

• “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang (BBSF 1097–1125)

Thu Dec 3

• Disco Elysium (play at least three hours before class)

Thu Dec 10 at 9:30 AM

• Final exam (schedule)

Evaluation of Student Performance

• Artificial intelligence tools necessitate a return to pen-and-paper exams to assess student learning.
• I may curve midterm and final exam grades after grading them. A curve will only raise grades.

Grading Scale

These cutoffs already include rounding; final percentages are not rounded further. For example, 92.5% is an A, and 92.49% is an A−.

Assignment weights

Assignment descriptions

On call

You and several peers will be randomly assigned to be “on call” for two reading days during the term. Reading days are all class days with assigned texts. I will post the full on-call schedule after the first class.

Anyone may participate in any class discussion. But students who are on call are expected to participate.

When you are on call, you are expected to be well prepared to discuss that day’s reading. On-call students will be asked to close read passages, identify generic conventions, and connect texts to their historical moment. You are welcome to use your books and notes; you don’t need to memorize. If you don’t always read them, the headnotes in the anthologies will be valuable for this.

Each on-call day is scored as either prepared or unprepared. You are prepared if you have done the reading and contribute substantively when called on. You are unprepared if you have clearly not done the reading, or if you miss class without an excused absence (see Attendance). Your grade for this assignment is the share of your two on-call days on which you were prepared.

If you cannot attend on a day you are on call, email me (before class if you can, and no later than one week afterward) and I will reschedule you to a later reading day. I will reschedule each student only once per term. If you miss an on-call day after you have used your one reschedule, that day is scored unprepared. If no later reading day remains when you need to reschedule, I will grade you on your other on-call day alone. Rescheduling for content-warning reasons (see Content Warnings) does not count toward this limit.

In-class quizzes

Most class periods with readings will include short in-class quizzes that simulate the types of questions that students will encounter on the midterm and final exams. Quizzes will generally be administered at the beginning of class. They are graded complete or incomplete based on good-faith effort, not correctness.

If you arrive after the quiz has been given, take it home and bring it to our next class for credit.

If you miss class, you cannot make up that day’s quiz, but you will receive credit for it if your absence is excused (see Attendance). I will post past quizzes to the class website so that everyone can review them to practice for the exams.

Midterm exam

The midterm will be a 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

The final will be a pen-and-paper exam administered during the assigned final examination period: Thursday, December 10 at 9:30 a.m., half an hour earlier than our usual start time.

The final is cumulative: key terms and comparisons may draw on any text from the whole term. Passages for identification and close reading will come only from texts assigned after the midterm. Disco Elysium will not be on the final.

This exam will test students by asking them to define key terms, identify passages from readings, close read evidence from provided quotations, and compare at least two texts.

Extra credit book club

Students can earn up to 8 percentage points of extra credit, added to your final course grade, 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 by completing a survey that I will circulate separately. On the survey, you will indicate which of Robinson’s works you are most interested in reading, or that you have no preference. I will form the book clubs from those responses, grouping students with shared interests. Each book club will have at least three members.
2. Each book club will read approximately 50 pages of Robinson’s work for each meeting. (It is fine to finish only part of a novel during the term; many of his novels are much longer than 200 pages.) Different book clubs will read different works.
3. Book clubs set their own reading schedules and meeting times. Club members receive extra credit for meeting up to four times outside of class during the term. Each book club meeting must last for at least thirty minutes. A meeting requires at least two members present. It still counts if fewer than three members attend, as long as those present sign the log.

Earning the extra credit

At the end of each book club meeting, all group members who are present will sign a book club log on a piece of paper 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 hand in the signed log in class on behalf of the group. You may hand in one log after each meeting or all of them together, but all logs are due in class by Tuesday, December 1.

For each log submitted, signatories will receive +2 percentage points on their final course grade, to a maximum of +8 for those who attend four book club meetings.

Course Policies and Statements

No digital technology in class

Except for students with an accommodation registered with Disability Access Services that overrides this rule, students are not permitted to use digital technology (including but not limited to laptops, tablets, phones, etc.) during class.

Please bring your copies of the texts to each class. You are encouraged, but not required, to take notes by hand on paper.

Reasons for this policy:

• Recent studies have shown an advantageous relationship between handwriting notes and student achievement compared to typing notes.⁷ While you can write more on a laptop, students seem to learn better writing by hand.
• This class has a significant discussion component. In my experience, devices discourage participation in discussions.
• I post my slides, so there is no need to transcribe them.

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. (No need to apologize!)

Attendance

If you must miss class, email me before class if you can, and no later than one week afterward. An absence is excused if you email me about it within that week; you do not need to give a reason. An absence you do not email me about within a week is unexcused.

If you have an excused absence, you will receive credit for any in-class quiz you missed that day. If your absence falls on a day you are on call, I will reschedule you once (see On call). Excused absences cover quizzes and on-call days; missed exams are handled under Extensions.

If you have more than two excused absences during the term, you are required to schedule a meeting with me to discuss how you are keeping up with the course.

If you are sick or injured, please do not come to class. Email me to let me know that you will be missing class. You do not need to provide details of your illness, injury, or a doctor’s note. I trust you, and I don’t need to know medical specifics. “I am sick and will not be in class today” is perfectly fine.

If you add the course after the first class, email me as soon as you enroll so that I can add you to the on-call schedule, send you the content-warning survey, and place you in a book club if one has room.

Extensions

• Extension requests made for unforeseeable reasons will be granted.
  • For example, getting sick or injured is unforeseeable.
• Email me as soon as possible to request an extension.
  • For example, suppose you break your leg the day before the midterm. Let me know, and I will happily arrange for you to take the midterm on another day.
• This policy applies to both the midterm and the final exam. Because the final comes at the end of the term, missing it for an unforeseeable reason may mean receiving an Incomplete (see Incomplete) so that you can take it after the term ends.

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. If you are on call for the day we discuss it, I will reschedule you to a later reading day.

If you complete an alternative assignment in place of a text and an exam question asks about that text, note on that question that you received an alternative. I keep a record of alternative assignments and will check your note against it so that you are not penalized.

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, 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 aquaphobia 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 Claude or ChatGPT in this course, except during class time since digital technology is not permitted in class (except for students with registered accommodations). 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. AI tools often decline to quote copyrighted texts at length, and when they do quote, they frequently misquote.

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

I aim to make all course materials accessible, but some formats, such as graphic narrative and video games, may present barriers. If any course material is not accessible to you, please let me know. 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

Sadly, we do not have enough time in the quarter to read any novels in full, and the novel is probably the most important literary form for understanding SF.

Students who are interested in the histories of science fiction and fantasy are directed to the following longer 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.