Science Fiction in American Culture

Science fiction (SF) is a genre of ideas, expressing the sensibilities of its age as transparently as other productions of popular culture, some would argue even more so. SF film and literature have provided the popular imagination with some of the most compelling visions of the possibilities and perils of a future increasingly dominated by advanced technologies, globalization, and shifting ideals. Such films and literary texts have also provided serious and thoughtful explorations of contemporary social, cultural, and political issues, from xenophobia, race, gender and sexuality, and class issues, to corporate capitalism, colonialism, environmental degradation, nuclear disaster, and the nature of humanity itself. This course will explore the ways SF film has embodied and reflected cultural attitudes and beliefs around cultural identity and the relationship between the self and society, mirroring some of the most profound hopes, fears, and anxieties to be found in American culture in the late twentieth/early twenty-first century.