UCIL20301 (10 credits)
UCIL20801 (20 credits)
Do scientists play God? Is it possible to understand an alien? Will machines rise up and enslave us? Does the rapid pace of scientific and technological change point towards a future paradise - or a hell on Earth? Or just to a different world that seems equally "normal"?
These are questions which authors and film-makers have long explored through fiction, for a wide variety of reasons: to make money by providing popular entertainment; to explore philosophical questions about the nature of humanity, technology or civilisation; to promote possible future projects in real life, or to warn of emerging dangers; to comment on the politics, social issues and cultural assumptions of their own times.
This course uses science fiction literature and film from the nineteenth century to the present day to explore the changing place of science in the cultural imagination. We ask how science fiction has revealed - and sometimes changed - public dreams and anxieties around technology, the power of science, the future of our earth, and what it means to be human.
To explore through science fiction literature and film the cultural responses to science and technology.
This unit takes a selection of classic science-fiction films, novels and stories from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries to explore how popular culture responds to developments in real-world science and technology, and how creative artists use imagined science and technology as a tool for real-world commentary.
On successful completion of the unit, you will be able to:
In addition, for the 20 credit version only (UCIL20801):
The exact course content may vary, depending on staff availability and recent developments in the field, but a typical weekly schedule runs as follows:
Each week's material will be covered both through lecture-style presentation and group seminar discussion.
10 Credits
20 Credits
UCIL units are designed to be accessible to undergraduate students from all disciplines.
UCIL units are credit-bearing and it is not possible to audit UCIL units or take them for additional/extra credits. You must enrol following the standard procedure for your School when adding units outside of your home School.
If you are not sure if you are able to enrol on UCIL units you should contact your School Undergraduate office. You may wish to contact your programme director if your programme does not currently allow you to take a UCIL unit.
You can also contact the UCIL office if you have any questions.
This unit is also available with a different course unit code. To take a UCIL unit you must choose the unit with a UCIL prefix.
Dr James Sumner (unit lecturer) and graduate teaching assistants
Each week's teaching will include two main elements:
1. Around one hour of video from the course unit lecturer. This will be pre-recorded for you to view at your own convenience. We use this format because much of the course content is based on film, TV and online sources: the videos will feature clips of source material, and pointers to resources for independent study, alongside analytical commentary. Each week's videos will also introduce the required reading or viewing, and introduce the wider course unit themes it relates to.
2. A 50-minute discussion seminar hosted by the unit lecturer or graduate teaching assistant. Each seminar will be themed around the week's required reading or viewing, and will build on the ideas presented in the video through general discussion and group activities and offer a chance to raise questions. Seminar groups will meet face-to-face on campus.
The unit lecturer offers a weekly on-campus office hour for drop-in meetings, and bookable Zoom appointments at various times through the week for advice on coursework and other questions.
The 20-credit version of the unit has all the teaching of the 10-credit version plus extra one-to-one guidance around the 3000-word project, which students devise themselves under supervision, and which should take up half the time allocation for the unit.
The videos will be available in advance of each teaching week and can be viewed at any time.
You will need to be able to attend at least one of the following times for the weekly live seminar:
We may be able to offer additional or alternative seminar arrangements, depending on the course unit's overall recruitment. If you would like to sign up but can't make any of these times, please contact the unit lecturer with details of your availability and we'll do our best to include you.
You get a chance to do something different from your degree program. This is especially true if you're in science as you learn to approach every topic from the Humanities perspective. Of course if you're like me and love sci-fi, you should definitely take it!Lourdes Villegas Garcia, Neuroscience
