反烏托邦小說與電影(文類課:小說)

This course explores dystopian science fiction (sf) short fiction and film, analyzing them as cultural phenomena reflecting the period in which they were created as well as their importance to us today. Each week we will focus on a theme appearing across multiple works, treating them as variations, whether best described as commercial trends reflecting audience interests, or as simply creative writers and filmmakers engaging a larger looming problem facing societies. Many of the themes engage questions of social justice and human rights as well as ecological criticisms: what is the role of human autonomy, of democracy, or economic orders (variations on capitalism, something more primitive, or more advanced)? How might we engage dystopian creative works as challenging us to redefine humanism—human-centered knowledge-accumulation, the Enlightenment trajectory—and offer posthuman critiques based on assumptions of problematic but evident distributed agency in political, economic, and ecological systems. What point of view characters are invented for these works of fiction and film and occasionally TV? How are AI-based surveillance systems depicted? What backstories and worlds illustrate and problematize futures that serve as thought experiments, cautionary tales with glimmers of hope? How can exploring imaginative scenarios, limited by their respective forms of writing and cinematographic storytelling serve as anarchist, socialist, capitalist, nationalist, internationalist propaganda? What is at stake is reflexively engaged in examining these works.

There are no special prerequisites. The course is conducted in English and is open to all students sophomore (大2) or above (or with permission).

Seminar (dialogue, student presentations, lecture, discussion). Class critique of weekly assigned films (occasionally TV series) and fiction (usually short stories). Each student will briefly discuss one film from the options given that day from the perspective of their own critical interests. Students will sign up to give brief presentations (or guided readings) on assigned works of fiction. Student final presentations will be overviews of their individual final research papers.

Grading Criteria Contribution to class discussion: 25% Leading discussion on student-selected readings: 25% Final Presentation on original topic: 25% Final paper (based on final presentation): 25% Attendance: -2 from final grade for each unexcused absence. Even when excused, a make-up assignment is required to avoid the “-2,” such as a short essay about the readings on the day missed.

Course handbook with short excerpts to be made available at library photocopy center.

地點

HC415

時間

Wednesdays 9-12, by appointment

聯絡方式

interpoetics@gmail.com