ENGL3022

Science fiction extrapolates from reality and science, while fantasy invents what likely couldn’t exist. As the two function as rival, unreal genres under the larger heading of fantastika, they lead us to consider dual worlds. Through reading diverse literary texts, sometimes including films adapted from the literature, students will explore unreal characters, cultures, ecologies, genders, languages, races, politics, settings, and technologies. By depicting invented worlds that differ in some way from the real world, works of fantastika automatically invite us to compare the real and unreal worlds and to scrutinize the differences between the two. Expect to discuss the double and the notion of doubling, as well the past, present, and future and other odd considerations inherent to fantastika.