Register Now for My Science Fiction Class at Georgia Tech, LMC 3214, SS Summer Session 2013

This summer, I will teach Georgia Tech’s Science Fiction class (LMC 3214). If you are a Tech student, you can take this class for Humanities credit. Read below for further details about the history of this class and specific information about registering for it.

Professor Bud Foote introduced Science Fiction to Tech some decades ago. When I first entered Tech, I wanted to take Professor Foote’s class, but it was always full before I had an opportunity to register for it. He and his class were insanely popular. After Bud’s retirement and passing away, Professor Lisa Yaszek and other faculty members continued to teach the history and cultural importance of SF to eager Tech students.

In 2004, I took Professor Yaszek’s Science Fiction class, which played a signifiant role in shaping my career path to this point as an educator at Tech. I am extremely happy to be a part of that tradition now with my own SF class.

My Science Fiction class, LMC 3214 SS2 (CRN: 56435) will be offered during the second short summer session on MTWR 9:20am-11:20am. Read below for my class description. Please note that this will be a reading-intensive class (primarily short stories with at least one novel), but there will be other media involved, including: TV shows, movies, and video games.

LMC3214 Science Fiction Ellis, J. (BF) SS2 MTWR 9:20-11:20am Skiles 368

This class will introduce you to science fiction (SF) and guide you toward a deeper appreciation of the genre’s historical development, cultural context, and technoscientific relevance. You will be given the opportunity to read, see, and experience a range of SF across different media, including novels, short stories, films, television shows, and video games, that share a common theme of “brains, minds, and computers.” While significant, this theme will lead our discussions toward other important themes in SF. In addition to these examples of the genre, you will learn about its origins and definitions, explore its mega-text of shared terminology, and develop a critical awareness of SF’s commentaries on the here-and-now veiled in future extrapolations and alternative realities. Students are expected to keep up with the extensive list of readings and to take part in discussion, active learning exercises, and presentations.