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Unit of study_

ICLS2635: Science Fiction: The Future Is Now

2024 unit information

Science Fiction is one of the most interesting explorations of human future. Yet it addresses a number of social, political and existential issues that refer to the present: dilemmas, phobias and hopes of a world traumatised by war, disease and internal contradictions. Through the comparative study of novels and movies, this unit explores how the future, from a promised land of a great utopia, has become the dreadful exile into a dark dystopia.

Unit details and rules

Managing faculty or University school:

Arts and Social Sciences

Study level Undergraduate
Academic unit International Comparative Literature and Translation Studies
Credit points 6
Prerequisites:
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12 credit points at 1000 level from ICLS or English or Film Studies or 12 credit points at 1000, 2000 or 3000 level from Arabic Language and Cultures or Chinese Studies or French and Francophone Studies or Germanic Studies or Modern Hebrew or Indonesian Studies or Italian Studies or Japanese Studies or Korean Studies or Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies or Spanish and Latin American Studies
Corequisites:
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None
Prohibitions:
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None
Assumed knowledge:
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None

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. demonstrate thorough knowledge of a number of movies, novels and works of science fiction which have become emblematic of our era
  • LO2. demonstrate an understanding of the various ideological agendas encoded within science fiction works
  • LO3. demonstrate a way of analysing and explaining similar cultural creations
  • LO4. identify the development of the genre in the 20th century
  • LO5. demonstrate knowledge of prevailing issues, questions and discussions addressed by science fiction works in various cultures and in different periods
  • LO6. demonstrate an understanding of the wider social context that contributed to the production of these works
  • LO7. contextualise and interpret the various social tensions, moral questions and political debates encrypted within such works of popular culture.

Unit availability

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Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2024
Normal day Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney
Session MoA ?  Location Outline ? 
Semester 1 2022
Normal day Remote

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Modes of attendance (MoA)

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