This course explores the forms of new human life imagined in a variety of speculative genres and media. It includes both written and audio-visual sources, and it understands speculative culture to include science fiction, as well as utopian culture, discursive writing, and other genres.

8 x 2 hr seminars (one a week for eight weeks)

1 x 2 hr whole-class workshop 

1 x 2 hr online anytime formative peer assessment exercise

None

None

Seminar Presentation (10 minutes): 20%

Encyclopaedia Exercise (1000 words): 20%

Essay (3000 words) OR Creative Assessment (2000 words) with Critical Reflection (1000 words): 60%

This course aims to:

■ Engage with a range of speculative writings and audio-visual material that imagine the future of human life

■ Develop students' knowledge of relevant scholarship in literary and cultural criticism

■ Critically reflect upon the posthuman imaginaries conveyed in a variety of genres

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Apply appropriate concepts from the theories of science fiction and speculative culture to primary course material

■ Distinguish different conventions and genres in the posthuman imaginary

■ Appraise the function of posthuman speculation in contemporary culture

■ Demonstrate advanced academic skills in analysis, writing, editing, and argumentation through written and oral assessments.

■ Systematically explore and evaluate an academic research context using a variety of finding aids and sources.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.