Nina Coomes

In this course, we¿ll take speculative fiction seriously, diving headfirst into science-fiction, fantasy, horror, romance and works of alternative history. This means we¿ll be looking at things like tropes and conventions of the genre and how literary craft works in mediums that might run toward camp or pulp. To help us ask these questions, we¿ll look at writers like Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia Butler, Eve Ewing, TANAIS and Saidiya Hartman. We¿ll also engage with TV and film adaptations of speculative fiction, thinking about what is added and what gets lost when a work crosses from page to screen. Students can expect generative writing prompts, mini-workshops and exercises in literary criticism. By the end, each student will have written one piece of speculative fiction of their own, as well as one piece of criticism regarding a work of speculative fiction read in class.