Science Fiction

• To present the background of postwar American science fiction and the norms of the literary genre broadly considered.
• To show students the impact of a mere decade and a half of technological and scientific progress on the style and vision of the new cutting-edge science fiction.
• To strengthen the skills of close reading and narrative analysis.
• To improve oral and written English through class participation and regular composition exercises.

Session 1 :

• Étudiants régime général : contrôle continu
• Étudiants régime spécial : épreuve terminale orale. Durée 15 mn (préparation 30mn)

Session 2 (« rattrapage ») :

Étudiants régime général et régime spécial: épreuve terminale orale. Durée 15 mn (préparation 30mn)

Ouvrages au programme :

• Philip K. Dick, Blade Runner [original title: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?] (1968)
• William Gibson, Neuromancer (1983)

N.B. Students must come to class with their own personal copies of Blade Runner (weeks 1-6) and Neuromancer (weeks 7-12).  For week one, read the first four chapters of Blade Runner. We shall also be analyzing excerpts from various science fiction films of the period, including Ridley Scott's 1982 adaptation of Blade Runner.

Bibliographie complémentaire :

Additonal readings and resources will be suggested during the course of the semester.