Just over a year ago I posted a story about how SF had an influence in the real world. I offered the proof of Courtney Brown Ph.D, he’s an Emory University prof who had offered a Political Science course entitled Science Fiction and Politics (Political Science 190) and that he’d been making the lectures available as a podcast. Well I’m here today to say that Science Fiction STILL HAS an influence in the real world. And further to that I offer the exact same proof. New year, new semester new Science Fiction and Politics (Political Science 190) course!
The spring 2007 semester has already started, but just like last year there’s still no cost to audit.
Here’s the course’s schedule:
Weeks 1 & 2
Theme: Empires I
Featured Author: Isaac Asimov – Foundation, and Foundation And Empire
Week 3
Theme: Empires II
Featured Author: Isaac Asimov – Second Foundation
Week 4
Theme: Information control and the circumvention of revolution
Featured Author: Aldous Huxley
Week 5
Theme: The struggle between collectivism and individualism
Featured Author: Usula K. Le Guin
Week 6
Theme: Genetic engineering and liberty
Featured Author: David Brin
Week 7
Theme: Genetic engineering and evolution
Featured Author: Greg Bear
Week 8
Theme: Children soldiers, genocide, and morality
Featured Author: Orson Scott Card
Week 9
Theme: War and exploitation
Featured Author: Joe Haldeman
Week 10
Theme: Blockades and their circumvention, forced group isolation
Featured Author: Wilson
Week 11
Theme: Ethics in the context of desperation, manipulation, warfare
Featured Author: Isaac Asimov – The Gods Themselves
Week 12
Theme: Mass manipulation and control, corporatist balkanization of government, cyberpunk
Featured Author: William Gibson
Week 13
Theme: Review
You can subscribe to the podcast via this feed:
http://www.courtneybrown.com/classes/scifi/mp3/cb_SciFiPoliticsClass1.xml
I listened to “Doc” C. Brown last year. Really good stuff. He gets into current events and relates them to novels he’s teaching. If you’re a diehard Bushy, you might want to stay away though. He says he questions authority no matter who’s in power. Anyways, he brings up a little of interesting thoughts, and I can’t recommend it high enough.