Transcript title
Pop Culture: Science Fiction
Credits
4
Grading mode
Standard letter grades
Total contact hours
40
Lecture hours
40
Recommended preparation
WR 121Z.
Course Description
Focuses on the significance of science, technology, and on such topics as the idea of the future and the "limits of the human" as revealed in popular culture through genres such as fiction, film, music, comics, anime and manga, and advertising.
Course learning outcomes
1. Analyze selected elements of the genre to explain how they shape audience response.
2. Explain how this genre expresses values and beliefs, themes, or social and political realities.
3. Demonstrate analytical skills, using evidence from primary and secondary sources to support one's interpretation.
4. Identify and illustrate mixed genres in popular culture categories such as Science Fiction and the Western or Science Fiction and Detective.
Content outline
- Plot, character, theme, point of view, setting, symbol, style, and (if applicable) camera work
- Human nature, utopia or dystopia, cultural critiques of science and technology in society
Required materials
1. Required readings/ texts made available either in a required textbook (print, electronic, or low-cost)
2. Access to a computer to complete assignments; ability to store assignment files
3. Writing utensil and a notebook to take notes
General education/Related instruction lists
