CMLT-1317 Classical Traditions in Science Fiction

In this course we explore how science fiction (SF), the genre perhaps most characteristic of the modern world, draws on and departs from ancient Greek and Roman literature, philosophy, myth, history, and art: in other words, how SF forms part of 'classical traditions' and constitutes a rich site for 'classical receptions,' both transmitting and transmuting ancient materials. Beginning with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818), evoking antiquity in its subtitle, The Modern Prometheus, we consider a wide range of materials--mainly literature and film--from several theoretical perspectives in the fields of SF studies and Classics. Readings from modern authors including Kafka, Borges, Herbert, Le Guin, and Dick; ancient authors including Homer, Aeschylus, Lucretius, Ovid, and Lucian; and screenings from directors including Wilcox, Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Cronenberg, and Scott. (Also listed as CLAS 1317.)