ENG 1315 - Black Speculative Literature of the 20th and 21st Centuries

Credits: 3 hrs.

In this course, students are introduced to black writers of speculative literature, including Octavia Butler, Tananarive Due, and Derrick Bell, as well as other writers who introduce race as a major theme. Through a series of readings and writing assignments, students will examine ways in which writers grapple with key themes typically addressed in speculative literature: communication (alien contact, time travel), political structures (utopias / dystopias, post-apocalyptic environments), impact of science (drugs and diseases), and religion. Students will also evaluate the depiction of race in science fiction films.