Wikipedia talk:Education program archive/University of Oregon/Feminist Science Fiction (Fall 2013)/Course description

In the words of author and linguist Suzette Haden Elgin, “SF is the only genre of literature in which it's possible for a writer to explore the question of what this world would be like if you could get rid of [X], where [X] is filled in with any of the multitude of real world facts that constrain and oppress women.” By and large barred from the physical sciences, science fiction has also provided a space for feminist writers to explore relationships with science, technology, and identity, unfettered by the sexist constraints of professions or institutions and outside the generic conventions of other types of fiction.

In this course, we will be looking at feminist science fiction as a form of theory, as a strategy for thinking critically about the present and imagining “what this world would be like” under different circumstances.

This course provides a unique opportunity for students to do the following:

•	explore the genre of feminist science fiction through key texts;

•	learn how to conduct archival research, through work in the UO Libraries’ significant holdings in the area of feminist science fiction;

•	explore online fandom, expanding our understanding of archives to online domains and activities;

•	learn how to write up their research for various audiences;

•	discuss their research with a broader community of scholars, writers, and artists.

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