AST 389: SCIENCE FICTION

Spring 2024

Syllabus

Meeting: Tuesdays 7:00-9:50 PM Room: Physics P127


Instructor: F.M. Walter

Syllabus revised January 2024

Class Date Topic
1 Jan 23 Introduction to Science Fiction
  Lecture: The scope of science FICTION and the scope of SCIENCE fiction
  Reading: Kurt Vonnegut: On Writing Science Fiction
  Reading: John Hodgman: Is Star Wars Science Fiction? New York Times, 1/25/24
  Video: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
 
2 Jan 30 Science (Fiction) and Society
  Lecture: Science, Pseudo-Science, and Non-Science in Contemporary Society
  Readings: Asimov: Nightfall
    Haldeman: The Forever War
  Supporting Documentation: Liquid breathing moves a step closer thanks to measurement study
    US Army trials exoskeletons for military use
 
3 Feb 6 The Long History of Science Fiction
  Lecture: Sci-Fi as an Echo of the Aspirations of an Age
  Readings: Cyrano de Bergerac: The Other World
    Verne: From the Earth to the Moon
    Campbell: Twilight *
    Asimov: Pate de Fois Gras *
  Other: The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
  Le Voyage dans la Lune
 
4 Feb 13 Gadgets in Science Fiction. I: Space Travel
  Lecture: Can't Get They'a from Hey'a - the Physics of Space Travel
  Readings: Weir: The Martian
    Godwin: The Cold Equations *
    Niven: Neutron Star * Image of a neutron star
  Video Excerpt: 2001, A Space Odyssey
  Bonus Reading: Brin: An Ever-Reddening Glow
  Musical Interlude: Lou Nathanson: Duct Tape Madrigal in C Major
  Supporting Documentation: Is beaming down in Star Trek a death sentence? Ars Technica, 9/23/17
 
5 Feb 20 Gadgets in Science Fiction. II: Time Travel
  Lecture: Quantum Mechanics, Causality, Entropy, and Time
  Readings: Wells: The Time Machine
    Andersen: Flight Forever *
    Bradbury: A Sound of Thunder
    Niven: The Theory and Practice of Time Travel *
  Supporting Documentation: Can we time travel? A theoretical physicist provides some answers The Conversation, 6/13/22
 
6 Feb 27 Fiction of the Apocalypse
  Lecture: Lucifer Is Fallen
  Readings: Miller: A Canticle for Liebowitz
    Benet: By the Waters of Babylon
    Bradbury: There Will Come Soft Rain *
  Musical Interlude Relevant songs by Tom Lehrer: We Will All Go Together When We Go
So Long Mom (A Song For World War III)
  Other: T. Cahill: How the Irish Saved Civilization (Anchor Books, 1995)
a non-fiction work documenting how monks may have preserved
Greek and Roman learning during the Dark ages
 
7 Mar 5 Fiction of the Near Future - Biology and Economics
  Lecture: Just Enough Genetics and Evolution
  Readings: Kress: Beggars in Spain *
    Simak: Desertion *
    Gibson: Johnny Mnemonic
    Kollin & Kollin: The Unincorporated Man
    Feinstein: It's a Trap: Emperor Palpatine's Poison Pill
  Supporting Documentation About CRISPR
A Use for CRISPR
 
8 Mar 19 Fiction of the Distant Future
  Lecture: Exoplanets. the Kepler Orrery
  The End of the Universe
  Readings: Herbert: Dune Introduction
    Sheffield: At the Eschaton * Introduction
  Sciencd Dune: we simulated the desert planet of Arrakis to see if humans could survive there
Farnsworth, A. et al. 2021, The Conversation, 10/26/21
  Musical Interlude Zager & Evans: In the Year 2525
 
9 Mar 26 Present-day Dystopias
  Lecture: The Meaning of Exponential Growth
  Readings: Butler: Parable of the Talents
    Bradbury: The Last Night of the World
 
10 Apr 2 Gadgets in Science Fiction. III: Aliens
  Lecture: Alien Biology
Asteroids
Arecibo
  Readings: Russell: The Sparrow
    Brin: Lungfish
    Shara & McDevitt: Lighthouse
    Weinbaum: A Martian Odyssey
    Fraknoi: The Unwelcome Reply
 
11 Apr 9 Communicating with Aliens
  Lecture: SETI
  Readings: Cherryh: Foreigner
    Knight: To Serve Man *
  Other: Scientists say space aliens could hack our planet
Source: Hippke, M & Learned, J.G, 2018, arXiv:1802.02180
A Beacon in the Galaxy: Updated Arecibo Message for Potential FAST and SETI Projects,
Jiang, J.H. et al., 2022, arXix:2203.04288 preprint
 
12 Apr 16 The End of the Earth
  Lecture: Impacts on the Earth: Risks and Rewards
Why Stars Explode (and Planets Do Not)
  Readings: Niven: Inconstant Moon *
    Clarke: The Star *
    Clarke: Rescue Party *
  Optional Readings Crichton: The Andromeda Strain
    Mary Shelley: The Last Man
 
13 Apr 23 Futures that Never Were
  Discussion: Prospects for Artificial Intelligence
Robots
  Readings: Asimov: I, Robot
    Asimov: The Last Question
   Why the three laws of robotics do not work
  Suggested Reading Gibson: Neuromancer
 Optional Reading Karel Capek: R.U.R.
  Other Lehman et al. The Surprising Creativity of Digital Evolution
Non-technical summary in Popular Mechanics
 
14 Apr 30 Science Fiction as Allegory
  Discussion: That's a Wrap!
  Readings: Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles
  Alternative chapters: The Fire Balloons (November 2002)
  The Wilderness (May 2003)
  Video Dark Star


Novels in red can be ordered through the bookstore, and are also available at booksellers such as Barnes & Noble, or at amazon.com. Short stories followed by an asterisk are not freely available on-line, but can be accessed on the AST 389 Brightspace page.