What do you think?
Teaching Science Fiction
Teaching Science Fiction is the first text in thirty years to explore the pedagogic potential of that most intellectually stimulating and provocative form of popular science fiction. Innovative and academically lively, it offers valuable insights into how SF can be taught historically, culturally and practically at university level.
266 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2011
About the author
Peter Wright
278 books17 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 3, 2021
Obviously I'm not a teacher, but this book was both enjoyable and informative. As a big sf fan I've come away with an even longer list of books to read.
November 22, 2013
This book is part of a series from Palgrave MacMillan, other volumes being "Teaching Chaucer", "Teaching Romanticism", and so on. As the titles indicate, these are books meant to be used by teachers (primarily of undergraduate college courses) as a guide to structuring a class on the titular topic.
Teaching SF consists of thirteen chapters, each written by different authors. Many of these authors are well known in the field of SF studies; Gary K. Wolfe, Adam Roberts, and Gary Westfahl to name a few. Being written by various authors, the chapters differ in style and structure. Most of them are simply essays on a given subtopic within science fiction, with only a nod or two toward addressing an instructor who's trying to put together a class around that topic. A few chapters focus more on their "guide for a teacher" task, and present recommendations on syllabus structure, lists of talking points for class discussion, and so on.
Not being a college professor myself, I was more interested in the straightforward coverage of the topics of SF studies than I was in the how-to-teach material, and on that basis I found the book an enjoyable and worthwhile read. Some of the topics covered in the book's chapters are:
A history of SF
Utopia and anti-utopia in SF
The "scientific romance" era of SF
Pulp SF
Golden age SF
New Wave SF
Postmodernism and SF
Gender and SF
Postcolonialism and SF
Also included are a "chronology of significant works" and a nicely organized section of references and further reading.
For a teacher looking for help in putting together a college-level course on science fiction, this book is alone in its field. But it will also be a rewarding read for anyone interested in SF studies.
Teaching SF consists of thirteen chapters, each written by different authors. Many of these authors are well known in the field of SF studies; Gary K. Wolfe, Adam Roberts, and Gary Westfahl to name a few. Being written by various authors, the chapters differ in style and structure. Most of them are simply essays on a given subtopic within science fiction, with only a nod or two toward addressing an instructor who's trying to put together a class around that topic. A few chapters focus more on their "guide for a teacher" task, and present recommendations on syllabus structure, lists of talking points for class discussion, and so on.
Not being a college professor myself, I was more interested in the straightforward coverage of the topics of SF studies than I was in the how-to-teach material, and on that basis I found the book an enjoyable and worthwhile read. Some of the topics covered in the book's chapters are:
A history of SF
Utopia and anti-utopia in SF
The "scientific romance" era of SF
Pulp SF
Golden age SF
New Wave SF
Postmodernism and SF
Gender and SF
Postcolonialism and SF
Also included are a "chronology of significant works" and a nicely organized section of references and further reading.
For a teacher looking for help in putting together a college-level course on science fiction, this book is alone in its field. But it will also be a rewarding read for anyone interested in SF studies.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews