Origins of American Science Fiction

This course will explore important works and concepts in nineteenth-century American literature that influenced later science fiction. The texts we read will discuss social and technological changes in the United States through plots involving time travel, unexplored worlds, and fantastic inventions. Covered authors include: Washington Irving, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Griffith, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Martin Delany, Mark Twain, Mary Bradley Lane, and Charles W. Chesnutt. We will focus on the ways in which these authors address nineteenth-century debates about race, gender, and the growing American empire. This course will teach students to identify key texts in the history of science fiction in the United States, analyze their connections to nineteenth century American social movements, and appreciate the complex sources of later science fiction texts.