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What interests you about this course?

I think the main attraction of this class for me is that I enjoy the ability to travel through the past and forecast the future in science fiction. In fact, to be honest, there are a lot of inventions in science fiction that start out as “imaginations” but eventually become reality, this is really cool in my mind. It will not only allow me to see a “functional machine”, but also can allow us to see what is worth innovating or what can be improved in this world.

What science fiction have you previously read?  (could be lots or none!)

To be honest, I’m not the guy that interested with reading. However, “Harry Potter” change my attitude( I did not know should “Harry Potter” be categorize in science fiction), and I also impressed about one science fiction called “trisomy”, it was also remade into a movie.

What do you hope to learn in our time together?

Honestly, I think maybe for someone who’s not particularly a reader, like me, I’m probably not that interested in the plot, but I’m a tech junkie, so I’m probably more interested in learning about some of the technology involved and how it’s realizable. Because these technologies are very creative and very original and would make me feel deeply shocked.

As author Dr. Xia Jia explained at a conference, science fiction

is a literature always in the state of becoming, a literature that is born on the frontier—the frontier between the known and unknown, magic and science, dream and reality, self and other, present and future, East and West—and renews itself as the frontier shifts and migrates. The development of civilization is driven by the curiosity that compels us to cross this frontier, to subvert prejudices and stereotypes, and in the process, complete our self-knowledge and growth.

In this course, students will learn how science fiction has been defined traditionally and read both classic western authors and exciting new international sci fi writers.  Through mini-lectures, detailed class discussion, independent writing, and a group project, the class will explore many “frontiers,” to borrow Jia’s term, and ultimately consider what it means to be human in a complex age of technological advancement and rapid advances toward post-humanism.