Speculative Fiction and Climate Justice: Imagining Futures, 7.5 Credits

Common sense tells us that we do not know what the future holds. But as many scholars and writers have noted, we often talk of the future as already set, or even as already here. We live in a world where climate change, loss of biodiversity, and social and economic inequality can generate feelings of hopelessness. In this course, we explore English language literature, film, and tv-series from different parts of the world, from the 1970s to the present, that imaginatively reinvent our futures. We take as our starting point the idea that fiction can be a resource for change, through making us abandon the idea of the future as just more of the same. We will discuss works that challenge our ideas of what the future can hold and in doing so also asks us to re-examine our present. The futures imagined may not always be hopeful, but they all encourage us to think imaginatively and critically about the kind of future that could be possible.

ECTS Credits

7.5 Credits

Level of education

First cycle, has less than 60 credits in first-cycle course/s as entry requirements (G1F)

School

School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences

When is the course offered?

Prerequisites: 30 credits from first-cycle courses in English, Literary studies, or Film studies. The applicant must also have qualifications corresponding to the course "English 6" or "English B" from the Swedish Upper Secondary School.

Selection: Academic points

Additional information: Teaching methods
The course can be made up of lectures, laboratory work, seminars, field studies, exercises, placement studies, web-based discussions and/or workshops.

Assessment
The course can be assessed through written examination, take-home examination, compulsory course components, paper, essay and/or oral examination.

Course syllabus

Application code: X1803