Course Offerings
The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at KU offers a range of courses on science fiction, speculative fiction, and related topics and genres such as science, technology, and society, fan fiction, and fantasy.
View a list of past courses here.
Check the course links below to see whether specific SF and related courses are currently being offered at KU. Since many of these courses are topics courses, please note the section titles and departmental course descriptions to ensure that the topics of the course(s) offered given semester are relevant to your interests.
View Upcoming Courses
ENGL 203: Intro to Science Fiction
SPRING 2023
Instructor: Jasmine Holthaus
53736 | TuTh 11:00-12:15 PM | JRP 144 - LAWRENCE
53740 | TuTh 1:00-2:15 PM | JRP 144 – LAWRENCE
This course is focused on the study of science fiction stories and applying these stories to social and cultural issues. Students will analyze, explore, and inquire about current and future social problems using science fiction as a guide and ask the questions: What is significant about science fiction? What are the literary and rhetorical elements of science fiction that makes the genre more than just “popular fiction”? Texts will include short stories by authors such as Andy Weir, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, and Misha Nogha. Students will also have the opportunity to analyze science fiction films/TV, including a select episode of Black Mirror and the movie Akira.
