21A.270 | Fall 2009 | Undergraduate

Anthropology Through Speculative Fiction

Calendar

WEEK # TOPICs KEY DATES
1 Introduction: Possible Worlds  
2 Techniques of Othering

Television clip

The Paradise Syndrome.” Star Trek. Gene Roddenberry and Jud Taylor. Paramount Television, October 4, 1968.

Film excerpts

Them! Gordon Douglas. Warner Brothers Pictures, 1954.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Don Siegel. Walter Wanger Productions, 1956.

Forbidden Planet. Fred Wilcox. MGM, 1956.

Alien. Ridley Scott. 20th Century-Fox, 1979.

The Brother from Another Planet. John Sayles. A-Train Films, 1984.

The Fly. David Cronenberg. Brooksfilms, 1986.

Men in Black. Barry Sonnenfeld. Amblin Entertainment/Columbia Pictures, 1997.

Dune.” John Harrison. Evision/New Amsterdam Entertainment, 2000.

District 9. Neill Blomkamp. WingNut Films, 2009.

3 First Contact

Television clip

“Daybreak, Part 2.” Battlestar Galactica. 2009.

Film excerpt

Aliens of the Deep. James Cameron. Buena Vista, 2005.

Film

First Contact. Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson. 1983.

4

Afrofuturism, Utopian and Dystopian

Guest Lecture: Prof. Alisa Braithwaite

Paper 1 due

Film

Sun Ra & His Intergalactic Solar Arkestra: Space Is the Place. Jon Coney, Sun Ra, and Joshua Smith. North American Star System, 1974.

5 Vampires!

Television clip

Scenes from Bloodsucking Cinema. Barry Gray. Starz Entertainment, 2007.

6 Religion  
7 Time

Film excerpts

The Time Machine. George Pal. MGM, 1960.

Jurassic Park. Steven Spielberg. Universal, 1993.

The Fullness of Time. Cauleen Smith, 2007.

8

Cyborgs and Cyberworlds

Guest Lecture: Prof. Ian Condry, “Robot Anime.”

Paper 2 due

Film excerpts

Blade Runner. Ridley Scott. Warner Brothers, 1982.

Tron. Steven Lisberger. Walt Disney, 1982.

The Terminator. James Cameron. Hemdale Film Corporation, 1984.

The Matrix. Larry and Andy Wachowski. Warner Brothers, 1999.

Film excerpt (Prof. Condry)

Genius Party. Studio 4°C, 2007.

9 War, Childhood, and Initiation

Film excerpt

War Games. John Badham. MGM, 1983.

10 Gender, Generation/Reproduction, Sexuality, Kinship  
11 Genesis, Eugenesis, Morphogenesis, Xenogenesis

Film excerpt

The Handmaid’s Tale. Volker Schlöndorff. Daniel Wilson Productions, 1990.

12 Presentations Paper 3 due

Course Info

Departments
As Taught In
Fall 2009