CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE FICTION

I taught this class at Emory University during the spring semester of 1994. The emphasis was on contemporary science fiction -- that is, SF written in the last twenty years. We began by considering some generic definitions. What is science fiction? And, in contrast, what is fantasy? Should the two genres be separate categories and what kind of conceptual clarity do we gain by having distinct categories? These types of questions began a semester-long look at the distinctions made between "literature" and popular genres like science fiction, mysteries, westerns, romances, etc.

As SF fans, all of us had raged at Academia's condescending attitude toward SF and other genre fiction. So we had a vested interest in defining SF as just as "good" (whatever that means) as Tom Sawyer or The Great Gatsby or Pride and Prejudice or any of the other acknowledged Great Books.

Here's a list of the books we read (in no particular order).

• Gregory Benford, Timescape
• Michael Bishop, Count Geiger's Blues
• Steven Brust, Cowboy Feng's Space Bar and Grille
• Pat Cadigan, Synners
• Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game
• C.J. Cherryh, Downbelow Station
• Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
• Mary Gentle, Golden Witchbreed
• William Gibson, Neuromancer
• Bruce Sterling, Islands in the Net
• Bruce Sterling, ed., Mirrorshades

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