INTRODUCTION to Speculative Fiction and Fantasy / Syllabus

Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre encompassing fiction with certain elements that do not exist in the real world, often in the context of supernatural, futuristic or other imaginative themes. This includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, science fantasy, horror, utopian and dystopian fiction, supernatural fiction, as well as combinations thereof.

Dystopian: Takes place in a highly undesirable society, often plagued with strict control, violence, chaos, brainwashing or other negative elements. 1984, Brave New World, Brazil, The Handmaid's Tale, The Hunger Games

Alternate history:  Focusing on historical events as if they happened in a different way, and their implications in the present. The Man in the High Castle

Apocalyptic: Takes place before and during a massive, worldwide catastrophe, typically a natural disaster of very to extremely large scale or a nuclear holocaust. A Quiet Place, 12 Monkeys, World War Z

Post- apocalyptic: Focuses on groups of survivors after similar massive, worldwide disasters. Waterworld, The Stand, Fallout, Mad Max

Fantasy

What is fantasy? How can one identify a fantasy story? When we refer to fantasy in the context of literature we are referring to stories that have certain definable elements that make the story unreal. They vary from mythical beasts roaming an imagined world to natural settings in which animals take on human characteristics. There are recognizable conventions of fantasy, such as toys coming to life, tiny humans, articulate animals, imaginary worlds, magical powers, and time-warp tales. A story needs to possess only one of these features in order to be classified as fantasy. However, some great stories use a combination of fantasy elements. Simply put, a fantasy is any story in which at least one element cannot be found in our human world.

In her 2008 book Rhetorics of Fantasy, Farah Mendlesohn proposes the following taxonomy of fantasy, as "determined by the means by which the fantastic enters the narrated world, "while noting that there are fantasies that fit none of the patterns:

In "portal-quest fantasy" or "portal fantasy", a fantastical world is entered through a portal, behind which the fantastic elements remain contained. A portal-quest fantasy tends to be a quest-type narrative, whose main challenge is navigating a fantastical world.

 In "immersive fantasy", the fictional world is seen as complete, its fantastic elements are not questioned within the context of the story, and the reader perceives the world through the eyes and ears of the protagonist without an explanatory narrative. This narrative mode "consciously negates the sense of wonder" often associated with speculative fiction, according to Mendlesohn, who adds that "a sufficiently effective immersive fantasy may be indistinguishable from science fiction" because the fantastic "acquires a scientific cohesion all of its own.

In "intrusion fantasy", the fantastic intrudes on reality (unlike portal fantasies), and the protagonists' engagement with that intrusion drives the story. Normally realist in style, assuming the normal world as their base, intrusion fantasies rely heavily on explanation and description.  Immersive and portal fantasies may themselves host intrusions.

Why do writers use the fantasy genre?

• The major advantage of fantasy is that it can open up possibilities; it is not confined to the boundaries of the real world.
• Writers are able to convey complex ideas on a symbolic level that would be difficult to convey otherwise.
• Fantasy works can provide a fresh perspective on the real world.
• Ursula Le Guin has written that “fantasy is true, of course. It isn’t factual, but it is true.” The fantasy genre involves a different way of apprehending existence but it is no less true than realism.
• Fantasy stories can suggest universal truths through the use of magic and the supernatural.
• Thomas Hardy preferred fantasy over realism, claiming that “a story must be exceptional enough to justify its telling,” and that a writer must have “something more unusual to relate than the ordinary experience of every average man and woman.”

 

Syllabus

Mini Unit: Short stories

The focus of this mini unit is to introduce and illustrate aspects of speculative fiction / fantasy.

Primary texts:

Bradbury:                                  “All Summer in a Day”

LeGuin:                                     “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”

Kristine Ong Muslim:               “Day of the Builders”

Gwendolyn Kiste:                     “All the Mermaid Wives”

Primary writing assignments:

·         Story annotations

·         In class essay

Unit 1: Portal Quest Literature

Primary texts:

Joseph Campbell:                   The Hero with a Thousand Faces (PBS documentary)

Maurice Sendak                     Where the Wild Things Are

Lewis Carroll:                        Alice in Wonderland

Neil Gaiman:                         Coraline (film)

Andrew Adamson (dir):        The Chronicles of Narnia:  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (film)

Laura Weymouth:                 The Light Between Worlds

Unit 2: Intrusion Fantasy

Primary texts:

JK Rowling:          Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (film)

Neil Gaiman:        Neverwhere

Writing activities will include:

• annotations
• hero charts and analysis
• argument papers (Narnia VS the Woodlands / Carroll VS Gaiman)

The Final Exam (mandatory)