Class Schedule: Tuesday and Thursday, 2:30-4:20PM
Classroom: SAV 156
Instructor: Dr. Jianfeng He, adjunct faculty, English Department
Contact: jfhe@uw.edu
Office Hours: T/Th 4:30-5:30PM, Padelford Hall B33 or on Zoom (Meeting ID: 656 639 8735)
Course Description
Welcome to English 200D: Reading Literary Forms! In this course, we will learn how to read, analyze, and enjoy literature across different forms--narrative fiction, graphic novel, and film--through a shared theme: living with the nonhuman. The stories we will read are about aliens, robots, animals, monsters, and other forms of life that do not fit neatly into our everyday definitions of the human, and we will approach science fiction & fantasy as serious literary genres that help us think more carefully about the world we live in now. These stories raise questions that are both exciting and unsettling: What makes someone--or something--human? Who gets recognized as intelligent and moral agent, and deserving of rights and care? How stable is the boundary between the human and the nonhuman, and what happens when that boundary breaks down?
As we read these speculative narratives, we will examine how ideas about “the human” are shaped by socio-historical conditions, cultural values, and systems of power. Many of the texts in this course challenge the assumptions of liberal humanism, a powerful Western tradition that emphasizes rationality, individuality, autonomy, and human exceptionalism. By encountering nonhuman perspectives and forms of life, we will develop a more nuanced understanding of how these ideas work, where they fail, and what imaginative alternatives speculative literature might offer us. Class discussions will focus on how these texts help us think about contemporary issues such as climate change, AI technology, race and gender-based social justice, as well as ethical responsibility toward human and nonhuman others. This course invites you not only to analyze literary form, but also to question familiar ways of thinking and living and to imagine new possibilities beyond the human.
Course Goals
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Read and analyze literary texts in multiple forms, including novels and graphic narratives
- Practice close reading by attending to literary elements such as language, style, narrative patterns, characterization, and imagery
- Develop basic understanding of science fiction as an important literary genre and explain how science fiction uses nonhuman elements to explore social, ethical, and philosophical questions
- Develop a nuanced and contextualized understanding of the human/nonhuman distinction and its cultural and social significance
- Critically reflect on the assumptions of liberal humanism and human-centered ways of thinking
- Communicate literary analysis clearly and effectively in class discussion and written work
Required Materials
This course requires hard copies of the following books. It is important that we all have the same print copies for these books. We will use them frequently for in-class reading, annotation, and discussion, and they will be the only materials you may bring to the midterm and final exams. Please make sure the ISBN-13 of the books you order is the same as the ISBN-13 of the books below:
- Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ISBN-13: 978-0345404473
- Octavia E. Butler, Dawn, ISBN-13: 978-1538753712
- Ted Chiang, Exhalation, ISBN-13: 978-1101972083
- Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, Monstress, Volume 1, ISBN-13: 978-1632157096
You can choose new or used copies based on affordability and availability, whether online or from a local bookstore. If you order used copies online, use extra caution since the editions sometimes may not be as described and it may take more than two weeks for delivery. All additional critical readings will be provided as PDF files on Canvas.
You will need a physical journal--a simple wide-ruled composition notebook is sufficient--for in-class Writing Journals throughout the quarter. You will also need to buy blue books for mid-term and final exams.
Assessment
- Lead Discussion 15%
- Writing Journals 20%
- Midterm and Final Exams 50%
- Participation 15%