Instructor: Gary Weissman
WF 11:00 AM – 12:20 PM
In this course we will explore science fiction from American pulp magazine and radio programs dating from the late 1930s through the 1950s. We will examine how science fiction (sf) developed during this “golden age” when a few sf editors, in conversation with an active fan community, reconceptualized science fiction, facilitating its transition from participatory subculture to mainstream genre following World War II. How did works of pulp sf address hopes and fears related to science, technology, politics, and social change? What narrative techniques did writers employ to distinguish sf from fantasy and weird tales? How has American pulp sf, and science fiction more broadly, been historicized, theorized, and analyzed? We will answer these questions while searching through internet archives in which hundreds of sf pulp magazines (once derided as rubbish for “lowbrow” readers) and dozens of sf radio show episodes are preserved. Your work will involve analyzing what you discover and find most interesting in the archive, utilizing what you learn in this course.