Instructor: LaPointe | WF 12:30 pm – 1:50 pm
What counts as reality, and who gets to decide? In this course, we read speculative fiction that challenges how institutions, technologies, and systems shape what people perceive as true, real, or human. Through novels and short fiction, we examine how violence is hidden or justified, how bodies and identities are shaped by power, and how alternative relationalities disrupt dominant systems. Students learn close reading, argumentation, and basic research skills, producing a final essay that connects literature to contemporary questions about technology, control, and identity.