科幻短篇小說與電影（文類課：其他）
Science Fiction Short Story and Film(Genre: Others)
| 節 | 週二 |
|---|---|
2 09:00–09:50 | 科幻短篇小說與電影（文類課：其他） HC401（光復） 3 節連堂 |
3 10:10–11:00 | |
4 11:10–12:00 |
* 根據陽明交大上課時間表所列
This course explores philosophical questions in science fiction (sf) short fiction, film, and TV series, analyzing them as cultural phenomena reflecting the period in which they were created as well as their importance to us today and the ethical questions they raise. Ethical questions related to the introduction of new technologies and changes in daily life form the focus of investigations. Each week we will focus on a theme appearing across multiple works, treating them as variations, whether best described as commercial trends reflecting audience interests, or as simply creative writers and filmmakers engaging looming problems facing societies. Many of the themes engage questions concerning intersections of new technologies and social change, often social justice and human rights as well as ecological issues: what is the role of human autonomy, democracy, and economic orders as a post-scarcity society becomes viable materially but not necessarily politically? Various posthuman and dystopian stories offer complex frameworks and heroes facing off in such worlds in which reality itself has been radically shifted. How might we engage these science-fictional allegories as challenges for us to redefine humanism—human-centered knowledge-production—and invent posthuman critical spaces for mediation between agents and species in ways that would have been unimaginable in the past? What points of view, characters, conflicts, and moral frames of engagement are promoted in these works of fiction, film, and streaming TV? What backstories and worlds illustrate and problematize futures that serve as thought experiments, cautionary tales with glimmers of hope? How are digital and AI-based agents depicted? How can exploring imaginative scenarios, limited by their respective forms of writing and cinematographic storytelling, serve as state propaganda or lobbying for causes, and how does this affect how we appreciate the works? What is at stake is reflexively engaged in examining these works, raising philosophical questions from multiple languages and traditions.
There are no special prerequisites. The course is conducted in English and is open to all students sophomore (大2) or above (or with permission) from any department or research institute.
無備註
Seminar (dialogue, student presentations, lecture, discussion). Each week, one or two works of fiction and films and/or TV series episodes on a related theme will be treated through lectures, student presentations, and discussion. Readings consist of short selections from recent and classic works of fiction with literary merit. Class investigations of weekly assigned films (occasionally TV series) and fiction (usually short stories or excerpts from novels). Even when not presenting on a given day, each student will briefly discuss one film and the class fiction reading for the day from the perspective of their own critical interests. Student final presentations will be overviews of their individual final research papers.
Grading Criteria Contribution to class discussion, asking questions: 25% Lead one discussion of a work of fiction and one of a film or TV series episode (sign up): 25% Final Presentation on original topic: 25% Final paper (based on final presentation): 25% Attendance: -2 from final grade for each unexcused absence. Even when excused, a make-up assignment is required to avoid the “-2,” such as a short essay about the readings on the day missed. More than three absences result is a failed graded (and cannot be made up). In addition to the above, points may be deducted for lack of preparation for class (completing the readings, investigating and viewing, if possible, related films and TV episodes).
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| 週次 | 主題 |
|---|---|
| 第 1 週 | Introduction to course Themes, overview of variations, common generic hybrids, questions concerning point-of-view characters, and an overview of the history of film and digital technologies and media for presentation and dissemination. Preview: Love, Death & Robots; Robots, S3.E1 ("Three Robots: Exit Strategies." Blurb: "Three robots walk into the post-apocalypse, and take a whirlwind tour of humankind's last attempts to save itself." 12min.) *Course content may be adjusted to meet student interests.* 2026-09-08(二) |
| 第 2 週 | Surveillance capitalism and social media Data commodification; predictive policing; erosion of personal autonomy through constant monitoring. Minority Report (Film) Black Mirror (TV Series, 2011-2019), "Nosedive," "Joan Is Awful," “Fifteen Million Merits” (TV Episodes) Vigilante surveillance tech Person of Interest – Season 1, Episode 1: "Pilot" (TV Episode) Reading: Philip K. Dick, “Minority Report” (short story) 2026-09-15(二) |
| 第 3 週 | Totalitarian state dystopias (and related filmography) THX1138 (1971, Dir. George Lucas) 1984 (1984, Dir. Michael Radford) Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Chain of Command, Part II" (Season 6, Episode 11) Brave New World (TV Series) Fiction (3): Yevgeny Zamyatin, We (short excerpt) George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four (short excerpt) Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange (short excerpt) 2026-09-22(二) |
| 第 4 週 | Alien Invasions Childhood’s End (TV Series) Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) Pluribus (TV Series, 2026-) Have read: Arthur C. Clarke, Childhood’s End (excerpts) 2026-09-29(二) |
| 第 5 週 | Genetic engineering and eugenics: the ethics of biological determinism Gattaca (Film) Sweet Tooth – Season 1, Episode 1: "Out of the Deep Woods" (Netflix) Biohackers – Season 1, Episode 1: "Arrival" (Netflix) Orphan Black – Season 1, Episode 1: "Natural Selection" (TV Episode) The X-Files – "Eve" (TV Episode) Have read: Michael Swanwick, “The Dog Said Bow-Wow” 2026-10-06(二) |
| 第 6 週 | Dramatizing Embodied AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Questions: the right to existence; exploitation of artificial sentience (life?); the legal status of non-organic entities (and how to count someone or something) View clips: 2001 (1968) Blade Runner/Blade Runner 2049/Blade Runner 2048: Nowhere to Run (Films) Star Trek: The Next Generation – "The Measure of a Man" (TV Episode) Westworld – Season 1, Episode 1: "The Original" (TV Episode) Have read (2): "Highway Code" (Brian Stableford) "Steadfast Castle" (Michael Swanwick) 2026-10-13(二) |
| 第 7 週 | Comic and Campy SF film and fiction: the cutting edge of satire in sf film (or, cult classics week) Sleeper (Dir. Woody Allen 1973) Cherry 2000 (Dir. Steve De Jarnatt, 1987) The era of sexual liberation in sf film Barbarella (1968) Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), other. Have read: "Uncanny" (James Patrick Kelly) 2026-10-20(二) |
| 第 8 週 | Gender critiques/satire by way of dystopias View clips: The Stepford Wives (1975) The Handmaid's Tale (TV Series, 2017–) Humans (TV Series) Have read: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale (excerpts) 2026-10-27(二) |
| 第 9 週 | Cyberpunk and related ethical issues The Matrix (film) Ghost in the Shell (film) Black Mirror – "San Junipero" (TV Episode) Caprica – "Pilot" (TV Episode) Have read: William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) (excerpt) 2026-11-03(二) |
| 第 10 週 | War, espionage, and the cold wars (now and then): subtexts of alternative histories The Man in the High Castle (TV Series) For All Mankind (TV Series 2019–2027) Star City (TV Series, 2026) Related: The Prisoner (TV Series, 1967-1968; 2009) Have read: Philip K. Dick, The Man in the High Castle (excerpts) 2026-11-10(二) |
| 第 11 週 | Post-apocalyptic sf Silo (TV Series) Fallout (TV Series) Logan's Run (Film and TV Series) Mad Max (films, overview) TV Series: Jericho (2006–2008) The 100 (2015-16) others. Have read: George R. R. Martin, "'...For a Single Yesterday'" 2026-11-17(二) |
| 第 12 週 | Memory manipulation and identity Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Film) Total Recall (1990 Film) Severance – Season 1, Episode 1: "Good News About Hell" (TV Episode) Have read: P. K. Dick, "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" 2026-11-24(二) |
| 第 13 週 | Ecological issues and biopolitics in healthcare and class constructs View clips: Silent Running (1972) Soylent Green (1973) Wall-E (2008), others Elysium (2013) Extrapolations (TV Miniseries, 2023) Have read: Reading: Paolo Bacigalupi’s short story "The Tamarisk Hunter" (2006) 2026-12-01(二) |
| 第 14 週 | Technocratic dystopias Philip K. Dick’s “Autofac” fiction and TV episode in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (TV Series, 2017 episode aired Jan 12, 2018). Love, Death & Robots – "Automated Customer Service" (Netflix) Have read: Philip K. Dick’s “Autofac” (short story) 2026-12-08(二) |
| 第 15 週 | Changing nature/naturecultures Annihilation (2018) Have read: Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation (2014) (excerpt) 2026-12-15(二) |
| 第 16 週 | Student presentations of final papers 2026-12-22(二) |
Readings will be distributed as PDFs through the e3 system.
- 地點
- HC415
- 時間
- Wednesdays 9-12, by appointment
- 聯絡方式
- brink@nycu.edu.tw