Lecture

Fiction and Utopia

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In course

HUM-251: Thinking our democracies through dystopia

L'objectif de ce cours est d'étudier les différentes manifestations des mondes totalitaires dans la fiction. Plus précisément, nous regarderons comment les écrivains racontent l'aliénation de l'homme par l'homme - ainsi que les fonctions de tels récits. Un ...

Description

This lecture explores the concepts of fiction and utopia, analyzing the relationship between real and fictional elements in various literary works. It delves into the forces driving actions and debates in fictional narratives, discussing the creation of suspense and the interplay between individual and collective processes. The instructor examines different literary periods, from the 16th to the 20th century, highlighting key works and their impact on the development of fictional storytelling. The lecture also touches on the themes of selection, perception, and the construction of imaginary worlds, providing insights into the intricate processes of storytelling and the evolution of literary genres.

Instructor

Marc Atallah

Teaching & PhD Courses Humans/machines HUM-416 This course combines cultural (particularly literary and artistic), social and scientific approaches to explore the issues, perspectives and problems raised by the hybridization of human and machine. Humans/machines II HUM-463 This course combines cultural (particularly literary and artistic), social and scientific approaches to explore the issues, perspectives and problems raised by the hybridization of human and machine. Scie

Official source

Related concepts (25)

Genre fiction

Genre fiction, also known as formula fiction or popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A number of major literary figures have written genre fiction. John Banville publishes crime novels as Benjamin Black, and both Doris Lessing and Margaret Atwood have written science fiction.

Fiction

Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games.

Science fiction

Science fiction (sometimes shortened to SF or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. Science fiction can trace its roots to ancient mythology. It is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction and contains many subgenres. Its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, scholars, and readers.

Literary genre

A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided into more concrete distinctions. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, and even the rules designating genres change over time and are fairly unstable. Genres can all be in the form of prose or poetry.

Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella category of fiction that, in its broadest sense, encompasses all the genres that depart from realism, or imitating ordinary reality, such as in the context of supernatural, futuristic, and other imaginative realms. This catch-all genre thus includes, but is not limited to, science fiction, fantasy, horror, superhero fiction, alternate history, utopian and dystopian fiction, and supernatural fiction, as well as combinations thereof (for example, science fantasy).

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