ENGL 103 B28: Case Studies in Research: Contemporary Speculative Fiction

G. Bechtel

This section of English 103 is an introductory course on Creative Research (also known as Research Creation) with a focus on Contemporary Speculative Fiction. The theme for the course is Engineers of Possibility. We will look at several texts of contemporary speculative fiction (e.g. science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.) as well as several related nonfiction texts (essays, award acceptance speeches, news stories, etc.) related to contemporary developments and/or controversies in this field. All of these will serve as fuel and provocation for students' creative research projects in this course. Engaging in writing exercises, discussion, and collaborative activities, students will respond creatively and critically to the course texts and learn the stages of academic research creation, including exploratory exercises; formulating an original research question; finding, evaluating, and using secondary sources; generating an annotated bibliography (including at least two research sources); and developing this process of inquiry into a final creative project, plus a critical introduction (or afterword) contextualizing that project.