Speculative Fiction Workshop

Undergraduate

Perhaps no form of fiction responds to the surreality of our contemporary society more directly than speculative fiction. Whether it is by imagining a structure whose rooms are inhabited by a couple’s most intimate vulnerabilities (Carmen Maria Machado’s In The Dream House), a society where men bear children (Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild”), or one in which the memory of household items is policed by a shadowy entity (Yoko Ogawa’s Memory Police), speculative fiction tells the truth under uncanny circumstances. In this writing intensive course, we reimagine and employ fiction’s tools through a speculative lens to render a realistic experience. What is the difference between building an entirely fabricated world and placing one discreet supernatural element into an otherwise realistic story? How can we manipulate time on the page to most effectively express life’s most extraordinary experiences? Our focus is on peer review of student stories produced in tandem with craft lessons that address the concerns of the uncanny and speculative-based writing prompts. With space saved for character building, intentional information dispersal, and sound. We borrow tools from other genres (film, painting, poetry) to help us break the laws of physics in fiction and build a more inclusive space and lexicon for the study of speculative worlds. Formerly ENGL 439. M 1:30pm-3:25pm