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  6. EL55A6: Irish and Scottish Science Fiction

EL55A6: IRISH AND SCOTTISH SCIENCE FICTION (2016-2017)

Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27


Course Overview

This course will look at a wide range of  science fiction writing, beginning from the ‘fantasy science’ of Tait and Balfour’s The Unseen Universe, through early science fiction in the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle to the science fiction of major modern Scottish writers such as Lewis Grassic Gibbon and Naomi Mitchison. On the Irish side, the course will explore how the fantasy science of the Celtic Twilight (W.B.Yeats’s ‘experiments’ in occultism) lead on the modernist science fantasies of Flann O’Brien and Francis Stuart.

Course Details

Study Type Postgraduate Level 5
Term Second Term Credit Points 30 credits (15 ECTS credits)
Campus Old Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Cairns Craig

Qualification Prerequisites

None.

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • One of Master of Letters in English Literary Studies (Studied) or Master of Letters in Irish and Scottish Literature (Studied) or M Litt in Creative Writing (Studied)
  • Any Postgraduate Programme (Studied)

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

This course will look at a wide range of  science fiction writing, beginning from the ‘fantasy science’  of Tait and Balfour’s The Unseen Universe, through early science fiction in the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle to the science fiction of major modern Scottish writers such as Lewis Grassic Gibbon and Naomi Mitchison. On the Irish side, the course will explore how the fantasy science of the Celtic Twilight (W.B.Yeats’s ‘experiments’ in occultism) lead on the modernist science fantasies of Flann O’Brien and Francis Stuart. The development of mixed-genre crossovers between science fiction and  realist fiction, typical of the second half of the twentieth century, will be explored in the works of Alasdair Gray, Edwin Morgan and Iain Banks  and the contributors to the Irish journal Albedo.

Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

1st Attempt:  

2x1500-word essays (25% each) based on class presentations 50%;  3500-word final essay (50%)

Resit:

5000-word essay (100%)

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Feedback

None.

Course Learning Outcomes

None.
 

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