Anglo-American Science Fiction in Short Story and Poetry
LECTURER:
Matías Carnevale
Mondays in May 4, 11, 18 and June 1
Time: 18:30–20:00
Offered in English
ARS 65.000 for Argentine citizens
USD65 for foreigner.
What happens when machines become objects of worship? What if technology quietly replaces human beings? Could a small country conquer the world through music?
Long before contemporary debates about artificial intelligence, automation or environmental collapse, science fiction writers were already exploring these possibilities. This four-session course introduces some of the themes that have defined Anglo-American science fiction: the fascination with — and fear of — machines and artificial beings, the threat of nuclear annihilation, the discovery of extraterrestrial life, and the idea of global domination by a single nation.
Through close reading and discussion, participants will examine a selection of striking short stories and poems by authors such as H. G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, C. L. Moore, E. B. White and Fredric Brown. Among the works discussed are Wells’s “The Lord of the Dynamos”, in which a machine becomes the object of religious worship; Moore’s “No Woman Born”, about a singer reborn as a cyborg after a catastrophic accident; and White’s witty “The Supremacy of Uruguay”, where a small country conquers the world through music.
The course will also explore Bradbury’s “The Murderer” and “There Will Come Soft Rains”, Dick’s “Autofac”, and several celebrated short-short stories by Fredric Brown. The final session turns to science fiction poetry by Heathcote Williams and Edwin Morgan, addressing themes such as environmental collapse and the search for life beyond Earth.
Who is this course for?
Readers interested in literature, speculative ideas and cultural debate — including students, teachers, writers and translators. No previous background in science fiction is required.
What makes this course distinctive?
Rather than focusing on novels, the course highlights the short literary forms that helped shape the genre — short stories, micro-fiction and poetry — revealing how science fiction has long anticipated many of the technological and cultural questions of our time.
Topics explored include:
- Machines, artificial intelligence and cyborg bodies
- Automated worlds and technological domination
- Encounters with alien life
- Science fiction as satire and philosophical speculation
- The role of poetry within the science fiction tradition
Why read science fiction today?
Many of the technological and cultural debates shaping our present — artificial intelligence, automation, environmental collapse and the search for life beyond Earth — were imagined by science fiction writers decades ago. Revisiting these remarkable texts allows us to see how literature can illuminate the dilemmas of our technological age while offering imaginative perspectives on the future.