Ethical Encounters with the 'Other' in Speculative Fiction
Affiliation
This course investigates religious and ethical encounters with the 'other' in contemporary speculative fiction. In these texts, the 'other' tends to be represented by non-human intelligences such as AI and extra-terrestrials, but their encounters frequently reflect historic encounters between humans seeking to 'other' each other. Through these texts and their use of cognitive estrangement, we trace postcolonial, feminist, womanist, queer, and crip theories as they relate to religious and ethical concepts of human exceptionalism within different faiths and none. Weeks 2-7 constitute texts involving human-made intelligence, and weeks 8-10 cover extra-terrestrial encounters.
Credit Level: 10
Year Taken: Year 3 Undergraduate
SCQF Credits: 20