With Ursula K. Le Guin's departure from "hard science fiction" in the 1960s, worlds began to be created that examined the social, cultural, and philosophical foundations of our own societies. These foundations, which are so interwoven into the fabric of our everyday lives that they often defy nuanced examination, were un-Earthed so that their implications and pervasiveness could be clearly displayed. This session seeks to identify methods for how science fiction can be utilized to teach undergraduate students complex literary and cultural theories and will seek to answer questions such as the following: What works can be used to exemplify Marxism, feminism, affect theory, and others? What methods and media might be used to pedagogically connect specific texts to these theories? How might differences between filmic representations and science fiction novels be used to discuss current theoretical currents? These and other questions and issues in teaching literary and cultural theory through science fiction will be subject to this session.

This panel seeks to address methods, resources, contexts, and issues that can be implemented to teach literary and cultural theory through science fiction.

Please send a one-page CV and an abstract of 250 words for a twenty minute paper by the 29th of February 2016 to deludens@dwu.edu.