How to Teach Science Fiction
More than any other genre, science fiction is a literature of ideas, and those ideas need to be discussed for the stories to be understood. Teaching science fiction requires a different approach than most literature. Characterization, realism and even plot often are less important than the questions the novel leads the reader to ask.
Instructions
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Come up with a reading list. Many science fiction classes strive for a modern approach that emphasizes utopian and dystopian speculative fiction and cyberpunk novels. Other classes strive for a more broad approach, including early science fiction, space opera and sci-fi/horror.
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Relate the science fiction authors and their works to their culture as well as to other authors. Science fiction is always in a dialog with both society and history, and both need to be discussed. For example, what is George Orwell's "Animal Farm" saying about mankind's relationship to animals or to itself? Did Orwell live in a time and place that related to his novel?
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Look for works that your students might not read elsewhere and that have influenced some of the more famous novels. Orwell's "1984" and Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" are frequently taught, so skip them and look at earlier books or similar books that can help your students get an idea of the history of the science fiction story. For example, instead of "1984," read Evgeny Zamiatan's "We," the book from which Orwell borrowed the plot for his novel.
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Ask your students to consider the basic idea behind the science fiction novel, and whether stories typically fall into one of two or three categories. For example, is the novel set in the future where technology has allowed mankind or others to venture into space, such as in "Dune," or is it set on a changed Earth, or a present-day Earth suddenly changed, such as in "War of the Worlds."
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Have your students reflect on both what the authors had to say to his own society and whether the message is still applicable. Although the world changes, the best science fiction stories are remarkably durable.
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References
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