Science Fiction and Politics, Courtney Brown, Emory University

I'll keep this short. This is exactly why I read science fiction. It represents my world view and examines "us", possibilities, realities and strips away all the hedging and buffering of "the message". I would love to recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars Trilogy - you could spend a whole semester on the issues in there.

I was pretty shocked by the student’s inability to understand the profs requirements and the subject. It seems no one was ready for what seemed to be an assignment, to find relevant passages and be ready to enter into a discussion. In addition they weren’t able to stay on task with the subject at hand or were so confused that they couldn’t offer related comments or questions. Emory is noted to be one of the better universities. I would assume that all these students were freshman but even so are they up to the task? I have to admit that I haven’t read the book but have been reading SF since I was a tween. I could not myself understand the subject as it related to SF and politics. I’m sure the professor had something in mind to tie the subjects together in the future. It seemed more akin to SF and social behavior which maybe in future classes will relate to what we really think of as politics.

Do not miss the _Snow Crash_ lectures!

As “Gaal Dornick,” the first named character in Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, there’s no way I can avoid leaving a review. As someone who teaches Science Fiction and *Philosophy*, I likewise feel compelled. The podcast—which just is a recording of the class—is excellent. He’s a fantastic teacher. While I disagree on some of the interpretation, and as a philosopher would go *much* more slowly through the ideas, I very much enjoyed this. A+ for sure!