Why Study the Science Fiction Genre?
Perhaps the most important reason to discuss the subject of the future with our students is to introduce them to the concept of change. Technology is changing faster than our society can adjust to it. Middle school students need to be educated to the possibilities of the future. Developing an awareness of possible issues will begin to give students the skills to cope with changes in their lives.
Draper L. Kaufman, Jr., in his book Teaching the Future: A Guide to Future Oriented Education, states that encouraging students to think through as many possibilities as they can for a future issue will better prepare them for the future, even if only one of the possibilities actually occurs, than if they had never considered any possibilities at all. He also states that actual factual data about the future is less important than a psychological orientation towards the future, and that as teachers we must help students develop the habit of looking ahead and the skills to anticipate effectively.
Additionally, according to Kaufman, kids today see school as very separate from the world around them—their curriculum is irrelevant and they have no intrinsic reason to learn. But, since our students already know about E.T., Star Wars, and Aliens, the classroom teacher can capitalize on this and use it as a springboard to introduce new information.
Science fiction “teaches adaptability and elasticity of mind in the face of change” (Lundwall 155). It performs “imaginary experiments” to see how people react to change before the change actually happens (Scholes and Rabkin 116). It provides a different perspective on our world (Rose 2). Very important, also, is the idea that science fiction writers see the future as a consequence of our present day. In this light, it is also a vehicle for social analysis and an opportunity to experiment with new concepts and their effects on man and the world (Lundwall 56, 141). Science fiction presents many issues from many different points of view for students to examine.
Perhaps the most cogent arguments in favor of teaching science fiction are presented by Ben Bova in Viewpoint in which he states the same idea as Kaufman: that much of what is taught in school is historically important, valuable, difficult and dull. Science fiction stands out “like a refreshing oasis of story and significance; a bad teacher must work hard to make it dull” (53). Good science fiction presents ideas and philosophies. It introduces themes of personal integrity, relationships—human and alien, other life forms and cultures, and our responsibility to technological change (Hoomes 3). It is interesting in and of itself, but it also presents ideas and alternatives.
A word of caution here, however, about women in science fiction. Much of it still depicts women as “mother-children-and-kitchen.” A common attitude of some of the writers before 1970 is that women do not belong in science fiction but if they are, keep them in their place (Lundwall 145). This is not as prevalent in more recent stories and there are more women science fiction writers today.
Critics are going to disagree naturally on what makes for good science
fiction, and personal preference and experience are going to play a great part.
Generally, the elements of plot, style, theme, and so forth must be fully
developed. Foremost, however, one has to remember that science fiction is
historically a product and a response to the new age of rapid scientific and
technological development. As such, good science fiction with a conscience is
going to promote new ways of looking at the human consequences and relation to
things like industrialism, evolutionary theory, relativity, computers, the big
bang, human presence on the moon and the possibility of alien intelligence.
There is more to good science fiction than mere laser guns. Reading the
good stuff, one should not get tripped up by photon torpedoes and space
monsters. On the other hand, one should not get bogged down by beakers, wires
and computer jargon, that is, the work should not be so loaded with
techno-facts that the plot and theme becomes encumbered.
In summary, good science fiction
will:
1. Make us consider the
emotional, psychological and physical
effects of futuristic ideas,
conflict and change.
2. Encourage us to keep an open
mind to consider unlimited possibilities.
3. Provoke questions regarding
other forms of life, thereby bringing
our own into perspective.
4. Stimulate curiosity and the
capacity for invention.
5. Present the reader with moral
and ethical dilemmas that to
some
degree correspond to the real world.
Main article: Hard science fiction
Hard
science fiction, or hard SF, is a subgenre of science fiction characterized by
an interest in scientific detail or accuracy. Hard SF stories focus on the
natural sciences and technological developments. Some authors scrupulously
eschew such implausibilities as faster-than-light travel,
while others accept such plot devices but nonetheless show a concern with a
realistic depiction of the worlds that such a technology might make accessible.
Character development is sometimes secondary to explorations of astronomical or physical phenomena,
but other times authors make the human condition forefront in the story.
However a common theme of hard SF has the resolution of the plot often hinging
upon a technological point. Writers attempt to have their stories consistent
with known science at the time of publication.
Main article: Soft science fiction
Soft science
fiction is the subgenre where plots and themes tend to focus on philosophy, psychology, politics and sociology while
de-emphasizing the details of technological hardware and physical laws. It is
so-called 'soft' science fiction, because these subjects are grouped together
as the soft sciences or humanities. For instance, in Dune,
Frank
Herbert uses the plot device of a universe which has rejected conscious
machines and has reverted to a feudal society. Consequently Herbert uses the
Dune saga to comment about the human condition and make direct parallels to
current socio-political realities. Soft science fiction may explore the
reactions of societies or individuals to problems posed by natural phenomena or
technological developments, but the technology will be a means to an end, not
an end itself.
Because science fiction covers so many different topics - from social science issues to complex mathematics and physics - it is an ideal tool for classroom use. Science fiction has been used as a motivating strategy for teaching physics and chemistry. For example, Arthur C. Clarke's short story, "Maelstrom II," can be analyzed from the point of view of the mechanics involved in the story (Martin-Diaz, 1992). George Orwell's 1984 and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 are often read in middle school and senior high classrooms to explore political and social issues dealing with the future of mankind and society. With the space age upon us and new technology advancing at such a mind-numbing rate, science fiction gives young adults an imaginative glimpse into the possibilities of their future, which may spark the career of a young scientist or astronaut.
Science fiction can even be used in lower grades as a theme for an interdisciplinary unit. In an article from Learning magazine, "Science Fiction across the Curriculum" the author suggests a unit with science fiction as the backbone (Kay, 1991). The students would study vocabulary, read short stories and novels and do creative writing on their own. They would work with measuring time, distance, speed, weight and gravity in math class. In social studies class they would demonstrate that they understand current trends by projecting them into the future, and talk about the possible impacts of future events. In science they would learn about the solar system, speculate about the biology of extraterrestrial beings and explore the scientific fact within the science fiction. The unit would culminate in an "intergalactic" party where students would be encouraged to dress up as aliens or astronauts or futuristic beings.
READING CHOICES
1. Isaac Asimov—“Youth”
2. Ray Bradbury—“April 2026: The Long Years”
3. “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”
4. “The End of the Beginning”
5. “The Gift”
6. “I Sing the Body Electric”
7. “The Million-Year Picnic”
8. “The Other Foot”
9. “R is for Rocket”
10. “The Rocket”
11. “The Rocket Man”
12. “The Strawberry Window”
13. “Time in Thy Flight”
14. “The Veldt”
15. James E. Gunn—“Child of the Sun”
16. Robert Heinlein—“Space Jockey”
17. Vonda N. McIntyre—“Of Mist, and Grass, and Sand”
18. Judith Merrill—“Dead Center”
19. Kurt Vonnegut—“Harrison Bergeron”
20. “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow”
In many of the stories, there is a very definite concern for the present. The story settings may be at sometime in the future but based on what the author sees in the present. It is the author’s concern for the direction he/she sees the world going on that caused him/her to write this “predictive” fiction. A student cannot begin to reflect on future issues without first thinking about what is happening right now.