Visions of the Future:
Technological Progress and the Cultural Change
Course nr:
ECTS:
Level: undergraduate/graduate
Institute of Culture Theory Studies [Cultural Studies]
Course Objectives
What will happen when (not ‘if’, not anymore) we’ll be able to successfully clone a human being?
Wouldn’t it be great, if there were a magazine of ‘spare parts’, easy to transplant and with a
minimized the risk of organ rejection, available in case of accident? How long would we be able to
live? In fact, what would be the meaning of words like ‘life’ and ‘death’ in that future reality?
When we omit the question of ‘how to do it’ and focus on the implications i.e. on future cultural
reality, we can find ourselves in trouble, at least on the field of science. How can scientist talk,
reasonably, about the social, cultural or ethical consequences of what is still unknown? Only by
extrapolating the past and the present, and that fails in the light of the scientific progress – not only
it is chaotic, but each scientific breakthrough creates new reality, different in some way from the
previous.
Therefore the relations between the results of progressing technology and culture are both widely
discussed and vague. Here, in my (and not only my) opinion, lies the chance for science fiction to
prove its usefulness. During the seminar I would like us:
1. To provide a background on the discourses, mainly within bioethics and science fiction genre,
which address the cultural and ethical implications of the biotechnological progress.
2. To analyse contemporary sci-fi texts (literature, films, comic books) and through that the
questions:
a. What kind of relation there is between science fiction and science; are the visions of
future they propose compatible?
b. In what ways can (or cannot) science fiction “help” science when discussing the
changes in human life caused by the – it would seem – unstoppable technological
progress?
Contents
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Biotechnology, its definition, history and fields (white, red, green etc.)
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Culture-oriented questions in biotechnological discourse (bioethics)
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Introducion for the biotechnology-related sci-fi (notably biopunk and ribofunk)
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‘living by the values’ and ‘the world of values’: culture theory and its usage
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sci-fi texts analysis - in the light of biotechnology, culture theory and the text itself
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preparing the written assignment: planning, reviewing and intellectual crossfertilization
Instructional methods:
seminar (reading, analysing and discussing texts), meeting with a bio-
technology ethicist, screenings (with both ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ discussion), instructor- and student-based
reviews
Grading: class participation, attendance and completion of an analysis project
The project consists of two papers: mid-term (ca. 5 pages) and full term (up to 15 pages),
focused on the chosen topic. On the end of the year there will be a symposium, where the papers
will be discussed in detail. The papers can be made in pairs, in which case a larger and more in-depth
outcome will be required.
Lectures:
1. Hamilton Sheryl J., Traces of the Future: Biotechnology, Science Fiction, and the Media,
‘Science Fiction Studies’, Vol. 30, No. 2, ‘Social Science Fiction’ Jul. 2003, pp. 267-282
2. Steffen Hantke, Surgical Strikes and Prosthetic Warriors: The Soldier's Body in Contemporary
Science Fiction, ‘Science Fiction Studies’, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Nov., 1998), pp. 495-509
3. Nair A.J., Introduction to biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Infinity Science Press,
Hingham-New Dehli 2008
[[OR Technology for Beginners by Reinhard Renneberg OR sth else..]]
4. Kirby David A., The New Eugenics in Cinema: Genetic Determinism and Gene Therapy in
GATTACA, Science Fiction Studies #81, July 2000
5. Pastourmatzi Domna (ed.), Biotechnological and Medical Themes in Science Fiction,
Thessaloniki: University Studio Press, 2002.
6. Thacker Eugene, Data Made Flesh: Biotechnology and the Discourse of the Posthuman,
‘Cultural Critique’, No. 53, Posthumanism (Winter, 2003), pp. 72-97
Source texts:
1. Bacigalupi Paolo, The Windup Girl, Night Shade Books, 2009
2. Budz Mark, Clade, Spectra, 2003
3. Butler Octavia, Liliths Brood (trilogy), Grand Central Publishing, 1987-2000
4. Ellis Warner, Doctor Sleepless, Avatar Press, 2007 –
5. Ellis Warner, Transmetropolitan, Helix, Vertigo, 1997-2002
6. Filippo Paul Di, RIBOFUNK: The Manifesto
7. McAuley Paul J., Gene Wars, Interzone 48, 1991
8. McAuley Paul J., White Devils, London: Simon & Schuster, 2004
9. Niccol Andrew (director & writer), Gattaca, Columbia Pictures, 1997
10. Wilson M.F., Fluorescent Black, in: „Heavy Metal”, Sep. 2008 -