English Literature: Fantasy MLitt
The Tomorrow People: Speculative Bodies and Minds in Contemporary Culture ENGLIT5130
- Academic Session: 2026-27
- School: School of Critical Studies
- Credits: 20
- Level: Level 5 (SCQF level 11)
- Typically Offered: Either Semester 1 or Semester 2
- Available to Visiting Students: No
- Collaborative Online International Learning: No
- Curriculum For Life: No
Short Description
This course explores the forms of new human life imagined in a variety of speculative genres and media. It includes both written and audio-visual sources, and it understands speculative culture to include science fiction, as well as utopian culture, discursive writing, and other genres.
Timetable
8 x 2 hr seminars (one a week for eight weeks)
1 x 2 hr whole-class workshop
1 x 2 hr online anytime formative peer assessment exercise
Excluded Courses
None
Co-requisites
None
Assessment
The standard assessments for this course are:
■ Seminar Presentation (10 minutes): 20%
■ Encyclopaedia Exercise (1000 words): 20%
■ Essay (3000 words) OR Creative Assessment (2000 words) with Critical Reflection (1000 words): 60%
If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:
■ Recorded presentation or one-to-one presentation / discussion/Q&A with staff (where presentation would normally be in class) as alternative to seminar presentation.
■ There are no alternatives to the Encyclopaedia Exercise, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions).
■ There are no alternatives to the Essay OR Creative Assessment (2000 words) with Critical Reflection, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions).
Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor. 
Course Aims
This course aims to:
■ Engage with a range of speculative writings and audio-visual material that imagine the future of human life
■ Develop students' knowledge of relevant scholarship in literary and cultural criticism
■ Critically reflect upon the posthuman imaginaries conveyed in a variety of genres
Intended Learning Outcomes of Course
By the end of this course students will be able to:
■ Apply appropriate concepts from the theories of science fiction and speculative culture to primary course material
■ Distinguish different conventions and genres in the posthuman imaginary
■ Appraise the function of posthuman speculation in contemporary culture
■ Demonstrate advanced academic skills in analysis, writing, editing, and argumentation through written and oral assessments.
■ Systematically explore and evaluate an academic research context using a variety of finding aids and sources.