This course will explore the emergence of modern science fiction as a  genre, the ways it has reflected our evolving conceptions of ourselves  and the universe, and its role as the mythology of modern technological civilization. We will discuss such characteristic themes as utopias, the exploration of space and time, biological engineering, superman, robots, aliens, and other worlds ¬- and the differences between European and American treatment of these themes. The course is structured chronologically and thematically around a series of classic SF novels.  Monday and Wednesday lectures will set the novels in historical, scientific, and thematic context; Friday sections will provide the  opportunity for in-depth comparative discussion of the week’s readings.