This course examines key themes in the genre of science fiction by focusing on the form of the short story. From inspiring Gothic tales like Frankenstein and Dracula to filling the pages of “pulp” magazines in the early 1900s, short stories have been important to the history of the genre as well as its thematic content. Each week of the course focuses on a specific theme, including robots, aliens, animals, language, cyberpunk, and climate fiction. For English Majors, this course counts for either the “Literature & Environment” or “Literature & Cultures of Information” specializations.