Introduces key themes in the study of science fiction short stories. The short story form has been important to the genre of science fiction, from inspiring Gothic tales like Frankenstein and Dracula to filling the pages of pulp magazines in the early 1900s. Science fiction short stories also contribute to ecological thinking, dramatizing key issues in a condensed form. In fact, the short story is useful for analyzing questions of literary form—not just questions of plot and character, but all the techniques authors draw on to tell a story. Although many stories will focus on ecology and computation (AI, robotics, and automation), each week will introduce a different organizing theme for the stories selected.