1. Introduction to Science Fiction and its History

2. Science Fiction (Sci-fi) is a modern genre that is fueled by the issues of the contemporary world. Sci-fi looks into the future but it is also ‘metaphorically’ concerned about the problems of today. It asks in a symbolic way, the questions of ‘What if?’, ‘Why are we here?’, ‘Where are we going?’. Sci-fi influences mainstream culture, from fashion, to popular music to film.

3. Sci-fi is now being recognized as a complex and sophisticated body of literature. Defining Sci-Fi 1.Has an emphasis on science. It takes a more informed look at the prospects and progress of modern science. 2.It has a notion of plausibility: It tests the boundaries of the real. 3.It emphasizes the notion of change: predicts technological and social change. 4. Sci-fi helps cultures think about the outcomes of their actions. 5. Portrays a world that is fictional and radically different from the one we normally think about inhabiting

4. Reading Science Fiction When reading Science Fiction, the reader is asked to participate in a mental construction of an alternative world. The reader is forced to make meaning, - to question assumptions, - to question beliefs and society from a new perspective. Science Fiction stories have all the elements of a realist novel, but it allows for more imaginative play.