LMKB_a443 Speculative fiction between media and cultures

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Tereza Dědinová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Tereza Dědinová, Ph.D.
Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Veronika Bromová, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Czech Literature – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Wed 12:00–13:40 D22, except Mon 17. 11. to Sun 23. 11.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 25 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/25, only registered: 22/25, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 17/25
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The seminar explores speculative fiction as a broad area of cultural production of non-mimetic art forms, including both genre (science fiction, fantasy, etc.) and non-genre works. The basic perspective for the innovative concept of the seminar is the environmental crisis, which fundamentally influences contemporary social and cultural discourse. We will therefore reflect on all topics through the prism of environmental issues and green transformation, emphasising the development of green skills and the role of imagination in finding solutions to the environmental crisis.

After an initial anchoring in the broader context and theoretical frameworks, we will focus on how speculative fiction thematises the relationship between humans, culture and nature, how it represents various (dystopian and utopian) scenarios of the future influenced by climate change (especially within the framework of so-called climate fiction), and how it critically examines the possibilities of social change. Within this overarching framework, we will also reflect on the connection between the environmental crisis, the development of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, and the relationship to the past and the future.

We will explore individual topics through speculative fiction across various media (literary works, films, series, graphic novels, and anime). We will draw on approaches such as transhumanism, posthumanism, Afrofuturism, solar and hope punk, and the concept of solastalgia, and we will follow dystopian and utopian trends in contemporary art, together with the role of humour and satire. We will analyse these trends and approaches in the complex context of their relationship to the environment and society through the interdisciplinary perspective of cultural studies, ecocriticism, environmental psychology, adaptation studies, and intermediality.

Discussions will be based on key theoretical texts and specific works of art, the selection of which will be determined at the beginning of the semester according to the interests of the participants. In addition to the classic model of presentations and discussions, we will also use less traditional interactive methods (e.g., pro and con debates, round tables, collaborative creation and possibly also a joint trip or visit to an exhibition).
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the seminar, students will be able to:
- analyse how speculative fiction reflects and influences awareness of the environmental crisis;
- critically evaluate the relationships between digital technologies, artificial intelligence and environmental issues as represented in speculative fiction;
- formulate relevant questions concerning the environmental crisis in the context of speculative fiction and actively seek answers;
- use speculative fiction in various media in discussions about green transformation, the relationship between humans and nature, and the environmental crisis;
- contribute to raising awareness of the need for environmental protection and sustainable lifestyles among diverse target groups through cultural allusions and imaginative scenarios.
Syllabus
  • Introductory lesson, selection and clarification of topics
  • Ursula K. Le Guin: ‘The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas’ – utopia, dystopia and ethical questions in speculative fiction
  • Utopian and dystopian imagination – creating utopia together
  • Environmental fiction and the foundations of ecocriticism
  • Digital technology and the environmental crisis – ecological connections and consequences of technological progress
  • Transhumanism and posthumanism from an environmental perspective
  • Three forms of climate fiction – warnings, solastalgia and positive visions (solar- and hopepunk)
  • Literature as a guide? The possibilities and limits of fiction in solving the environmental crisis
  • Non-human agency and narrative matter – new approaches to nature, matter and storytelling
  • Ecofiction in Czech literature – local perspectives and challenges
  • Final reflection and joint creation of a collage
  • Selected works: Blasck Mirror series, Adam McKay: K Zemi hleď! Nnedi Okorafor: Noor, Paolo Bacigalupi: Flétnová dívka, Zuzana Stožická: Rubinova Liečba, Ted Chiang: Životní cyklus softwarových objektů. Ursula K. Le Guin: Vyprávění, Svět je les, les je svět, Guillermo del Toro: Faunův labyrint, Shaun Tan: Příběhy z vnitřního města, Hajao Mijazaki: Princezna Mononoke, Ambelin Kwaymullina: The Tribe Series, Neal & Jarrod Shusterman: Sucho, Johanna Sinisalo: Birdbrain, Lydia Millet: Tehdy jsme žili v letní zemi, Charlotte McConaghy: Poslední migrace, Sacy Lloyd: Carbon Diaries 2015, Terry Pratchett: série Tonička Bolavá, Jonáš Zbořil: Flora, Michal Kašpárek: Fosilie, Martin Vopěnka: Můj bratr Mesiáš, Bianca Bellová: Jezero, Stanislav Biller: Destrukce.
Literature
    required literature
  • MORTON, Timothy. All art is ecological. This extract published in Pe. London: Penguin books, 2021, 104 stran. ISBN 9780141997001. info
  • CLARK, Timothy. The value of ecocriticism. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019, 186 stran. ISBN 9781107095298. info
    recommended literature
  • Afrofuturism :the world of black sci-fi and fantasy culture. Edited by Ytasha Womack. First edition. 1 online r. ISBN 9781613747964. info
  • Fantasy and myth in the Anthropocene : imagining futures and dreaming hope in literature and media. Edited by Marek Oziewicz - Brian Attebery - Tereza Dědinová. First published. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, 1 online. ISBN 9781350203358. URL info
  • DĚDINOVÁ, Tereza; Weronika ŁASZKIEWICZ and Sylwia BOROWSKA-SZERSZUN. Images of the Anthropocene in Speculative Fiction : Narrating the Future. první. New York, London: Lexington Books, 2021, 276 pp. Literary Criticism / Science Fiction & Fantasy. ISBN 978-1-7936-3663-8. URL info
  • ATTEBERY, Brian. Stories about stories : fantasy and the remaking of myth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014, 240 s. ISBN 9780199316069. info
  • MORTON, Timothy. Hyperobjects : philosophy and ecology after the end of the world. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2013, x, 229. ISBN 9780816689224. info
  • BRAIDOTTI, Rosi. The posthuman. First published. Cambridge: Polity, 2013, 229 stran. ISBN 9780745641577. info
  • Dark matter : a century of speculative fiction from the African diaspora. Edited by Sheree R. Thomas. New York, NY: Warner books, 2000, xiv, 427. ISBN 0446525839. info
  • MEEKER, Joseph W. The comedy of survival : literary ecology and a play ethic. Third edition. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1997, x, 133. ISBN 0816516855. info
  • NEUBAUER, Zdeněk. Do světa na zkušenou, čili, O cestách tam a zase zpátky : malá rukověť k trilogii J.R.R. Tolkiena Hobit - Pán prstenů - Silmarillion. Praha: Doporučená četba, 1990. ISBN 8071110000. info
Teaching methods
Readings on the topic, discussions, participation in collaborative projects, teacher input, presentations.
Assessment methods
Reading, preparation of the selected project and its presentation, maximum of two absences.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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