Science fiction is often about imagining alternative social possibilities as well as technological ones. This course will explore science fiction stories as ways of exploring core sociological questions: Does our society have to be the way it is? How does social life work? What would happen if relations between rich and poor, males and females, or ethnic groups were dramatically changed? What happens when societies modernize? Is modernization a good thing? Why do societies sometimes change and sometimes stay the same? What is the relation between self and society? What should it be?
