Brave New World is a wholly online general studies course that looks at the science in science fiction. The course is undertaken through a WebCT Vista site which you will given access to on the first day of session (or as soon as your enrolment is processed if enrolling in the course late. The information provided below gives details of the rationale and course assessment. The links are not working (this is an excerpt from the Vista website).

Why a Course Like Brave New World?

Brave New World is not a traditional science course! BNW uses science fiction literature, movies and TV series as starting points for conveying the "big picture" of our understanding of science at the beginning of the 21st century. The concepts of this "big picture" science will be conveyed not with equations but with words illustrated by the media of film and book. We will use the concepts of current science to examine what is and what is not possible in areas such as space travel, time travel, artificial intelligence, robotics and the future evolution of the human race.

Why use science fiction? Often the greatest contact that the public has with science is through science fiction, particularly movies and TV shows. Recently, films such as Contact, The Dish, Jurassic Park and Independence Day, and television series such as X-Files, have captured the public imagination, providing an excellent starting place for science education. One of the aims of BNW is to impart the ability and knowledge to teach the science covered in this course to others.

And there is another reason: Good science fiction is like good historical fiction. The American historian Gore Vidal writes historical fiction in preference to writing history. The historical facts in his books are true, but the stories he makes up around these facts are fictional. He does this because it allows him to do what no historian may - impute motives to historical figures. Scientists often write science fiction for similar reasons. The science in good Science Fiction will be accurate, but the story woven around the science can examine the cultural context of scientific discovery and its applications, something that cannot be done when writing a scientific paper. The interaction between science and society will be considered throughout the course.

Course Delivery

Brave New World is delivered wholly via the Internet, using WebCT. You will need your UNIPASS and UNIPIN to access WebCT.

Contact

If you have any queries about the course you should contact Maria Cunningham: maria.cunningham@unsw.edu.au

Important Note: I decided to change my name this year (it's a long story) from Maria Hunt to Maria Cunningham, so please don't get confused. I answer happily to both names, and both maria.hunt@unsw.edu.au and maria.cunningham@unsw.edu.au are valid email addresses.

Organisation

The course is organised into four Modules. Each modules runs for about 3 weeks.

Modules

The four modules are:

1) Understanding the Universe: Astronomy and the physics of space and time.
2) Exploring the Universe: Space travel, space exploration and astrobiology.
3) The Sentient Universe: Computers, robotics and intelligence artificial and human.
4) Conquerors of the Universe? The future of the human race.

Each module will have:

  • On-line lectures (usually 3) that:
    1. Provide an introduction to the science topics of the module.
    2. Discuss the science commonly encountered in science fiction novels and movies relevant to the current topic.
    3. Discuss the possible (as opposed to the impossible) future developments in the science.
  • An on-line tutorial discussion. The online discussions will be moderated by the lecturer/tutor; however, the idea is that the much of the discussion and input will come from the student members of the discussion groups in the form of both questions and answers. Students will be marked on their participation in the tutorial discussion groups.
  • The online tutorial discussion will cover:
    1. The Science.
    2. Relevant science fiction novels, movies and TV shows with details of the areas of the science topic that each deals with.
    3. The social and philosophical issues raised by the books and movies relevant to the topic.
  • An associated recommended science fiction movie/s. These will form a starting point for scientific discussion groups. The movies will provide a basis for introducing a topic rather than being part of the core learning. The recommended movies are drawn from (but not limited to) The Matrix, Event Horizon, Contact, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Terminator II, Mercury Rising, Blade Runner, Dr Strangelove, The Dish.
  • Associated recommended science fiction novels. Once again, these novels will form a starting point for scientific discussion groups. Our list of relevant sci fi books is not exhaustive, so we welcome your input as to which novels you think have something to say about the current module.
  • A selection of New Scientist and Scientific American articles, or relevant non-fiction popular science books. Many of these are so well written that they are a pleasure to read!
  • An online quiz (Modules 1, 2 and 3 only). The online quiz is to help you learn the content, and the questions are directly related to the lecture material. It is marked, but you can take the quiz as many times as you like to improve your mark. Your final mark for the quiz will be the average of all your attempts.


Lectures

Each module consists of about 3 on-line lectures, generally one per week. The lectures will be available by the Monday of the relevant week, and you can work through these at your own pace.

Tutorials

The tutorials will be delivered in the form of an on-line discussion group. You will be marked on the number and quality of your postings to this group (see assessment section below). In addition, you will be assigned a tutor whom you can email if you need help with assignments etc. Your tutor will also be involved in your discussion group.

You will be advised of your tutorial group in the second week of session.

Assessment

Assessment will be from coursework, quizzes and assignments. The assessment tasks for this course will all be in the form of contributions to Brave New Review, our very own on-line science journal. By the end of this course, we will have produced a review of science, science fiction and the future, as a collaborative effort that we can all enjoy and benefit from. For further information on the assessment see About Assessment.

The breakdown and description of the assessment is as follows:

  • Online Discussions/tutorials (32%). During the first eight weeks you will need to contribute to the on-line discussions (tutorials). You will be given questions and topics which relate to the lecture for that week to discuss to star the discussion. Our aim is to stimulate thought, so valid contributions include your own questions on the current topic, and also your answers to the questions posed by other students. You will be given 4 marks for each (sensible) posting up to a maximum of 32 marks.
  • On-line Quizzes (20%). The quizzes ask you questions about the content of the lectures and are open-book, and can be taken as often as you wish to improve your mark. Your final mark for a quiz will be the average mark for all attempts.
  • Major Research Assignment (30%). For this part of the assessment you are required to report/ popular article on an area of science that you find interesting, and your contribution will be included in Brave New Review. An alternative to this is to write a science fiction story that illustrates some of the science that you are interested in. The article should be about 600 to 1000 words in length..
  • Letter to the Editor of Brave New Review (18%). You are required to chose one article in Brave New Review (either from the current session or past editions) for which you need to to write a letter in response.