Slipstream--Claire Phillips

This creative writing class familiarizes students with the art of making the strange familiar or the familiar strange. Students are introduced to genre works, ranging from pre-cyberpunk SF to the present practice of “slipstream”. Both experimental and traditional story-telling techniques are reviewed with a special emphasis on prose style and hybrid narrative forms. Projects include the short story and the film treatment and are peer reviewed in a workshop format. Topics for writing exercises are drawn from an array of sources, including the study of nanotechnology, brain chemistry and ubiquitous computing. Sub-genres include space and colonization, cyborgs, future cities and women and science fiction.