CLAS 132 – Fantasy and Science Fiction: Then and Now

When did science-fiction first appear in literature? The beginnings of modern fantasy and science-fiction are set around the 19th and 17th century respectively. However, fantasy and science-fiction stories and themes are already present in the Greco-Roman world. In CLAS 132, students read one of the first fantasy/science-fiction works, Lucian’s True History. True History is a 2nd c. AD unique work of fantasy and fiction interwoven with facts and the truth of its own era in which the narrator and his comrades set out to explore the, then, unknown world. During their extraordinary voyage which takes place in imaginary overseas and in the outer space, they sail to utopian and dystopian lands where they encounter out-of-this-world creatures. Reading the True History in parallel with different ancient and modern works, the students traced the development of the fantasy and sci-fi genres in literature and cinema and explored the influence of classical literature on these genres.

Final Project: Lucian’s True History: The Comic Book

Final Project Description: For their final group project, students were asked to reimagine one of the scenes/episodes from Lucian’s True History into a comic-book format. The objective of this group project was for students to explore the creative process of transforming an ancient Greek narrative into a visual-storytelling format by creating a comic book adaptation. This project aimed, on a first level, to enhance the students’ understanding of both written and visual storytelling, as well as foster collaboration within the members of each group. On a second level, it aimed to encourage the students to think of ways that would allow them to effectively share their academic interests and work with audiences outside of academia.

The Creative team

Part 1 Kaden Hauan, Raymond Kim, Max Morris, Peter Sallinger	Part 4 Marcos Acero, Megan Haak, Noah Laitala, Audrey McCormick, Tea Taylor
Part 2 Yahvi Agarwal, Amina Ali, Ben Eveland, Leo Moran, Maxwell Serota	Part 5 Rey Delva, Anthony Luna, Charles Millard, Benjamin Stever-Zeitlin
Part 3 Helen Banta, Alisa Cherkashina, Sophia Jazaeri, Marta Kondratiuk	Part 6 Oskar Alexander, Elias Hillman-Emelianoff, Nicholas Spezia-Shwiff, Hope Yu