OTHER WORLDS

Other Worlds is a journey into the speculative, visionary, and boundary-defying narratives of literary fiction. This course explores works that reimagine reality, where science fiction meets philosophical inquiry and social critique. From Ursula K. Le Guin’s anthropological sci-fi to the alternate histories of Octavia Butler and Toni Morrison’s ghostly, otherworldly dimensions, these novels take readers far from the familiar yet hold a mirror to the most pressing questions of humanity, identity, and power.

We’ll examine Le Guin’s explorations of social structures and morality in The Left Hand of Darkness, where alien worlds reveal as much about Earth’s society as they do about outer space. Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower invites us into a dystopian near-future that feels hauntingly prescient, while Djuna Barnes’ surreal and modernist depictions of complex inner worlds challenge notions of reality itself. In Morrison’s Beloved, ghosts and memory blend into a narrative that defies linear storytelling, expanding into a realm where history and spirit are deeply entwined.

Drawing from works by Angela Carter, Samuel R. Delany, and Clarice Lispector, this course is for readers who seek speculative fiction that is as rich in language as it is in ideas. With weekly discussions, in-depth analyses, and reflective exercises, Other Worlds invites you to explore literary fiction’s unique power to invent, expand, and critique worlds both foreign and familiar. Join us to discover how these authors use speculative storytelling as a lens through which to examine the uncharted territories of the human experience.