From Plato to Philip K. Dick: Science Fiction in the Classics Classroom

Jennifer A. Rea (University of Florida)

This paper will describe how and why I teach a course called “Science Fiction and the Classics” to university students. The course, which I have taught as both a large lecture class and as a small Honors seminar, deals with the ways in which themes in contemporary works of science fiction have their origins in the literature of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Using works of science fiction in the Classics classroom, I have found, can demonstrate to students that the modern ideas about such varied topics as “What is personal identity?” and “Which is better, a free republic or a centralized government?” were as relevant in the ancient world as they are today. This paper will provide examples of in-class activities and writing assignments that I use to kindle students’ interest in various aspects of life in ancient Greece and Rome. It will also discuss pedagogical techniques that keep everyone interested and engaged when I teach this class as a large lecture course.

I believe that one of the hardest tasks a classics teacher encounters is making the material interesting and relevant for today's diverse student body, which does not always enter my class familiar with ancient Greece and Rome. Quite often, I start my course discussion by referencing a modern work of science fiction, either a movie or a piece of literature, that the students are familiar with and I work my way backwards through time to the ancient world. This kind of approach often leads to a much more exhaustive and detailed discussion of how the ancient world functioned than if I were to start discussion without a reference point that the students can identify.