This seminar + studio course will introduce students to various writings and illustrations that belong to the speculative fiction genre. Speculative fiction encompasses storytelling across themes of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, with a rich history already existing within the subcontinent. The course will help students learn about this history with writings and stories directly related to their own local context. The seminar component will introduce students to key texts in the given module (the modules are fantasy, science fiction, and horror). Stories and texts will largely be from South Asia although some premiere authors from around the globe will also be studied in each subgenre. Students will also be encouraged to engage with folklore and traditional forms of storytelling as avenues for inspiration. The studio component will have students select a story from the module being covered and create illustrations based on the stories, creating a portfolio of work directly connecting South Asian speculative fiction and illustration traditions. In this way the seminar and studio components will work in tandem. Each studio assignment will require critical engagement from the students in terms of visual research and thorough process work.
