First Degree in Science Fiction

gilest writes "This BBC story describes the UK's (the world's?) first University degree in science-fiction. Students will be asked to write essays on topics like 'Will Robots Take Over The Earth?' "

Comments

Oh My, What Can They Do?

[fable2112]

What's somebody with a scifi degree going to do, exactly? Edit a scifi zine?

What, exactly, is someone with any other sort of English degree going to do? Someone with a specialized degree in science fiction is probably going to do fairly similar things, and in certain cases are going to be even better suited to it.

1. Teach. There's the obvious one. A sci-fi specialized HS English teacher probably has the jump on one that is specialized in a given stereotypically-uninteresting-to-teens area.

2. Technical writer (which is what I do). Again, someone specialized in sci-fi, who has done it properly, is likely to have the edge over someone specialized in Victorian poetry or whatever, simply because the sci-fi specialized person is likely to be (or at least to be perceived as) more comfortable with technological terms than someone with a more "traditional" English specialization.

3. Write! As a career, even. Not viable for most people, but the possibility exists.

4. With an appropriate minor or double major, a myriad of possibilities open up. A major in science fiction, if done correctly, should be a great lesson in "thinking outside the box." The lessons it teaches would be a great asset to (off the top of my head) computer science (obviously), environmental science, psychology, law, engineering, and possibly even medicine.

:)