KPU course explores sci-fi and fantasy worlds through different perspectives
ARTS 1100 tackles fictional planets from series such as Star Wars and Dune this semester
Art by @RESLUS.
Discussing the Hoth ice planet from Star Wars and exploring how a slightly modified version of the Arrakis desert planet from Dune could exist in real life are just a couple worlds from franchises this semester’s ARTS 1100 course at Kwantlen Polytechnic University covers.
Science fiction and fantasy worlds are the focus of the live online class, which is taught by KPU Geography and the Environment Department Chair John Martin.
KPU’s ARTS 1100 courses tackle a broad theme through the lens of different arts disciplines, such as political science, geography, and Indigenous studies. While the courses are run by one instructor, they also feature guest lecturers from across different arts departments.
After knowing about the course for a while and offering to be a guest lecturer a couple of times, Martin decided to go for the opportunity to run the class when it popped up.
“I’m a big fan of science fiction and fantasy movies and books,” Martin says. “I still play Dungeons and Dragons …. I thought this would be a neat way to bring my field, physical geography, into a class where I can teach something I love as work with something I love separately as a hobby.”
Other worlds the course highlights include The Lord of the Rings’ Middle-earth, which is essentially Earth with some modifications, Pandora from the Avatar movies, specific Star Trek planets, and unique ones from the fictional Warhammer Fantasy universe.
Before the guest lectures start, the course begins with lessons from Martin on the geography perspective to help build the worlds and discuss if they are realistic or not, he says.
Eight instructors from various arts disciplines are guest lecturers for the course — Lauren Petersen from Indigenous studies, Greg Millard from political science, Sabine Stratton from anthropology, Cluny South from psychology, Dominic Giasson-Garcia from entertainment arts, Jeffrey Meyers from criminology, Cathy Stonehouse from creative writing, and Heather Cyr from English.
The political science surrounding Star Wars, including discussions on what the franchise’s empire and republics mean, how to design creatures from the arts and entertainment perspective, and what criminology looks like as it relates to science fiction are among the areas the course will explore, Martin says.
“I’ll try to take those [perspectives] and then relate them back to geography and the planets or the ecosystems,” Martin adds. “So there’s a lot of nice overlap between all of them.”
The assignments for the class are based on the geography perspective. The students’ first project is to build a planet and answer questions, such as what will happen if the planet gets too close to the sun and how its climate would inform the characters and other components of a story. The second assignment will have students look into biomes, such as determining where the jungles or polar ice caps on their planet will go.
“I don’t want to burst the bubble of my science fiction [and] fantasy students, but most science fiction worlds aren’t very accurate because a lot of them don’t make sense. They stretch the reality. So it’s a fun way to talk about geography and climates, things like that.”
Martin says he hopes the students in this course will take away an appreciation for the genres, which are sometimes not as well respected in movies and other media, as well as an interest in the different disciplines and topics explored throughout the semester.
“I do hope maybe we can offer this course again in a different way because it’s a fun way to bring in different ideas [and] concepts,” Martin says.
“It’s a great way to talk about climate change, which is an important topic, but let’s talk about it in Star Wars and then you can bring in some fun ideas and examples that way. So I hope it can continue. I’d like to see it be taught again.”
