In this course, you will be challenged to analyse and critically assess selected works of art related to various though-provoking interdisciplinary topics. The first unit entitled the Human/Machine explores the world of science fiction, aiming to explore the millennia-old relationship between the human and (their) machines. Addressing a variety of topics, we will take traditional as well as more provocative approaches to science fiction and explore how technology shapes our everyday existence; perhaps we will even philosophise about what it means to be human at the beginning of the 21st century. This course is for everyone – not only sci-fi enthusiasts – who is not afraid to improve their analytical and critical thinking skills and learn to tackle challenging and non-trivial thoughts and texts in English.

Course Objectives

• To develop students’ literacy, analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as to promote interdisciplinary content through exploring the following topics:

• By offering students’ cognitively stimulating, yet accessibly structured material in English language, to develop students’ ability and appetite to:

- read as a leisure activity,

- read for information/argument,

- mediate different types of text,

- express a personal response to creative and informative texts (less intellectual, lower levels),

- analyse and give criticism of creative and informative texts (more intellectual, higher levels)

- present and support their argument both orally and in writing.

• To develop students’ language competence as well as confidence, and familiarise them with major creative as well as theoretical text of the western literary tradition.

• To support student autonomy, responsibility and learning skills.