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Speculative fiction encompasses a broad range of genre literature, including science fiction, fabulism, fantasy, horror, and arguably even works of so-called literary fiction which incorporate the device of magical realism. Speculative fiction makes use of counterfactuals and, ideally, strives to use these un-real elements to examine aspects of the human condition which are not so easily seen under the constraints of Realism in art: Mary Shelley could not have depicted the condition of her Modern Prometheus, for example, had she not imagined Dr Frankenstein’s counterfactual technologies. Although largely born of the pulp fiction tradition of the early- to mid-20th century, speculative fiction is now understood as a medium applicable to all forms of art, including music, sculpture, visual design, and poetry, as well as its more traditional home in prose and scripted fiction. This course will introduce students to a range of speculative fiction and related genre fiction. We will examine the genres’ practices, tropes, forms, and techniques, with an emphasis on how authors use these tools to develop speculative, counterfactual, and fabulist stories. Students will learn to use counterfactuals of setting and character to metaphorise and allegorise elements of the real. Students will close-read and critique published fiction and give detailed analyses to account for their reactions. Students should be prepared to draft, workshop, and revise their speculative output in the process.