"Robots, spaceships, futuristic megacities, planets orbiting distant stars. These icons of science fiction are now in our daily news. Science fiction, once maligned as mere pulp, has motivated cutting-edge scientific research, inspired new technologies, and changed how we view everyday life -- and its themes and questions permeate popular culture. Take an unparalleled look at the influence, history, and greatest works of science fiction with illuminating...

In the 24 lectures of Rise of the Novel, take a journey from the birth of the novel to the height of the form in the mid-nineteenth century, and better understand what this literary form can tell about human nature and the unquenchable thirst for great stories. With Professor Emeritus Leo Damrosch of Harvard University as the guide, dive into some of the most notable works that helped create and shape the novel over the course of more than three centuries....