Imagining the Future of Science Fiction: An Interview with Professor Kyung-Lin Bae

Science fiction as a genre is generally shown disdain by literary scholars. However, its importance is especially prominent in the pandemic and post-pandemic life. Last year, students had an opportunity to take the Freshman Writing Intensive Seminar (FWIS) class taught by Professor Kyung-Lin Bae. As one of the newest courses in the Common Curriculum (CC), this class focuses on the theme of “Science and Othering.”

Q: Could you briefly introduce yourself? 

A: I am Professor Kyung-Lin Bae, and I teach FWIS courses. I joined Yonsei University’s Underwood International College (UIC) last year, and I specialize in English literature, especially contemporary poetry and postcolonial studies. Before joining UIC, I taught at one of the institutions in Texas, United States, where I taught writing intensive courses and some English major classes.

Q: What made you passionate about this field? 

A: When I first decided to major in English Literature and Language at Yonsei University in the College of Liberal Arts, I was merely vaguely interested in English as a second language. For me, learning different languages was one of the talents I had and was somewhat interested in, but I did not necessarily think about the literature aspect as a significant portion of my major. I think that many of the students attend UIC with the same reasoning—that you will be able to learn English and think about ways to utilize said language skills as one of the tools to help further your future career. That is basically how I began. Later on, as I attended my major classes, I realized that it is actually not about learning the language itself. 

It is about weighing some of the concepts and structures of society. In literature classes, we contemplate about the things that people have discussed or questioned and things that have been taken for granted. These are also some of the fundamental questions that the liberal arts discipline, specifically literature, would pursue. I think that is one of the reasons why I decided to continue in my literature major as I wanted to broaden my perspective and understanding of the world.

Q: You previously mentioned your time working in the U.S. How did you come to be a UIC professor?

A: I was in the U.S. for my PhD and by the time I finished my program, I was looking for a full-time job. I needed to choose between coming back to South Korea or finding ways to stay there. I was struggling between these options. That Is when I came across a job posting from Yonsei University. I feel like the affection I had towards the university as an alumnus is definitely one the things that made me want to come back. I also thought that the courses at UIC were quite challenging to teach, which appealed to me. UIC’s FWIS courses basically combine three different types of classes that I have taught before, so it is demanding; however, at the same, this challenge appealed to me because I thought that it would be very gratifying if the students and I had intellectually invigorating discussions in class. This was all during COVID as well, so I was also home-sick, which was also a deciding factor.

Q: You have a very peculiar theme for your FWIS courses. Why did you choose science fiction as the theme? 

A: I thought about it a lot too because my specialization is in poetry, women’s writing, and colonial literature, and I have a lesser focus on science fiction and Victorian literature. When deciding on the theme, I thought that since this is a freshman class, I should choose something that's intriguing for the students. We are all very familiar with a variety of different works in science fiction. I myself am a huge Marvel fan, and we are exposed to such stories or related ones quite frequently these days. Essentially, I thought the students would feel familiar with the science-fiction genre itself. Most of the time, students take science fiction as a genre that merely exists for entertainment or for leisure reading. They do not necessarily think critically about these works. I think that is precisely the point. 

As an academic and critical thinker, it is not merely about thinking something “fancy” out of something “fancy.” We must have the ability to think about the things that we have taken for granted. By thinking critically about works that we do not necessarily classify as academic, we are forced to articulate our own understanding of these works in order to process them. That being said, I thought the science-fiction genre would allow us to have a comfortable and familiar starting point. Something that most people do not realize is that this genre is quite expansive and relatable to societal issues; The aspects made it easier for me to expand science fiction and include feminism, colonialism, post-colonialism, orientalism into our class discussions. By relating science fiction to societal aspects, which to some people is inconceivable, students have more freedom to articulate their opinions and shape their world perspectives.

Q: If you had to recommend one book to UIC students, what book would it be? 

A: These days, we see more and more works written and published by Asian-American writers. Asian-Americans are a growing minority group, but they also come from many distinctive backgrounds. They have long served as one of the major minorities in U.S. society; they are bringing their authentic voices and experiences to others that are based on some historic, social, or political issue that they had to endure or had an impact on their community. I believe that a lot of students coming to UIC will be able to sympathize with these experiences that these writers are increasingly sharing. Rather than recommend one book, I recommend that UIC students indulge in the works of various Asian-American writers and try to apply these experiences to their class discussions.

Q: Do you have any advice for students that are considering taking your course? 

A: For those who are feeling stressed with their classes in general or are concerned about their English proficiency, I want these students to realize that language proficiency does not have any correlation with their class performance. I want students to understand this and feel less burdened. My classes are small classes, where I have the ability to check the progress that students make, and this progress is what really matters to me. If students engage in discussions and make it clear that they took something out of the class, then that will be appreciated by me. This engagement is the deciding factor in my grading. Being a native or fluent English speaker does not guarantee a decent grade or anything in my classes; if I can see students endeavoring to do their best and giving me unique opinions and views on the assigned readings, then these students will definitely succeed in my classes.