The major prerequisite to studying science fiction as literature is determining the criteria by which it is to be evaluated. A middle ground which recognizes both literary merit and the genre's uniqueness (scientific orientation, dominancy of idea, and interest of speculation) proves to be the most workable approach and stresses the versatility that is one of the strengths of science fiction. On this premise of the worth of science fiction, permission was obtained to design and teach a course in modern science fiction to fulfill the classroom requirement of the pedagogical dissertation. The course requirements and the discussions-built-around-the-reading-list approach were traditional ones. Two brief critical papers were assigned, with the option of writing an original science fiction short story in place of the second paper. The reading list included five novels and five short stories. (Author/RB)