{"id":9,"date":"2026-09-01T13:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T11:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=9"},"modified":"2026-09-01T14:39:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:39:28","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-8a2b1b76 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-2bf980eb wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-x-large-font-size\">A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1.25rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Online Toolkit for Teaching Science Fiction<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1.25rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-0aa01211 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full is-style-rounded is-style-rounded--1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"220\" src=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Background.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10\" srcset=\"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Background.jpg 940w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Background-300x70.jpg 300w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Background-150x35.jpg 150w, https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Background-768x180.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-base-2-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e18dcafc wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0009407c wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center is-style-asterisk\">About<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer wp-container-content-4f2ccadb\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>&nbsp;(VSF) is an online teaching toolkit for those interested in science fiction. It addresses anyone who wants to know more about the genre and provides introductory information for students, teachers and fans. As a toolkit it is specifically aimed at teachers who want to enhance their classes with, or prepare a course on science fiction. As such, you will not only find introductory essays but also pre-recorded lectures as well as further material for classroom use, all of which is prepared by experts of the field from around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Use the lectures to have a specialist introduce the topic to your students, or read the introductory essays for your own preparation. Design your syllabus using the story recommendations or prepare classes with the help of VSFs further reading recommendations and in-class discussion point suggestions. You can also find recommendations for course books or free of charge online-ressources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of this material is free of charge and fully licensed under the creative commons license (more info in the right lower corner). You can use the full toolkit including downloads of all materials. Just remember fair academic use and citation of sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction<\/em>&nbsp;is edited and published by sf scholar and lecturer&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/larsschmeink.de\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/larsschmeink.de\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lars Schmeink<\/a>. It has been designed&nbsp;as a (live) video lecture series that took place from April to July 2012 in form of a lecture\/seminar at the University of Hamburg, Germany (UHH), generously sponsored by the UHH&#8217;s \u201cSeminare ans Netz\u201d-program and will be enhanced upon with additional lectures and teaching pods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can find a \u201cHow to use this Website\u201d-page&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=17\">here<\/a>, an overview of the development of the site&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=20\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=20\">here<\/a>&nbsp;and a list of contributors&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=24\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"http:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/?page_id=24\">here<\/a>. Should you need to go back to the front page from anywhere on this site, just click the header on top of the page and you will be redirected to this introductory page. Please feel free to browse around, or send us a comment or email via the contact button.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;height:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d525a65d wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Proto-SF<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction up to the 20th Century<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Rise of the Pulps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1900s to 1930s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Golden Age<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1940s and 1950s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20)\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d525a65d wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">New Wave<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 1960s and 1970s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Cyberpunk<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction &#8211; 1980s and 1990s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-da384c3e wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left is-style-asterisk has-body-font-family has-medium-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:600\">Slipstream and Crossovers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-paragraph\">The History of Science Fiction \u2013 2000s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction Online Toolkit for Teaching Science Fiction About A Virtual Introduction to Science Fiction&nbsp;(VSF) is an online teaching toolkit for those interested in science fiction. It addresses anyone who wants to know more about the genre and provides introductory information for students, teachers and fans. As a toolkit it is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-no-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":104,"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9\/revisions\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/virtual-sf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}