Cyberpunk Legacies Winter 2026

Instructors

Course Description

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction from the 1980s and 90s that explores themes of technological advancement and societal destruction. As author Bruce Sterling writes, “For the cyberpunks, ... technology is visceral. It is ... pervasive, utterly intimate. Not outside us, but next to us. Under our skin; often, inside our minds.” Students view iconic 1982 film Blade Runner with score performed live at Dolby Theatre. Students also tour Academy Museum of Motion Pictures exhibition Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema, and examine connections and disruptions between cyberpunk, futurisms, and contemporary technology. Students produce digital materials on class themes, building practical and analytical skills as part of their own contribution to cyberpunk legacies. Class meets January 7, February 18 from 3:30 to 5:45 p.m., March 4 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Off-campus meetings take place January 21 from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., February 4 from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. Admission to offsite events included at no charge.

Seminar is co-taught. Prof Julia Powles, UCLA School of Law and Samueli School of Engineering, Institute for Technology, Law & Policy, received her Ph.D. in Law from the University of Cambridge and researches digital privacy, intellectual property, and the law and politics of data, automation, and artificial intelligence. Prof Noopur Raval, UCLA Information Studies, received her Ph.D. in Informatics from UC Irvine and researches histories of technology, digital infrastructures, and hi- and low-tech workers and AI in education, creative fields, and platform work.

Course Schedule

The course comprises four modules, across five classes:

  1. Introduction to cyberpunk
  2. Icons of the cyberpunk canon
  3. Cyberpunk and futurisms
  4. Generative cyberpunk legacies

Class 1 – Introduction to Cyberpunk | January 7, 3:30 to 5:45 p.m.

Learning Goal

Students will understand cyberpunk as a genre and analytic framework and identify the collaborative roles they will take on for the class digital project.

Before Class (Because this is the first class, this can be done up until Jan. 11):

Assignment 1: Read and Annotate in Perusall (at least 1 annotation per student):

Read: History of Cyberpunk Science Fiction

Read: Johnny Mnemonic (William Gibson)

(Optional) Watch: Videodrome (1983) [Content Warning: Violence, Horror]

Activities

  1. Welcome and class logistics: We will go over the syllabus, schedule, seminar aims, reading list, course expectations, and group work.
  2. Group work orientation: Informed by skills matrices, we will form student groups of 3-4 students. Each group will prepare a group contract and set a collective direction and workplan for the group project. We will also identify moderators for Class 3 / Academy Museum visit and discussion
  3. Introductory lecture: We will provide a shared terminology and concise introduction to the themes and influence of cyberpunk. We will model how to introduce, discuss, and interpret films, readings, and exhibits
  4. Cyberpunk legacies spotlight talks: We will discuss cyberpunk’s role as a blueprint for contemporary tech developments, from mind-uploads to the metaverse, as well as resonances in art, music, and contemporary tech policy and tech (de-)regulation.

Class 2 – Icons of the Cyberpunk Canon (Part 1) | January 21, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. (Offsite: Dolby Theatre)

Learning Goal

Students will experience and analyze Blade Runner as a foundational cyberpunk film and its creative and technical legacies in science fiction, cinema, film production etc.

Before Class

Assignment 2: Read and Annotate in Perusall (at least 1 annotation per student)

Read: Arthur Liu, “The Life Cycle of a Cyber Bar” (2021)

Read: Cyberpunk and Neuromanticism

Activities

Field Trip: Screening of Blade Runner with score performed live at the Dolby Theatre.

After Class

Assignment 3: Post a Reflection on Discussion Board (BruinLearn) (minimum 200 words): Online discussion: Reflections on BruinLearn after the screening (think about group viewing experience, live score, cyberpunk aesthetics, assigned readings).

Class 3 – Cyberpunk and Futurisms; Icons of the Cyberpunk Canon (Part 2) | February 4, 1:30 to 5:00 p.m. (Offsite: Academy Museum)

Learning Goal

Students will map how cyberpunk visual culture has evolved across film history and connect speculative futures to contemporary technologies and inequalities.

Before Class

Assignment 4: Read the required materials + view Sleep Dealer (rest is optional) and annotate in Perusall (at least 1 annotation total per student).

Assignment 5: Post Reflections on BruinLearn Discussion (minimum 300 words) after viewing Sleep Dealer (think about individual viewing experience, futurisms vs cyberpunk, assigned readings). Finish post with 1 prepared question for Alex Rivera, and 1 prepared question for Doris Berger.

Required Pre-Reading and Watching

Excerpts from the catalog of the exhibition [access in BruinLearn Files]

Read: You Are Cyborg | WIRED + Persistence of Vision: A Cyborg Manifesto – ADJACENT

Read: Why the 2008 Latino cyberpunk film “Sleep Dealer” is more relevant than ever

Watch: Sleep Dealer (2008) [YouTube access will be shared with students in Class 2]

Optional Reading

Read: Jacking In to Cyberpunk | Los Angeles Review of Books

Watch (free): https://alexrivera.com/2022/01/02/why-cybraceros/ + Read: https://hackcur.io/cybraceros-the-promise-and-perils-of-border-hacking/

Activities

Guest session: Two student moderators (and instructors) will discuss futurisms and cyberpunk with special guest Alex Rivera, filmmaker and director of Sleep Dealer. All students will ask questions and offer comments.

Gallery visit: Tour of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures exhibition Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema.

Guest session: We will discuss the history and evolution of cyberpunk and the curatorial vision behind the exhibition with the Academy Museum’s Vice President of Curatorial Affairs, Doris Berger. Two students will moderate the discussion. All students are welcome to ask questions and offer reflections.

Class 4 – Generative Cyberpunk Legacies | February 18, 3:30 to 5:45 p.m.

Learning Goal

Students will synthesize insights from previous sessions and collaboratively shape the narrative and design of their multimedia essay with in-class support from instructors.

Before Class

Assignment 6: Bring your multimodal essay outline to class (theme should be picked, have a working bibliography and sources you want to draw on). Instructors will provide feedback and help you develop a plan for executing the multimodal essay (no deliverable on BruinLearn).

Activities

Web and digital skills: Short demo on website building. Discussion on digital storytelling tools for creating multimodal essays. (Further resources here.)

Group working session on the multimedia project.

Class 5 – Final Showcase | March 4, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Learning Goal

Students will present their multimedia project and demonstrate an integrated understanding of cyberpunk, cyberpunk legacies, and contemporary relevance.

Activities

Group project presentations.

Reflection and course wrap up.

Plan to publish final essays on the class website for public engagement.

Before Class

Assignment 7: Delivery of multimodal essay (specifications to be provided).

After Class

Assignment 8: Post Reflections on BruinLearn Discussion (minimum 300 words). Online discussion of insights from specific group projects (not your own) or any other element of the course. Comments should be marked in full or in part as [Public Facing] for re-use on the class website.

Comprehensive Reading, Viewing, Listening, and Events List:

Reading

Film and Media

  • Videodrome
  • The Matrix
  • Blade Runner
  • Ghost in the Shell
  • Janelle Monae. Dirty Computer
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  • War Games (1983)
  • Total Recall (1990)
  • Love Death and Robots
  • Welcome II the Terrordome

Events in the Greater Los Angeles Region (please email the instructors with any other finds!):

Acknowledgements

We thank the following colleagues for their support in creating and delivering this course:

  • DataX Instructional Designer, Clara Choi
  • ITLP Program Coordinator, Sarah Elkeaikati
  • DataX Director of Tech and Human Performance, Prof. Jacqueline Alderson
  • Musicologist, Prof. Jessica Schwartz
  • Director of Fiat Lux Programs, Pia F. Palomo