Exhalation

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Exhalation may be best described as speculative fiction, a genre that includes science fiction and fantasy. How does speculative fiction influence and reflect the real world around us?

Teaching Suggestion: This question will help students consider the role speculative/science fiction plays in our understanding of the actual world we live in, which is an important part of critically reading any stories of this genre, like Ted Chiang’s Exhalation. To stimulate conversation, consider introducing other works of science fiction that have influenced the real world, some of which you may find in the resources below.

• This article from London Post explores how science fiction influences reality.
• This article from The Atlantic considers how concepts in speculative and science fiction shaped the future, giving authors the freedom to explore real life in revolutionary ways.

2. What is climate fiction, and how does this genre of storytelling both sound the alarm about the climate crisis and provide hope for the future?

Teaching Suggestion: Many of Chiang’s stories in this collection ultimately connect back to the environment and the ways that we impact it, both positively and negatively. It may be helpful to provide students with a context for climate fiction as a genre by exploring the article below or a similar resource in advance.

• This article from The Guardian describes the genre of climate fiction and provides examples, some of which include speculative and science fiction. It prompts readers to consider the role that storytelling plays in attempting to remedy some of the damage done to the natural world.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the stories.

At its core, speculative fiction asks the question, “What if?” What if you woke up and had the power to see the future? What would happen if the Earth were no longer inhabitable? Develop 1-3 “what if” questions in a similar vein. Then, in small groups of 3-4, share your work and take turns asking and commenting on each other’s questions. Decide as a group which question(s) to share with the class.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity can help ground students in the genre of speculative fiction and provide some context for the author’s purpose. To encourage personal engagement and critical thinking, consider first making a list of speculative or science fiction texts or films based on examples the students are already familiar with. You might then ask individual students what the “what if?” question could be that prompted the story.

This blog post discusses the presence of “what if” in science fiction and fantasy, and provides examples linked to various texts.