Date
|
Class
Activities
|
HW due
|
1.
Sept. 10
|
Course
+ student intro.; SF
definitions; Why
read
SF?; ST, "Charlie X;"
Online poll: Your
fav. SF; "Charlie X," Star Trek (Orig. Series) |
Read
I. Asimov,
"The Name of Our Field," "The Influence of Sci Fi;" U. K. Le Guin, "American SF and
the Other," available
on Blackboard
<http://montclair.blackboard.com>
(see note above), and from How to Write SF, 3-25; See also David Brin on SF,
The Onion on
SF; SF cover art |
Unit I: Short
Stories about Robots
and the Uncanny
|
2.
Sept. 17
|
Review; Qualities of good SF; Hugo Award; Nebula Award;
Creative Writing; Screenwriting; "The
Invaders," Twilight Zone
|
Sign
up for a Wiki Spaces
account; read
from Masterpieces: I. Asimov, "Robot Dreams" (91-6); U. K. Le
Guin, "The Ones Who
Walk Away" (212-17); Read from How to Write SF, 76-103: Go back
and
read critical articles from day 1 if you haven't already. DISC. 1: Write 3 discussion
questions (either ones you
would
pose as an instructor of the class, things you are confused about in
the reading, or a mix between the two) and bring them to class (will be
collected). The purpose of discussion questions is to open a dialogue
between you and me; to make this a student-centered classroom; and to
help students become better writers by becoming critical thinkers, or
people who question what they read. Discussion questions are evaluated
on a check (average, show you did the reading), check plus (insightful,
original, possibly brilliant, probably shared during class), or check
minus (you didn't do the reading or simply copied questions discussed
in class) basis. Discussion questions are not mandatory but are taken
into consideration for your Participation Grade. See also note in
Policies above. Complete
online poll, "Your
Favorite SF" |
3.
Sept. 24
|
Review; Hoffmann
Bio; The Sandman (1815/16);
German
orig.; Freud;
clip from Blade Runner (dir. R. Scott, 1982); In-class writing |
Read
E. T. A. Hoffmann, The
Sandman & Freud, "The Uncanny" (both avail. as pdf files on
Blackboard--please bring hard copies to class). DISC. 2: Write 3 discussion
questions and bring them to class |
4.
Oct. 1
|
Review; P. K. Dick Bio;
Journals; P. K.
Dick and
the Uncanny; Midterm
Exam Ques. |
Read
from Masterpieces: R. Heinlein, "All You Zombies--" 36-46; R.
Bradbury, "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" (130-144); From P. K.
Dick Reader, "The
Hanging Stranger," (13-26),
"The Golden Man"
(29-56); "The Father
Thing" (101-110);
Write Journal #1: Write 1 page (ca. 250 words) about
any aspect of P. K. Dick, Freud, Hoffmann, SF, or the uncanny. You
might answer one of your own
or
another student's interpretive questions from the previous class,
closely analyze a specific passage, or reflect on any relevant issue. NB:
You only have to write about one text, and I do not expect
you to write about every story assigned: instead, choose your own focus.
Although each individual journal is
not graded, I expect you to complete all 3 assigned journal
entries, which will be graded when they are presented in a revised
Journal Portfolio. Bring a copy to class and post your response to
Blackboard/Discussion as well. |
5.
Oct. 8
|
End of
BR; SF and
Religion; Art of the Book Review; Midterm Review
|
Read
from Masterpieces: Arthur C. Clark, "The Nine Billion Names of
God" (110-29); Read
from P. K. Dick Reader, "Fair Game" (1-12) and "The
Turning Wheel"
(57-73); U. K. Le
Guin, "Myth and Archetype
in SF"
(Blackboard); and McGrath,
Charles. “A Prince of Pulp, Legit at Last.” New York
Times ( May 6, 2007): 2.1 (Bb); also bring to class: U. K. Le Guin, "American SF and
the Other" |
6.
Oct. 15
|
Midterm
Exam--no make-up dates!!!
|
Bring
books, copies of Hoffmann and Freud, and 1-page outline to class
|
Unit II: Novels
about Gender,
Utopias/Dystopias, and Ecocriticism
|
7.
Oct. 22
|
Bacon Bio; D.
Lessing/H. Bloom; SF Projects |
Read
F. Bacon, "New Atlantis;" Ursula K. Le Guin, "New Atlantis;" Margaret
Atwood, "Homelanding" (Blackboard) DISC.
3: Write 3 discussion
questions and bring them to class; bring copy of PK Dick review to
class (from Oct. 8) |
8.
Oct. 29
|
Review; We
|
Read
Zamyatin, 1-113 (through 19th entry); Journal
#2: Write on any aspect of one or more texts from this week's
reading, or you can start your SF Projects by writing a film
review. Bring a
copy to class and post your response to Blackboard/Discussion as
well. |
9.
Nov. 5
|
We;
Revolution |
Read
Zamyatin, 114-end; Bring a hard copy of your outlines and proposals
for
SF Projects to class: What projects do you plan to work on, what
might
your roles be in building this online journal, and what are your own
due dates to accomplish these tasks? (will be collected). Also come to
class with ideas for renaming the journal. |
10.
Nov. 12
|
O.B.
obit.; Stud.
Ques. on Parable
of the Talents; Group Ques.; Workshop groups |
Read
Butler, 1-205;
DISC. 4:
Write 3 discussion
questions and bring them to class |
11.
Nov. 19
|
Review; Journals; Parable
of the Talents : Ques. |
Read
Butler, 206-408 Journal
#3: Write on any aspect of Butler's novel. Bring a
copy to class and post your response to Blackboard/Discussion as well.
|
12.
Nov. 26
|
Review; RJS; His page on Hominids; Expectations
for Project SF |
Read
Sawyer, 1-206 [NEW]
|
13.
Dec. 3
|
Informal
oral presentations: Project
SF
|
Fri.
Nov. 30th: Offer 3 editing suggestions in the Discussion section of
Wikispaces; Prepare
to present your contributions to Project SF in class; hard
copies of Project SF due
|
14.
Dec. 10
|
Hominids;
Journal & Participation Portfolios collected; Final Exam Ques.
|
Read
Sawyer, 207-end; Journal Portfolio due; Participation
Portfolio due (optional: staple and submit old and/or missing
discussion questions). |
Mon.,
Dec. 17
|
Final
Exam, 5:30-7:30 in UN 3054
|
Bring
books, copies of stories, and 1-page outline to class |