Instructor Information Course Description
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English 208B: Science Fiction Department of English Language and Literature Fall 2019 10:00-11:20 M W, ML 246 Instructor Information Instructor: Michael Hancock Office: Hagey Hall 369 Office Hours: 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm MW Email: [email protected] (please put the course name ENGL 208B in your email subject lines) TA: Zach Pearl, [email protected] Office Hours 3-5 Th PAS 1087 Course Description This course teaches the forms of science fiction present in modern science fiction and science fiction throughout history, in literature and other media forms. The main objective of this course will be to investigate how and why sf (science fiction) functions in the ways that it does. How is sf defined (and who is doing the defining)? How has our understanding of sf changed over time? How does sf work in different medium forms? How does it reflect on contemporary social issues? What purpose does science fiction serve in our lives? In particular, we will center on three subgenres of science fiction, aliens, robots, and time travel, to examine how and why science fiction creators and science fiction fans keep returning to these ideas. This course will also push students to hone their skills regarding critical analysis and essay composition. Course Goals and Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students will have been introduced and be expected to successfully demonstrate some of the following skills: • To critically investigate and discuss major examples of science fiction literature and other works • To appreciate and apply some critical and theoretical approaches of science fiction to sf-based texts • To understand and communicate some of the history behind science fiction as a genre and form • To recognize how sf presents itself in different media, and how it contains its own subgenres and influences • To propose and carry out a critical investigation of a well-ordered argument concerning a given research topic regarding sf literature Required Texts • Vision: The Complete Series. By Tom King and Gabriel Hernandez Walta. Marvel. 484 p, 2018. • Access to Netflix (for viewing Annihilation, Russian Doll, and potentially other texts) • 80 Days. (Videogame; available on PC, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android) Readings (or links to readings) Available on LEARN • War of the Worlds. H. G. Wells. 1897. Project Gutenberg, 2018. • “Orson Welles. War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast 1938 – Complete Broadcast.” David Webb. Youtube, 16 Dec. 2010. • “Evidence.” Isaac Asimov. Astounding Science Fiction, edited by John W. Campbell Jr., September 1946, Street & Smith. I, Robot. Bantam, 1991. 159-182. • “Vintage Season.” Henry Kuttner and Catherine L. Moore. Astounding Science Fiction, edited by John W. Campbell Jr., September 1946, Street & Smith. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume Two A: The Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time chosen by the members of the Science Fiction Writers of America, edited by Ben Bova, Tor, 2003. • “Who Goes There?”. John W. Campbell Jr. [Originally published under Don A. Stuart]. Astounding Science Fiction, edited by John W. Campbell Jr., August 1938, Street & Smith. Who Goes There? Seven Tales of Science-Fiction, 2nd ed Shasta, 1951. 31-80. • “The Veldt.” [originally “The World the Children Made.”] Ray Bradbury. The Saturday Eveningno boundaries Post, 23 September 1950. The Illustrated Man, Doubleday, 1951. • “A Sound of Thunder.” Ray Bradbury. Colliers, 1952. The Golden Apples of the Sun and Other Stories, 1990. • “Piper in the Woods.” Philip K. Dick. Popular Science Fiction 2, edited by Ronald Forster, 1953, Blue Diamond Publishing. Paycheck and Other Classic Stories, Citadel Press, 1990. 113-129. • “Fondly Fahrenheit.” Alfred Bester. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Anthony Boucher and J. Francis McComas, August 1954, Selected Stories of Alfred Bester. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964, edited by Robert Silverberg, Orb, 2005. • “All You Zombies--”. Robert A. Heinlein. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, edited by Robert P. Mills, March 1959, Mercury Press. Masterpieces: The best science fiction of the century, edited by Orson Scott Card, Ace Books, 2002. • “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long.” Brian W. Aldiss, Harper's Bazaar, December 1969. Supertoys Last All Summer Long: and other Stories of Future Time, Orbit, 2001. • “The Gernsback Continuum.” William Gibson. Universe 11, edited by Terry Carr, Doubleday, 1981. Burning Chrome, Eos/HarperCollins, 2003. • “Bloodchild.” Octavia E. Butler. Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, edited by Sawhan McCarthy, June 1984, Davis. Bloodchild and Other Stories, Open Road, 2012. 20 p. • “Liking What You See: A Documentary.” Ted Chiang. Stories of Your Life and Others, 2002. 237- 273. • “The Second Renaissance: Part One.” The Animatrix. Directed by Mahiro Maeda, Warner Brothers Village Roadshow Pictures, 2003. Cyberpunked, YouTube, 14 June 2016. “The Second Renaissance: Part Two.” The Animatrix. Directed by Mahiro Maeda, Warner Brothers Village Roadshow Pictures, 2003. Cyberpunked, YouTube, 14 June 2016. • “Delhi.” Vadana Singh. So Long Been Dreaming, edited by Nalo Hopkinson and Uppinder Mehan, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2004. 79-94. • “The Goat Variations.” Jeff VanderMeer. Other Earths, edited by Nick Gevers and Jay Lake, DAW, 2009. Vulture, 1 September 2015. https://www.vulture.com/2015/08/read-jeff-vandermeer-911- fiction-short-story.html • “Incarnation Day.” Walter Jon Williams. Escape from Earth: New Adventures in Space, edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, Science Fiction Book Club, 2006. The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories, Night Shade Books, 2010. 203-239. • “The Kingdom of the Blind,” Maureen McHugh. Plugged In. L. Timmel Duchamp and Maureen McHugh, Aqueduct P, 2008. Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams, November 2011. http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/the-kingdom-of-the-blind/ • “Carthago Delenda Est.” Genevieve Valentine. Federations. Edited by John Joseph Adams, Prime Books, 2009. 35-47. • “Red Letter Day.” Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Analog Science Fiction and Fact, edited by Stanley Schmidt, September 2010, Dell Magazines. The Time Traveler's Almanac, edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, Tor Books, 2013. • “Hwang's Billion Brilliant Daughters.” Alice Sola Kim. Lightspeed, edited by John Joseph Adams, November 2010, Prime Books. Lightspeed Magazine, 2010. http://podcasts.lightspeedmagazine.com/podcast_hwangs_billion_brilliant_alice_sola_kim.mp3 • Annihilation. Directed by Alex Garland, performances by Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson and Tuva Novotny, Paramount Pictures, 2018. Netflix. • Russian Doll. Performances by Natasha Lyonne and Charlie Barnett, Netflix, 2019. Course Requirements and Assessment Assignment Date of Evaluation (if known) Weighting Response Papers Sept 27th; Oct 9th; Nov 13th 15.00% Participation and Attendance Ongoing 10.00% First Essay (5-7 pages) November 1st 20.00% Final Essay / Project (7-8 pages/4 pages) Dec 3rd 25.00% Final Exam TBD 30.00% Total 100% All of the assignments will be explained in greater detail as their respective due dates approach. Note all assignments are due by 5:00 pm on the Friday of the week that they are due; anything submitted after that class will count as late. Participation and Attendance. Students will receive a portion of this mark for being present in class, and a portion for active and helpful participation. Grading for the participation portion will be done considering the following: 90-100 Excellent: With few, if any, exceptions, the student is making frequent, substantive, useful and original contributions to class discussions; the student consistently engaged and participating, and attends all peer review sessions and classes 80-89 Good: the student is a regular contributor to discussions; the student is consistently engaged, and attends all peer review sessions 70-79 Satisfactory: The student demonstrates occasional contributions and inconsistent engagement 60-69 Marginal: Minimal contributions and/or significant lack of engagement < 60 Failure: repeated disruptive, inappropriate or unethical behaviour; behaviour disrespectful to others; consistent lack of commitment and/or effort Response Papers Three times throughout the term, students must turn in a brief (2 pages) response paper. The paper will contain their response to one of the works discussed (or to be discussed) in class. If the work has already been discussed in class, the student is expected to focus on a different aspect of the work that hasn’t been discussed, or expand on the previous discussion in a meaningful way. (The second and third paper will have further qualifications.) The papers will be marked in terms of how well the students display knowledge of the text, apply what’s been discussed in class, demonstrate original thinking, present a coherent argument, and adhere to conventions in terms of punctuation and mechanics. First Essay This essay will ask students to expand aliens or robots as a science fiction trope, drawing on the works and material discussed thus far. Final Essay This essay is the student’s chance to demonstrate what has been learned over the course of the class. Creative projects and collaborations will be encouraged. Students will receive a detailed description of this assignment along with possible essay topics well in advance of the due date. Final Exam Questions will be designed to test your knowledge of the readings, and concepts discussed in class. The exam will involve identifying passages, delivering