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English 314: Studies in Popular Genres Science Fiction Queens College, CUNY / Fall 2010 / Prof

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English 314: Studies in Popular Genres Science Fiction Queens College, CUNY / Fall 2010 / Prof English 314: Studies in Popular Genres Science Fiction Queens College, CUNY / Fall 2010 / Prof. Seo-Young Chu + CLASS MEETING TIME: Monday 6:30 - 9:20 PM + CLASS MEETING LOCATION: RA/102 + COURSE DESCRIPTION: We will explore some of the ways in which works of science fiction (SF) have dealt with topics such as gender, war, ethnicity, and the near future. We will also explore the many identities of science fiction itself – as a genre, a subculture, a marketing tag, as a state of mind, a set of reading protocols, as the opposite of realism, as a type of realism, and as a growing presence in everyday reality. Weekly units are arranged by topic. Texts encompass film (Blade Runner, Aliens, The Matrix), prose fiction long and short (authors include Asimov, Atwood, Butler, Gibson, and Yamashita), poetry (Dickinson and Yeats, among others), and music (from Ligeti to Radiohead). + LEARNING GOALS: - To learn how to think creatively, analytically, and experimentally about texts that challenge conventional reading protocols. - To become acquainted with a range of influential works of science fiction diverse in medium, authorship, and subject matter. - To continue developing proficiency in the arts of oral and written communication through a variety of informal and formal assignments. + BOOKS FOR THE COURSE (available at the QC Bookstore): - Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus (Oxford) by Mary Shelley - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Del Rey) by Philip K. Dick - Robot Visions (Roc) by Isaac Asimov - Babel-17/Empire Star (Vintage) by Samuel R. Delany - Lilith’s Brood (Grand Central Publishing) by Octavia E. Butler - The Handmaid’s Tale (Anchor) by Margaret Atwood - Slaughterhouse-Five (Dell) by Kurt Vonnegut - Ender’s Game (Tor) by Orson Scott Card - Neuromancer (Ace) by William Gibson - Tropic of Orange (Coffee House Press) by Karen Tei Yamashita + REQUIREMENTS - Class participation (regular attendance; active, informed, thoughtful contributions to dialogue; respectful engagement with colleagues): 25%. - Blackboard discussion board activity (one post per week in response to the readings plus at least two comments per week in response to other posts; you are welcome to use the discussion board forums and threads as frequently as you like): 25%. - Prospectus (500-1000 words) for your final paper: 5%. - Close reading/textual analysis (1000 words, approx. 1.5 pages single-spaced) in connection to your final paper: 5%. - Annotated bibliography for your final paper: 5%. 1 - Final paper (4000 words, approx. 12 pages double-spaced) due to me via e-mail by 11 PM on Saturday 12/11/10: 20%. - A ten-minute oral presentation on your final paper, to be delivered before a conference of your colleagues at the end of the semester: 5%. - Final take-home essay exam: 10%. + MY OFFICE HOURS (Klapper 642): Monday 5PM-6PM; Wednesday 5PM-6PM; by appointment + MY OFFICE PHONE NUMBER: (718) 997-4685 + MY EMAIL: [email protected] Defining “Science F i c t i o n ” [ Week 1: Monday 8/30/2010] AGENDA FOR CLASS TODAY. Introduction to course. Requirements, goals, expectations, grading policy, etc. + Writing guidelines and tips. + Handout: various definitions and accounts of “science fiction.” What do you notice about these accounts? How are they different from one another? How are they alike? Is anything missing from them? What is the significance of the word’s origins (Gernsback) and etymology? + Visual images: concept art, book covers. Audio clips: 2001: A Space Odyssey; Radiohead. Poetry: “I Felt a Funeral, in my Brain”; “Pyramid Song.” Are these texts science-fictional? If so, what exactly makes them science-fictional? [ Week 2: Monday 9/13] READING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley. + Your colleagues’ discussion forum entries (see below for more details). + Resources and databases on science fiction (see Blackboard) to get a sense of keywords, themes, authors, potential topics for your final essay. WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Choose a sentence or paragraph in Frankenstein that you find especially “science-fictional.” Write an entry (length is up to you) addressing the following points. (1) Type up and identify the passage you selected (chapter, page number). Explain how and why the passage exemplifies what you have in mind by “science- fictional.” Be sure to define what you mean by “science-fictional.” (2) Rewrite the passage to make it even more science-fictional. This might mean deleting certain details, adding certain details, reconfiguring certain details – or something else altogether. (3) Explain how exactly your revisions make the text more science-fictional than it was before. Please post your entry to the Blackboard discussion forum by 11 PM on Thursday 9/9. Read your colleagues’ entries, post at least two comments, and be prepared to discuss your colleagues’ entries (as well as your own) in class. AGENDA FOR CLASS TODAY. Frankenstein: context; reception and afterlife of text; status as “first SF novel”; the gothic in relationship to SF; etc. + Class discussion of BB discussion forum entries. Did you notice any recurrent themes? Did any of your colleagues’ essays surprise you? + Broader discussion of Frankenstein. Possible topics: science-fictional emotions; technology vs. 2 magic; images of scientists; gender; reproduction; literary form (epistles, narrative frames, etc); names. Artificial Humans [ Week 3: Monday 9/20] READING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Robot Visions by Isaac Asimov. Read the entire collection, with particular attention to: “Introduction”; “Robot Visions”; “Too Bad!”; “The Bicentennial Man”; “Segregationist”; “Galley Slave”; “The Friends We Make”; “The Laws of Robotics”; “Cybernetic Organism”; “Robots in Combination.” Pay attention to the visual illustrations as well. + Articles on robot rights and the uncanny valley (online – I will provide links). + Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” (online). + Your colleagues’ BB entries. WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Post your reaction to any aspect of the reading for this week. Length and form are up to you. Remember to post your entry on Blackboard by Thursday 11 PM at the latest. Read your colleagues’ entries, post at least two comments, and be prepared to discuss your colleagues’ entries (as well as your own) in class. AGENDA FOR CLASS TODAY. The term “robot”; the term “android”; the term “cyborg”; robot as human-made object possessing the attributes of human subject; the uncanny (Jentsch: intellectual uncertainty – animate vs. inanimate); the uncanny valley (Mori, graphs, Japanese robots, examples in film); creature in Frankenstein as humanoid artifact and victim of uncanny valley. + Other possible topics: robot ethics; gender; illustrations of robots in Robot Visions; whether Asimov’s robots are uncanny; the cyborg as category of lived existence today (“born” and “constructed” on a continuum: pacemakers, etc); SF short stories vs. SF novels; specific passages that you might wish to examine in detail with the rest of the class; responses to BB discussion board entries. [ Week 4: Monday 9/27] READING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) by Philip K. Dick. + “Her Lips Are Copper Wire” by Jean Toomer. + Your colleagues’ BB entries. VIEWING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Blade Runner (1982), dir. Ridley Scott. WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Discuss Asimov’s laws of robotics in relation to a scenario from one of the texts that we have read so far (e.g., Frankenstein, any of Asimov’s stories, Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?). Possible questions to consider: Are Asimov’s laws of robotics commensurate with the ethics of android behavior in Blade Runner? Do Asimov’s laws break down under certain circumstances? Are the laws of robotics fair to robots? Are they fair to humans? Are they relevant today? Choose one angle, develop a coherent argument, and use textual evidence to support your claims. Length of entry is up to you. Remember to post your entry on BB by Thursday 11 PM at the latest. Read your colleagues’ entries, post at least two comments, and be prepared to discuss your colleagues’ entries (as well as your own) in class. AGENDA FOR CLASS TODAY. Possible topics: your responses to one another’s essays; the applicability of Asimov’s laws of robotics (in SF and in real life); differences and similarities between Do Androids Dream and its film adaptation; empathy for robots; phobia of robots; the 3 uncanny valley; utopian robots vs. dystopian robots; robot subjectivity; the Blade Runner soundtrack by Vangelis; science-fictional cityscapes; specific scenes or passages that you’d like to examine in detail with the rest of the class. S c i e n c e - Fictional Language ( s ) [ Week 5: Monday 10/4] READING ASSIGNMENT FOR THIS WEEK. Babel-17 (1966) by Samuel Delany. + “The Call of Cthulhu” (1928) by H.P. Lovecraft. + Your colleagues’ BB entries. WRITING/THINKING ASSIGNMENTS FOR THIS WEEK. (1) Post an entry (length, form, topic are up to you) in response to this week’s readings. Please post by the usual deadline. (2) Start brainstorming for your final paper. Of the texts/topics that we’ve covered so far, which have you found especially challenging, rich, provocative? Of the texts/topics that we have yet to discuss (see weeks below), which ones strike you as particularly intriguing? Consult the resources listed on BB. Are there certain headwords, author names, book titles, or tags that seem likely to lead you to areas of interest? Post the results of your brainstorm. Please post by the usual deadline.
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