Dr. Prinsky

Engl. 4950A / 6110: Selected Topics -- Science Fiction

Syllabus for Engl. 4950 / 6110: Selected Topics -- Science Fiction

     The course will cover science fiction in literature, film (feature films, and film serials), radio, television, and music (e.g., some New Age composers like John Serrie, as well as popular artists, like Rick Wakeman in his Voyage to the Centre of the Earth, a musical composition based on the novel of this title by Jules Verne). The course will generally proceed chronologically: in literature, from 1903 to 1990 (the range of the short stories included in the course textbook); in film, from the 1930's to the present; in radio, from the 1930's onward; in television, from the 1950's onward; plus occasional forays into music. Occasionally, cross-media tie-ins will be introduced (e.g., the radio version as well as original short story version of Frederik Pohl’s “The Tunnel Under the World”).

     Written work for the course is made up of class reports and two papers (no tests). Each member of the class will do a report on a particular author and short story from the required textbook (The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories) on a rotating basis; after all class members have done the first report, the second rotation would begin, and so on (probably no more than three rotations for the school term). Besides reports, two papers are required (no midterm or final examinations). One analytical paper (using no secondary sources) will be an analysis of the treatment of a subject running through at least three of the short stories in the textbook (e.g., the treatment of war; the treatment of technology; visions of good and bad social systems; visions of good or bad governments; the relationship of the individual to the group or society; artificial -- machine -- intelligence and the computer; relation between the genders; overpopulation). The second paper (a research paper) will include the compiling of a bibliography of print criticism on one of the authors from the course textbook (see the list given below), as well as an analytical and descriptive discussion of the top twenty-five Internet resources on the author.

Course Textbook

Shippey, Tom, ed. The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories. 1992; rpt. Oxford UP, 2003.

Reports

     Reports should help make up for the textbook’s lack of biographical notes about the various authors (except for life dates and a few glancing references on pp. 583-585 and in the Introduction) and of critical introductions to each of the stories (except for some glancing references in the Introduction). Hence, each report should give some biographical information about the story’s author (birth year, plus death year if applicable; education; occupation or occupations other than writer; titles, dates, and general contents of science fiction books published – including whether novels or short story collections), a plot summary of the story (no more than 75 words, integrating some interpretation or analysis), subjects and themes covered, and any literary highlights (e.g., humor, satire, imagery, symbolism, allusion, manipulation of genres -- such as blending SF and fantasy in an ingenious way). Biographical data can be gotten from standard reference works on contemporary writers and SF writers available in the Reference Room of the Reese (ASU) Library, as well as from the Internet. Students who have pre-arranged absences need to have gotten me either a printed copy or an e-mail of reports due on a certain class date. Do not put e-mailed reports on papers in “.wps” or Microsoft Works format (use the “save as” option to save the file in “rich text format,” or “.rtf”). Reports should adhere to MLA format (MLA format may be reviewed in your composition handbook, such as The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers, which is the composition handbook used at ASU).

     A list of report assignments will be distributed on the second class session, after class enrollment has been definitely ascertained.

Paper Requirements and Topics

     Papers should adhere to MLA format. For the analytical paper (no secondary sources) on a subject running through several stories, the paper should use details and illustrations from throughout the stories, citing page numbers in parenthetical documentation (not just for quotation). Overquotation should be guarded against on both papers, with summary and reference to details used instead.

     The bibliography (included somehow within the paper) for the second (research) paper should be compiled by using the Internet resource Galileo for the University System of Georgia, and (from the “tab” “Arts and Humanities”) consulting “Academic Search Premier,” “Book Review Digest,” “Essay and General Literature Index,” the “MLA International Bibliography,” and “Project Muse.” From campus computers, click on the Library tab on the ASU homepage, then on the left margin, Galileo/articles/research; from your home computer, go to the ASU homepage, click on Library, Click on Galileo/articles/research, and at the opening screen for Galileo, use the ASU password (for this summer, it is “fennel” -- without the quotation marks). The other component of the paper will require using a search engine (like “google.com” — without the quotation marks) about the particular author chosen from the course textbook. If too many “hits” are returned from typing in the author’s name as the search entry, some narrowing might be done by adding a restrictor like “science fiction”: e.g., “Brian Aldiss” + “science fiction” (here actually using the quotation marks, which further restricts the search, as well as the “plus sign”).

     The following authors may NOT be chosen from the course textbook: Rudyard Kipling, Frank L. Pollack, Hilbert Schenck, James H. Schmitz, or H.G. Wells. Any other author from the course textbook may be chosen for the second (research) paper.

     Additional notes about the reports and papers will be forthcoming, as well as tips on using computers and the Internet.

Schedule (first several class sessions)

6/23 (Th) Go over syllabus; take Dr. Prinsky’s Survivor / Who Wants to Be a Millionaire / Weakest Link Science Fiction test; listen to a science fiction radio show and/or watch the first episode of a science fiction movie serial

6/24 (F) go over Dr. Prinsky’s Science Fiction test; watch second and following episodes of the science fiction movie serial begun on 6/23; listen to some New Age space (electronic) music

6/27 (M) Go over H.G. Wells’ “The Land Ironclads” in The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories (abbreviated hereafter as OBSF); possibly view the 1960 film of Wells’ War of the Worlds or listen to the 1930's radio version

6/28 (T) Reports on Rudyard Kipling’s “As Easy as ABC” and Jack Williamson’s “The Metal Man”

6/29 (W) Reports on Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” and John W. Campbell’s “Night”

6/30 (Th)

7/1 (F)

7/4 (M) school holiday; no class

7/5 (T)

7/6 (W)

7/7 (Th)

7/8 (F)

7/11 (M)

7/12 (T)

7/13 (W)

7/14 (Th)

7/15 (F)

7/18 (M)

7/19 (T)

7/20 (W)

7/21 (Th)

7/22 (F)

7/25 (M)

7/26 (T)