IDH 2931
Undergraduate Honors:
American Science-Fiction Literature and Film
Professor Andrew Gordon Fall 2004
Section
1417 W 9-11 (4:05-7:05) Little 119
Office: 4323 TUR
Office
Phone: 392-6650 ext. 254
Office
Hours: W 5-7 (11:45-2:45); or by
appointment
Mailbox: 4301 TUR
E-mail: agordon@ufl.edu
Homepage:
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/agordon
Objectives:
1. To survey twentieth-century American
science-fiction (SF) literature and film.
2. To develop critical skills in thinking about the
role of SF within contemporary American culture. We will consider SF as the literature of
science, technology, and change, and as perhaps the most characteristic
American literature since 1945, a genre affecting all areas of our popular
culture.
3. To develop analytical skills through writing about
science-fiction stories and films.
Texts (at Goering's, 1717 NW 1st
Avenue, next to Bageland; phone 377-3703):
Science
Fiction: The SFRA Anthology ed. Warrick, Waugh, and Greenberg
Starship
Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (Ace)
Dune by Frank Herbert (Berkley)
The
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le
Guin (Ace)
The
Forever War by Joe Haldeman (Avon)
Neuromancer by William Gibson (Ace)
Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson (Bantam Spectra)
Kindred by Octavia Butler (Beacon)
Screening
Space by Vivian Sobchack (Rutgers)
Science
Fiction After 1900 by Brooks Landon
(Twayne)
The
Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction eds. Edward James, Farah Mendlesohn
(Cambridge )
A
packet of stories and articles (at Custom Copies and Textbooks, 309 NW 13 St.,
375-2707): ATwilight@ by Campbell, AHeat Death= by Pamela Zoline,
AThe Thing in All Its Guises,@ AAlien and the Monstrous Feminine,@ ABack to the Future,@ and sample reaction papers.
About the Instructor
Andrew M. Gordon specializes in American fiction
since WW II, Jewish-American fiction, and SF literature and film. He wrote
An American Dreamer: A
Psychoanalytic Study of the Fiction of Norman Mailer, co-edited with
Peter Rudnytsky the anthology Psychoanalyses/Feminisms,
and co-authored with Hernan Vera Screen Saviors: Hollywood Fictions of
Whiteness. He has published many articles
and reviews on contemporary American science fiction and film, including the SF
of Samuel Delany, Robert Silverberg, and Ursula Le Guin, and the SF films of
George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and the Wachowski brothers. He served as an editorial consultant on SF
film for the journal Science-Fiction Studies and directs the Institute
for the Psychological Study of the Arts.
Currently he is completing Wish Upon a Star: The Science Fiction and
Fantasy Films of Steven Spielberg.
Requirements:
1. Ten one-page (200-300 words typewritten)
responses on the stories, novels, critical articles, or films. Due dates are listed on the schedule. These should concern one work from the
previous week or one work assigned for
that week. They must be handed in
at the class meeting (each response is worth 2%, so unexcused late
responses lose .4% per school day and
will not be accepted once they are more than five days late). Keep the responses tightly focused on one
aspect of the work, such as characterization, style, or a central idea; don't
give plot summaries. You can also
analyze your emotional response to a work and why the work may have elicited
such a response in you. Alternately,
these responses can expand on topics raised in the class the week before or can
argue for or against ideas from the critical works we will be reading. The responses are intended to keep you
reading and thinking about the works and coming to class. They may also develop ideas you can expand in
the longer papers. These short responses
will be returned with comments but ungraded; everyone gets the credit
for doing them.
Short responses= 20% total.
2. Two
papers. Paper 1, due by 4 pm Friday,
September 24, should be about four-five typed pages (1000-1250 words) and
concern a novel, story, or film covered in Weeks I-V. Keep it tightly focused on one topic. You may revise Paper 1 if your grade is less
than a B (79 or below). It may not be
revised if it was a late paper. The
revision and the original graded paper are due a week after the paper is
returned.
Paper 2, due by 4 pm Friday, December 3, should be
six-seven typed pages (1500-1750 words) and compare any two works (novels,
stories, or films) from the course, except the one you wrote on in Paper
1. It should show evidence of research
from at least three critics. Use MLA
format. You may also write about works
not on our reading list, but clear this with me in advance.
In both papers, I encourage you to apply not only
what you have learned in this class but also what you have learned in other
courses, whether history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, philosophy,
political science, economics, biology, physics, or chemistry. Science fiction is the meeting ground of the
humanities, social sciences, and hard sciences, and any or all of these
approaches may be valid for particular works.
Alternately, with my prior permission,
Paper 2 may be a science-fiction story of at least seven pages. But in this case, you must submit a first
draft in class November 3; I will make suggestions for revisions but reserve
the right at that point to ask you to do the paper instead of the story. The grade is based on the final draft of the
story submitted December 3.
Contact me before the due date if you need
extra time. Unexcused late papers lose two points
per school day.
Paper 1= 25%.
Paper 2= 35%.
3. One oral
report to the class. You may report
on an assigned author, novel, or film, or on another author or work of
science-fiction literature or film.
(These reports may also help you prepare for your papers.) Alternately, you may discuss such topics as
the Star Trek or Star Wars phenomenon, an SF (science fiction) TV
series, SF music, SF comics or magazines, SF in ads; SF videogames, computer
games, or role-playing games; science fiction saturates our entire popular
culture. You can use, if you wish,
cassette tapes, slides, videotape, or power point (let me know so I can get the
equipment). Two students may collaborate
on a project. Limit yourself to
approximately five minutes per person.
Be creative and have fun with your reports: for
example, you can have a debate, do a skit, or conduct a mock-interview with an
author. They are required but ungraded.
Oral report= 10%
4. Class
attendance and participation. Missing one class means missing an entire
week's work. Everyone is allowed one
unexcused absence; after that, contact me with a valid explanation. Each subsequent unexcused absence means three
points off your final grade. Each
unexcused late entrance into class or early departure counts as half an
absence.
Attendance alone is not enough; everyone is
encouraged to participate.
Classroom etiquette:
please, no reading of newspapers, sleeping, or chatting while class is
going on.
Attendance and participation= 10% .
5. There
are no quizzes, exams, or final exam in this course.
Grading Policy:
A= 92-100; B= 80-91; C= 70-79; D=
60-69; E= below 60.
I am an English Professor and will pay close
attention to your writing. The short
response papers will give you a good idea of how I read and correct your
writing. If you want to improve your
writing, I am always happy to work with you outside of class . You can see me
during office hours, make an appointment, submit rough drafts in class, put
them in my mailbox (4301 TUR), or e-mail me questions.
Outline:
I Aug
25 Introduction. Film: The Day the Earth Stood Still.
II Sep
1 Precursors of SF: stories by
Hawthorne, Wells ("Star"), Forster (in SFRA Anthology). AGolden Age" SF:
Weinbaum, Campbell, AWho Goes There?@ (SFRA Anthology), ATwilight,@ and AHeat Death@ (in packet).
Landon, Preface, Chapter 1-2 (to p. 58). Cambridge Companion Introduction. R (Response Paper) 1 due.
III Sep
8 SF of 40s and 50s: Asimov, Moore, Sturgeon, Bradbury. Sobchack
Chapter
1. Cambridge Companion: Icons
of SF.
Film: The Thing. R2 due.
IV Sep
15 SF of 50s: Blish, Smith, Bester. AThe Thing in All Its Guises@
(packet).
Sobchack, Chapter 2. R3 due.
V Sep
22 SF of 50s: Starship Troopers. Landon 58-71. Cambridge
Companion: Hard SF, Marxist Theory and SF, Politics and
SF. Clips from film Starship Troopers. PAPER
1 DUE FRIDAY SEP. 24 BY 4PM.
VI Sep
29 SF of 60s: Dune (to p 240). Sobchack, Chapter 3. Film: 2001. R4 due.
VII Oct 6 SF
of 60s: Conclude Dune. Zelazny.
Conclude film 2001.
R5 due.
VIII Oct 13
60s "New Wave": Delany, Dick, Ellison. Landon 107-22, 145-58. Clips from film Dune.
R6 due.
IX Oct 20 The New Women:
Le Guin, "Nine Lives" and Left Hand of Darkness.
Landon 123-44.
Cambridge Companion: Feminism and SF, Gender and SF. R7 due.
X Oct
27 The New Women: Russ, McIntyre, Tiptree, Butler. Sobchack,
Chapter 4.
Film: Alien. R8
due.
XI Nov 3 The
New Women: Kindred by Octavia Butler. Cambridge Companion:
Race and Ethnicity and SF. Conclude Alien. FIRST DRAFT OF SHORT STORY DUE.
XII Nov 10 SF of 70s: Vietnam in
Space: Forever War. AAlien and the
Monstrous
Feminine@ (packet).
Film: Blade Runner. R9 due.
XIII Nov 17 80s Cyberpunk: Neuromancer. Landon 159-66. Cambridge Companion: Postmodernism and SF. Conclude Blade Runner. R 10 due.
AFTER CLASS PIZZA PARTY, LEONARDO=S.
XIV Nov 24 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY.
XV Dec 1 1990s
and Beyond 2004: Snowcrash (to p. 258). ABack to the Future@ (packet).
Landon, 167-79. PAPER 2 OR
FINAL DRAFT OF SHORT STORY DUE FRIDAY,
DECEMBER 3 BY 4 PM.
XVI Dec 8 Finish
Snowcrash. Cambridge Companion:
SF 1980 to Present. All papers and
stories will be returned and you will get
your grade for the course.
GORDON=S GUIDELINES
Rules for Writing (these are jokes; each memorably illustrates the rule by breaking it):
1.
Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3.
And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5.
Avoid cliches like the plague.
6.
Also always avoid annoying alliteration.
7.
Be more or less specific.
8.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
9.
Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10.
No sentence fragments.
11.
Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13.
Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's highly
superfluous.
14.
One should never generalize.
15.
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
16.
Don't use no double negatives.
17.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18.
One‑word sentences? Eliminate.
19.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20.
The passive voice is to be ignored.
21.
Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words however should
be enclosed in commas.
22.
Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23.
Kill all exclamation points!!!
24.
Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25.
Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth shaking
ideas.
26.
Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27.
If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist hyperbole;
not one writer in a million can use it well.
28.
Puns are for conversation and children, not groan readers.
29.
Go all around Robin Hood's barn to avoid colloquialisms.
30.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
31.
Who needs rhetorical questions?
32.
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
33.
Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
My
Rules (joking aside):
1. Grading Criteria:
A (92 and above)=
distinguished work, well
written, free from all serious defects,
shows originality and insight.
B (80)= good
work, above average performance, no
serious weaknesses in form
or content.
C (70)= acceptable work, unobjectionable. A C paper
usually has more writing
errors than the A
or B paper and does not show as much depth,
originality, or insight.
D (60)= below
average work: serious or
many defects in form and/or content.
E (55 or under)=
unacceptable.
0= failure to
turn in an assignment may result in failure in the course.
A
grade such as A-/B+ means that your paper was on the borderline between the two
grades.
2. Pick a carefully focused topic you
can handle in a few pages: not "The
Character of Holden Caulfield in Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye"
but "Holden and Phoebe" or "Holden and the Movies."
3. State your thesis (an argument or
point worth proving) at the end of the first or second paragraph. For example:
"The automobiles and the way they are driven in F. Scott
Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby reflect the character of the people
who own or drive them."
4. Be
sure your argument is original and worthwhile. Don't waste your time and mine restating the
obvious, reciting critical commonplaces, or retelling the plot.
5. Your title should reflect your
specific topic: not The Great Gatsby
but "Cars in Gatsby."
6. Do not underline or put in quotation
marks your own title.
7. Support your argument with references
to characters, incidents, and relevant quotations.
8. Recount narrative action in present tense: "At Myrtle's party, everyone gets drunk
and Tom breaks Myrtle's nose."
Exception: action which is
antecedent to the "present tense" of the narrative: "Gatsby had always been given to
grandiose dreams, dreams which seem realized when he met Daisy in 1917."
9. Use "
" even when quoting only a few words from the text.
10. Avoid long quotations, especially in
short papers. If a quotation is longer
than 50 words, set it off by indenting and single-spacing it. You don't need to use " " then since it is already set off from
your text.
11. When you are quoting two lines of poetry
as if they were prose, put them in "
" and use a slash / to indicate line endings. When you are quoting three or more lines of
poetry, indent, single-space and write them out exactly as they appear on the
page in the original text. You don't
need to put them in " "
then.
12. Dialogue is already in " " in a story, so quote dialogue
using double quotation marks: "= '" (13).
13. Follow American punctuation: commas and periods go inside the
quotation marks, unless a parentheses follows. Thus:
" " or
" ."
But " " (13), or
" " (13).
14. Novel but "Short Story." In other words, underline (or italicize) the
titles of long works but use "
" around the titles of short works.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald but "The
Swimmer" by John Cheever.
15. Number all pages (except cover page
and page one).
16. Keep a copy of the paper for your
protection.
17. Never end a line with a hyphen.
18. Avoid paragraphs that are too short
(one or two sentences) or too long (one page).
19. A hyphen is indicated by a -. A dash is indicated by a --. Don't confuse the two.
20. A three-dot ellipsis (. . .)
indicates that something has been omitted from the middle of quoted
matter. You don't need the ellipsis at
the beginning of a quotation (it is obvious that something has been
omitted if your quotation does not begin with a capital letter). A four-dot ellipsis (. . . .)
indicates that the end of a sentence or a sentence or more has been omitted
(the fourth dot is the period ending the sentence).
21. Use brackets [ ] not parentheses to indicate your own
insertions within quoted matter:
"His [Jim's] notion was wrong." Parentheses within quoted matter are taken as
the original author's.
22. I don't expect perfection in papers
because I don't find it in my own work.
Everyone can use a good editor.
Writing errors are evidence that you are doing your own work and
honestly trying. Use your mistakes:
learn from them and learn to be your own editor.
23. I value papers that do some original thinking
and teach me something new about a novel or story. When you're writing, remember: you're the teacher.
24. Some abbreviations I use in correcting
or commenting on papers:
AWK=
awkward
BA=
Not only x but also y.
Keep these parallel: x must be
grammatically equivalent to y:
People have not only an enormous capacity to
err but also an enormous desire to learn from their mistakes.
CHOP=
choppy writing. Too many short sentences
in a row; this usually goes along with W, O-U, and R.
CL=
cliché
D=
diction (word choice: check dictionary
or thesaurus)
FS=
fragment sentence. For example: He wanted to run. Although he could barely walk.
The
second sentence is FS (a subordinate clause belonging to the first sentence).
H=
On the one hand. . . . On the other hand. . . . Don=t use one without the other. Think of a pair of handcuffs.
O-U=
omit unneeded words
PSV=
avoid passive tense (not "the ball is hit by me" but "I hit the
ball"). Emphasize the person doing
the action.
R=
needless repetition. (Note: a lot of what I do in reading papers is
simply crossing things out:
unnecessary or repetitious words,
phrases, sentences, or occasionally entire paragraphs.)
RO=
run-on sentence
RO/CS=
run-on sentence, comma splice (using a comma where a period, semicolon, or
comma plus coordinating conjunction is called for). For example:
He wanted to go, however, he couldn't.
That's RO/CS. Correct to:
He wanted to go. However, he couldn't.
He wanted to go; however, he couldn't.
He wanted to go but he couldn't.
SP=
spelling
T=
wrong tense
U=
unclear
V=
vague
W=
wordy
& = paragraph
T = good point