E EngLt 392 Fall 2008 Science Fiction and Fantasy Instructor: Bob Lyman Office: D229C Phone: 916.484.8628 Email: lymanb@arc.losrios.edu Office Hours: TTh Noon to 12:30 p.m. and by appointment Class Web: http://www.boblyman.net/englt392/ nglish 392 is a survey course that explores the rich and varied worlds of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Over the course of the semester, we will explore characteristic features from fairy tales, old Gothic, and Romantic literatures and see how those same features are used in some recent Cyberpunk and Anime. We will discuss the mythic structure of these literatures and investigate their possible psychological, social and political meanings. Although you will undoubtedly be familiar with some of the texts and movies we will discuss (some of which we have read and re-read countless times), we will play with new ways of seeing these stories. Of course I hope you will also find new stories that surprise and delight you as well. Required Texts: Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid s Tale. Gibson, William. Idoru. Matheson, Richard. I Am Legend. Miller, Frank. The Dark Knight Returns. Shirow, Masamune. Ghost in the Shell, Volume 1. Scifi and Fantasy 1
Attendance and Class Etiquette: I expect you to attend class. More than four unexcused absences will lower your course grade by at least one full letter grade more if the absences are excessive or I may drop you from the class. Absences may only be excused according to school policy; if you anticipate missing class, please speak to me in advance to make arrangements for any assignments due that day. I also expect you to show up on time for class; coming to class late is both rude and disruptive. I take roll at the beginning of each class; if you are not present in the classroom when I take roll, I will mark you absent. If you miss a class, you are responsible for homework due on that day and for material covered in class not I. Class assignments must be turned in the day they are due or before; late homework assignments will not be accepted! I expect students to behave appropriately in a college classroom. This means that we must at all times show respect for everyone in the class. Any disruptive behavior in the classroom may result in suspension and the possibility of being dropped from the course. For specific information refer to the official Student Rights and Responsibilities as established by the college. Course Grade: Your grade in the course will be determined by a combination of two essays, a midterm exam, and a final exam. The breakdown of the course grade is as follows: Points Exams 250 Midterm The Gothic 250 Final Atwood and Gibson Papers 250 Midterm Paper 250 Final Paper Your Choice 1000 Total Help! Finally, I would like to offer a short word of advise. You sacrifice a great deal to attend school time, effort and money; make the most of what you invest and USE the time I have scheduled for office hours. If the times I have listed at the top of this syllabus are not convenient for you, please talk to me or email me about making an appointment. And don t wait to the end of the semester if you are having difficulties; a little time spent early in the semester may prevent a great many frustrations. Although I do not regularly check my voice mail, I am ALWAYS available by email. So if you are just too busy to come to office hours, you can email me with questions. Scifi and Fantasy 2
English 392 Assignment Schedule Week Tuesday Thursday 1 2 3 4 8-26 Introduction to the course Roots: Myth, Fairy Tales; Define Science Fiction vs Fantasy Cortazar 9-2 Characteristics of Gothic Literature Discuss Botting 9-9 The Uncanny Discuss Tatar, Freud s concept of the personality, and Liminality 9-16 Discuss Howard s The Tower of the Elephant 8-28 Hansel & Gretel, MacDonald s The Gray Wolf, and Cortazar s The Night Face Up 9-4 Terror and Horror Discuss Poe s House of Usher and Bradbury s The Veldt 9-11 The Hero s Journey Watch and discuss f8 and discuss Russ When It Changed 9-18 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 9-23 Discuss Miller s The Dark Knight Returns 9-30 Gothic evolution toward a contemporary definition of SciFi & Fantasy Discuss Butler s Speech Sounds 10-7 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original film) 10-14 Creature Features Discuss Butler s Bloodchild and McIntyre s Mountains of Sunset and Dawn 10-21 Matheson I Am Legend 10-28 Will Smith I Am Legend 11-4 Atwood The Handmaid s Tale (Chapters 1 8) 11-11 Atwood The Handmaid s Tale (Chapters 11 13) 11-18 Manga & Anime 9-25 The Dark Knight Returns 10-2 Discuss midterm papers mapping possible approaches 10-9 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original film) 10-16 Midterm Midterm paper due 10-23 Matheson I Am Legend 10-30 Will Smith I Am Legend 11-6 Atwood The Handmaid s Tale (Chapters 9 10) 11-13 Atwood The Handmaid s Tale (Chapters 14 End) 11-20 Anime 14 11-25 Gibson Idoru (Chapters 1 19) 11-27 Thanksgiving Holiday No Classes 15 16 17 12-2 Gibson Idoru (Chapters 20 24) 12-9 Discuss Kelly s Mr. Boy 12-16 Finals 12-4 Gibson Idoru (Chapters 25 46) 12-11 12-18 Course final 10:15 a. m. to 12:15 p.m. Final paper due Scifi and Fantasy 3
Midterm Paper Texts: Bradbury, Ray. The Veldt. Howard, Robert. The Tower of the Elephant. Siegel, Don. The Invasion of the Body Snatchers. MacDonald, George. The Gray Wolf. Miller, Frank. The Dark Knight Returns. Poe, Edgar Allan. The Fall of the House of Usher. Russ, Joanna. When It Changed. Essay Assignment: For this essay, you will focus on the characteristics of the Gothic story, comparing and contrasting details from any two of the stories above to demonstrate those characteristics. However, you should not try to demonstrate all of the Gothic characteristics; instead, find a single focus. You can, for instance, explore: the features of the architecture or landscape or both and their significance liminality, and thus the blurring between reality and dreams or the distinction between the inner and outer worlds or the development of the Other the barrier of unspeakableness the failure of language the ambivalent features that lead to an emotional excess, a distortion of the sublime, and the development of the uncanny abyssal images and their psychological or social significance You are free to include details from additional texts, but you must reference, develop and focus upon two of the texts from the list. Please make liberal use (and reference) our primary reference texts Botting, Tatar, and the liminality handout to develop the central focus of your paper. The paper should be formatted following normal MLA conventions; we will discuss MLA conventions, but having completed English 300, you should be familiar with these. And in answer to the first question that always gets asked with the assignment of an essay How long does this paper have to be? at least four pages (1000 words) and no longer than six (1500 words). The paper is due the day of the midterm. Please begin early and use me to help you set the paper up and develop it. Scifi and Fantasy 4
Options for Independent Reading Assignment Texts: Butler, Octavia E. Wild Seed. Gaiman, Neil. The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists. Gardner, John. Grendel. Le Guin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness. Lem, Stanislaw. Solaris. Miller, Walter M. A Canticle for Leibowitz. Piercy, Marge. He, She and It. Sawyer, Robert J. Factoring Humanity. Sturgeon, Theodore. More than Human. Tiptee, James, Jr. Brightness Falls from the Air. Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse Five. Final Essay Assignment: For this second critical analysis paper, you can choose any title from the list above, but you will read this text independently and then compose an analytical response to the text. You can use any of the topics of our discussions to find a controlling focus, so you can choose to do a psychoanalytical read of the protagonist, a mythical read of the plot, or an exploration of major themes. The approach you take is really up to you; all I insist upon is that you analyze your response: explain how you see, why you see, and in what specific way you see your insights revealed in the novel. Additionally, your paper must include at least two researched references to others authors perhaps critics who have written about your author or novel. You can use the internet for these references, but the internet does not normally provide good sources for this kind of paper, and you run the risk of a weak paper as a result. I would suggest using the literary database available at the library you could even ask a librarian for some help with this. The paper should be formatted following normal MLA conventions. We will discuss both the library databases and MLA format in class. Again in answer to the How long does this paper have to be? question at least five pages (1250 words) and no longer than seven (1750 words). The paper is not due until the day of the final, so you can (and should) be working on during the semester. Please begin early and use me to help you set the paper up and develop it. Scifi and Fantasy 5