EngLt 392
Fall 2011
Science Fiction
and Fantasy
Instructor: Bob Lyman
Office: D384
Phone: 916.484.8628
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: TTh: Noon to 12: 25 pm, and by
appointment
Class Web: http://www.boblyman.net/englt392/
English Literature 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 Gothic and 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 all
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:
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Master Mind of Mars. Down load, 1927.
Dick, Philip K. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Del Rey, 1996.
Gibson, William. Idoru. Berkley, 1997.
Miller, Frank. The Dark Knight Returns. DC Comics, 1997.
Scifi and Fantasy—1
Attendance and Class Etiquette:
I expect you to attend class. More than three unexcused absences will likely result in
you being dropped from the class; if the accumulated absences total more than three
after the drop deadline, your course grade will, at the very least, be lowered by one full
letter grade—more if the absences are excessive. 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 six postings and two
essays. The breakdown of the course grade is as follows:
Points
Postings
600 Correlated with assigned texts and
posted on D2L
Papers
200 Midterm Paper
200 Final Paper—Your Choice
1000 Total
Help!
Finally, I would like to offer a short word of advice. 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 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
8-25
8-23
Discuss “Iron Hans,” MacDonald’s “The Gray Wolf,”
Introduction to the course—Roots: Myth, Fairy Tales
and the Gothic; Definition—Science Fiction vs Fantasy and Charnas’s “Boobs”
2
8-30
Characteristics of Gothic Literature—Discuss Botting,
apply to Shelley and Gibson (from Frankenstein)
9-1
Discuss Poe’s “House of Usher” and Antieau’s
“Sanctuary”— POSTING DUE: 9/3
3
9-6
The Uncanny—Discuss Tatar, Freud’s concept of the
personality, and Liminality
9-8
Terror and Horror—Discuss Matheson’s “Prey” and
Bradbury’s “The Veldt”— POSTING DUE: 9/10
9-11
The Hero’s Journey—Watch and discuss f8 and
discuss both Russ’s “When It Changed” and Butler’s
“Speech Sounds”
9-20
The Master Mind of Mars
9-15
Discuss Burrough’s The Master Mind of Mars
(This is an electronic text)
4
5
6
9-27
Discuss Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns
9-22
The Hero, cont.—Discuss Howard’s “The Tower of the
Elephant,” Gore’s “The Wood” AND reading comics
(McCloud)
9-29
The Dark Knight Returns
POSTING DUE: 10/1
7
10-4
Creature Features—Discuss Butler’s “Bloodchild” and
Bradley’s “Elbow Room”—the role of the Other
10-6
Discuss midterm papers—mapping possible
approaches
8
10-11
Gothic evolution—toward a contemporary definition of
SciFi & Fantasy—LeGuin’s “Introduction”
10-13
Midterm paper due
10-18
Discuss Dick’s Do Androids Dream (Chpts 1-5)
10-20
Do Androids Dream (Chpts 6-12)
POSTING DUE: 10/22
10-25
Do Androids Dream (Chpts 13-17)
10-27
Do Androids Dream (Chpts 18-22)
11-1
Watch and discuss BladeRunner
11-3
BladeRunner
POSTING DUE: 11/5
11-8
Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell
11-10
Manga & Anime
Dystopian, Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic Visions
11-15
Anime—Blood: The Last Vampire
11-17
Anime—RahXephon
POSTING DUE: 11/19
11-22
11-24
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Thanksgiving Holiday—No Classes
11-29
Gibson—Idoru (Chapters 1-19)
12-1
Gibson— Idoru (Chapters 20-24)
POSTING DUE: 12/3
12-6
Gibson—Idoru (Chapters 25-46)
12-8
Discuss final papers—mapping possible approaches
12-13
12-15
Course final—10:15 a. m. to 12:15 p.m.
Final paper due—bring to my office or mail box
Finals
Scifi and Fantasy—3
Midterm Paper—
Texts:
Bradbury, Ray. “The Veldt.”
Bradley, Marion Zimmer. “Elbow Room.”
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. The Master Mind of Mars.
Butler, Octavia. “Speech Sounds.”
Charnas, Suzy McKee. “Boobs.”
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 to demonstrate
the characteristics you see in one of the stories above. you should not try to
demonstrate all of the Gothic characteristics, however; 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 one of the texts from the list. Your paper must also make use of and
give reference to the texts by Botting, Tatar, and or the liminality handout; these sources
will help you to develop the central focus of your paper—and I would strongly
encourage additional research.
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). 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:
Bacigalupi, Paulo. The Windup Girl.
Butler, Octavia E. Kindred.
Butler, Octavia E. The Fledgling.
Haldeman, Joe. The Forever War.
LeGuin, Ursula K. The Left Hand of Darkness.
Lem, Stanislaw. Solaris.
McDevitt, Jack. Seeker.
Miller, Walter M. A Canticle for Leibowitz.
Moon, Elizabeth. The Speed of Dark.
Powers, Tim. The Stress of Her Regard.
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.
Make sure you anchor your paper to the concepts we have discussed in the course,
which means you will want to reference one or more of the background texts: Botting,
Tatar, Freud, Jung. Additionally, your paper must include at least two researched
references to other authors—perhaps critics who have written about your author or
novel, perhaps research on a key element of your paper. 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