Prof. Atara Stein    Spring 2004
Office: UH 437    Section 1
Phone: 278-3315    M 4-6:45 p.m.
E-mail: astein@fullerton.edu    UH 208
Office hours: M 2:30-3:45; Tu 2:15-3:45
                 Th 11:30-12:45, and by appt.

"A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and
excellent natures would owe their being to me."
--Victor Frankenstein, Frankenstein

"I may be synthetic, but I'm not stupid."
--Bishop, Aliens

"Everything is true. . . . Everything anybody has ever thought."
--Rick Deckard, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Texts (available at the Little Professor bookstore)
Card, Ender's Game
Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Gibson, Neuromancer
Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Piercy, He, She and It
Shelley, Frankenstein
Silverberg, To Open the Sky*
Stephenson, Snow Crash
*Not available at Little Professor

Course Description: What this course is not is an exhaustive or comprehensive survey of science fiction; that would be impossible to do in one semester. What I've chosen to do instead is select a couple of related themes: artificial beings and artificial environments. Both of these themes embody science fiction's exploration of the increasingly intricate relationship between humankind and its creations. The artificial beings we will discuss are descendents of Mary Shelley's Creature: the happy and excellent and the unhappy and not-so-excellent natures that are the products of artificial intelligence and cybernetic research--cyborgs, androids, and artificial intelligence (self-aware computers). The other theme concerns the artificial environments created within computers and existing in the networked linkages between them. Such books and films explicitly raise the question, "What is real?" Not surprisingly, many of our texts address both of these themes. Our discussion of these texts will examine the issues raised by such scientific manipulation and creation, although we will certainly not limit ourselves to those issues. We will also explore the way each text presents a vision of the future which embodies the ideological, social, and cultural concerns of the author and his or her times. While I will have to lecture occasionally, I wish to emphasize that this will not be a lecture course. Full participation will be required of every student, including coming to class, contributing to small-group and class discussion, and keeping a notebook, in addition to graded assignments. The more actively you involve yourself in this course the more you will get out of it. It is important that you have the reading completed by the day it is due and are prepared to discuss it. Exams will include questions about the films as well as the written texts. You might also note that this class will require a good deal of work; there is a lot of reading, and you will be writing a substantial paper.

Requirements:
1 8-10 page paper    40%
1 midterm    15%
1 final    30%
Class participation    15%
    Attendance (includes bringing appropriate text(s) to class every day)
    Notebook (1-2 pages on each of the novels and films, to be kept in a 3-pronged or pocket folder or blue book or simply stapled together (no 3-ring binders or spiral notebooks); this is an opportunity for you to reflect informally on the reading before we discuss it)
    Class discussion (whole-class or group)

Schedule

Week 1
2/2/04
Introduction
View: Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Measure of a Man"

Week 2
2/9/04
Shelley, Frankenstein

Week 3
2/16/04
Holiday

Week 4
2/23/04
View: Young Frankenstein
Frankenstein (cont.)

Week 5
3/1/04
Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Week 6
3/8/04
Silverberg, To Open the Sky

Week 7
3/15/04
Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Week 8
3/22/04
View: Blade Runner

3/29-4/4/04
Spring Recess

Week 9
4/5/04
SF Recommendations
Paper Topics distributed.
Midterm exam
Notebook due

Week 10
4/12/04
Card, Ender's Game

Week 11
4/19/04
Gibson, Neuromancer

Week 12
4/26/04
Piercy, He, She, and It

Week 13
5/3/04
He, She, and It (cont.)
SF Recommendations

Week 14
5/10/04
Stephenson, Snow Crash

Week 15
5/17/04
Snow Crash (cont.)
SF Recommendations
Papers due

Finals Week
5/24/04
Final Exam, 5-6:50 PM
Notebook due
Last day to turn in term papers

Policies.
1) Plagiarism is the use of another's ideas or words as one's own without giving the author due credit. It is a form of stealing and will be dealt with seriously. The papers are designed to be written without outside research. If you feel you must refer to outside sources and are unsure of the rules of citation, please check with me or refer to a handbook, such as the MLA Handbook.
2) Papers turned in on time will receive extensive and helpful comments. Papers turned in during finals week will not be penalized but will not receive comments.
3) Papers must be typed; we will go over the format in class.
4) You are responsible for backing up or copying your papers before you turn them in so you have an extra copy if your paper is somehow lost, misplaced, nuked, or eaten.
5) Make-up exams will be allowed only in the case of medical or family emergency, with instructor consent. Please try to notify me as far in advance as possible. You must contact me before you return to class if you have not done so before the exam.
6) Please have each work completely read by the first date that work is listed on the syllabus, as group discussion will usually take place on that day.
7) Procedure for cooperative learning groups: Part of class discussion will take place in small groups. One person per group should take notes on the discussion, and either the notetaker or another group member will report the group's conclusions to the rest of the class. These notes should be relatively coherent and legible, as a group may report back on a later date than that of the group discussion. Each group member's name should appear on the notes which will be turned in, and the person who takes notes should indicate that beside his/her name. Whenever you are present for group discussion you will receive a √ for class participation, and the note-taker will receive a √+.

Extra Credit SF Recommendations: This is your chance to alert your classmates to science fiction books and movies that will change their lives (or at least prove both stimulating and entertaining), but that are not included on our syllabus. These are optional extra credit, but doing one will add 1/3 of a grade to your class participation grade (e.g., from C+ to B-, or from B to B+, etc.). Maximum: 3. For each SF Recommendation, prepare a short (3-5 minute) presentation on a science fiction novel or film or television episode or series. You should include a brief plot synopsis (don't give away the end) and explain why this item is worth reading or viewing. Instead of a novel or film, you may review a piece of sf-related software (either a game or a useful resource) or an sf-related web site (such as an informative site, an excellent fan site, an online game, or a MUD). I have included three dates for these on the syllabus, but if we happen to have extra time on other days, I may ask if anyone is prepared to make a presentation, so prepare early!

Note: Please (and this is important) avail yourself of my office hours to discuss anything related to the class; if you cannot make them, I will be glad to make appointments with you, although I would appreciate being notified if you have to cancel.

Web Site: http://hss.fullerton.edu/english/astein/index.htm