Reading

"Bloodchild," Octavia Butler

"Harrison Bergeron," Kurt Vonnegut

"A Martian Odyssey," Stanley G. Weinbaum

"The Fiend," Frederik Pohl
Writing Assignment: Compare/Contrast Paper (due in Week 4)

Continue working on the Compare/Contrast paper that you began in Week 1. See the Week 1 Assignments for details on this paper. This paper will be due in Week 4.
Discussions

    Science Fiction as Narrative Literature (graded)
    A Science Fiction Fairy Tale (graded)
    Q & A Forum for your questions and comments (not graded)

Quiz

Complete the quiz for this week. Be prepared to apply the lecture’s discussion of narrative and science fiction-specific elements to the week’s readings.

See the Syllabus section "Due Dates for Assignments & Exams" for due date information.

Class,

We had a great second week, and I really appreciate your diligence and care in working through the Wells novel. This week is going to be a little different: you're going to do a little writing yourself!  We'll also look at science fiction as narrative literature.  However, as with Week 2, there is a short essay quiz due at the end of Week 3.



Since this course is an alternative to Contemporary Literature, it is important to review the basic elements of narrative literature, as noted in the Week 1 tutorial, "The Elements of Fiction."  If you have not yet viewed this tutorial, please do so at the beginning of this week. Pay careful attention to how the tutorial relates these basic elements to the familiar fairy tale “Little Red Riding Hood.”  This will be useful in creating your own SF story in the second discussion thread.

This week's readings and discussions are based on TCOs 6 & 2:

·         TCO 6 - Given a work of science fiction, analyze it using terms and methods drawn from narrative fiction (discussion of plot, character, setting, point of view, style, theme, metaphor, period, genre, or sub-genre).

·         TCO 2 - Given the context of a broad and diverse range of science fiction works, assess the potentials and limitations of the science fiction genre.

Our discussion this week will also help you prepare the first writing assignment, which you should have begun earlier.  Remember, it is due at the end of Week 4, but starting on it earlier will give you time to organize the ideas, review the writing, and make needed corrections.  It should follow APA guidelines; use the Hacker guide in the Webliography for help with documentation.



Also, please note that there is an alternative assignment available if you are not in a position to rent/borrow Kubrick’s film. (See the Week 1 Assignments for details.)  However, you must clear it with me in advance if you need to do the alternate assignment.



Once again, welcome to Week 3. I'll see you in the Discussion!

Professor Camin
dcamin@devry.edu