On Thursday May 25th, 2017, was our final class in English Science Fiction 2420. Activities that took place in class on this day are as follows:

• Seven final presentations were made by the seven remaining students namely,
• Jaraad, Jay, Jared Jorge, Aneita, Pedro and Hunter
• Professor Belli emphasized to students to write their reflection post directed to her about the things they have learned or would have liked to learn more about in the class.
• Professor Belli also stressed to students to read what the reflection post requires thoroughly in aid of boosting their grade a little higher.
• She also made mention of the abstract, cover letter and Powerpoint Presentation to all be submitted in dropbox.

Peer Feedback based on presentations.

Presenters will present their research project in class. A worksheet will be provided in class to judge the presenters. Take notes on what was good, what was bad, and any further questions that you have for the presenter.

Final  Course Reflection.

Last piece of homework. Due Saturday at 4pm and worth 5% of our grade.

Final Course Reflection

Write a

Tuesday Presenters

1. Carmen
2. Alyssa
3. Ryan
4. Jesse
5. Kelz

Thursday Presenters

1. Jaraad
2. Jay
3. Jared
4. Jorge
5. Aneita
6. Pedro
7. Hunter

Female Roles in Science Fiction

• Women rolls in movies are improving

My Final Project

Steampunk and Architecture

• Criticism on real world efforts to build a steampunk inspired building
• Primarily mechanical in design

steam punk and architecture

Planetary Colonization

Looking to the Stars

Hive-minds and Efficiency

• Hive-minds have different forms of leaders
• Social structures can vary

Minds of The Hive Variety

Robots in the Medical Field

• Robots will not replace doctors in the near future
• Patients recover from surgery faster when operated using new operation procedure

Important information:

The presentation will be 5-6 minutes long, information about final research project can be found here. Remember you’re suppose to provide a argumentative research presentation. Contact Professor Belli by email if you need help with the research project.

Tuesday presentation

1. Carmen
2. Alyssa
3. Pedro
4. Jessie
5. Aneita
6. Ryan
7. Kelz

Thursday presentation

1. Jaraad
2. Jay
3. Jorge
4. Hunter
5. Jennifer

Presentation tips

It is important to pace yourself when presenting because it is a 5-6 minutes long presentation, you don’t want to finish too early or too late. Organize your thoughts, not only will it help improve the presentation but also help the audience understand your point. Finally, know what you’re presenting because question will be asked.

Class notes

Lightning presentations

• Pedro on cyber-genetic and how humans can enhance themselves with prosthesis.
• Alyssa on steampunk and architecture, exploring the complexity of machine with use of simple parts such as gears.
• Aneita on space, humanity exploring the unknown in space and the infinite possibility of space.
• Carmen on female character in science fiction and female playing a lead role in science fiction literature such as being a protagonist.
• Jessie on Hive-mind, a higher power controlling society to be efficient in accomplishing the higher power end goals.
• Kelz on robot, their application and uses to help benefit humanity and the impact the robot has in the future.
• Jaraad on artificial intelligence in video game and their ability to learn to challenge the player.
• Jay on artificial intelligence and the effect it has on humanity, the negative and the benefits it brings.
• Ryan on planet colonization, the exploration of different planet and living on other planet using their resources.

These are just a one sentence summary of each person lightning presentation in class and I understand that it is not what most of what is presented this is just a snip of what was presented.

First half of class we did peer review.

Presentation is 15%
Cover letter(Process/reflection) and Abstract(summary) is 5%

Proposals = Abstract
1) research question : not just a description , generative, topic in conversation with methods.

Research -> synthesis /claims (evidence)
(Background Info)

DO NOT JUST LIST LINKS!

For presentation be sure to check the rubric Professor Belli handed in class last week.
Be sure to double read  the requirements for this project thoroughly.

NO EXAM!

Home work for Thursday 5/18

1. Project Progress blogs by 2 pm
2. Lightning presentations (1-2 minutes)
   1. elevator pitch
   2. “My project explores…
   3. “My primary research question is…

Read schedule ahead of time ! Final course reflection due end of semester . A week from today.

Professor Belli is offering extended office hours,be sure to email her ahead of time. Remember projects are due  Tuesday 5/23/2017

my apologize to everyone for the late post on class notes.

This is the link that you can use for your research project the steps that you can follow.                    copy and paste the link on your browser or you can click on the link

http://www.umhint.edu/library/how-select-research-topic

Some Steps that you can follow for you research project from broad to narrow.

• always start with a keyword for your reserach
• Knowing your topic what is about
• Search for words that re unknown, it can lead to new ideas.
• finding term that are connected to your research project
• Looking at the source that the article or blogs used.
• as an option you can use Google Scholar for academics purpose.
• A single term can have more the one meaning.
• What question about the article that you have read.

other source you can use the Science Fiction Resource in the course website.

Any questions, concern please contact Dr. Belli with any inquires od not wait until the last day for questions.

No More Mandatory Readings

End of class project- a presentation done on something you find interesting. The restrictions being A) it must be sci fi in some sense, B) It has to be focused. For example if you like aliens, then do something like how are aliens portrayed in the 1950’s this has to be done in a 5 minute presentations

The two guide lines in order to have a successful at this project. A) are you interested in your topic? B) what can you learn and go in depth amount and make an initial claim.

draft your initial concept by Thursday and bring in 3 copies and your own device(ipad, labtop, etc). and be sure to read the project outline and to do research on your topic.

if you have any questions about the project, email the professor.

class conversation on the themes of Westworld.

“why the wild west?”, “feels similar o video games”, “glitches/bugs, even flies representing that”, “memory tampering”, “recycling/appropriating”, “the more nuance they add to the hosts the more they could rebel”, “what is humanity?”

 

Homework:

Don’t forget to carry text to our next class.

will discuss final 2 chapters on Thursday

Come to class with at least 1 thing to discuss. ( 1 excerpt and 1 example)

Examples: refer to things discussed in class, contemporary connections, silicone valley’s apocalypse preparation, hyper empathy, slavery

Recap from last class:

• Lauren’s hyper-empathy
  • Feels others pain as her own
  • mother was on drugs while pregnant with her
  • Bankole has read up on it ( revealed it to him) falls in love with him, opens up to him
  • zara speaks of experiences she has on the street with hyper-empathy
  • she 1st viewed it as a weakness (can’t keep up with the group) her ankles heel

• Role of journaling
  • Meditates more with book further into the story
  • writes to maintain awareness and record of event (travel log)
  • more religious ( a place to express what she believes in her heart in relation to earth earthseed)
  • seen as form of poetry
  • when she 1st starts to share her writing with others ( harry, Zara, couple with the baby) she cares the least preachy verses, slowly trying to pull people in.
  • people soon get into earth seed and want to learn more.
  • she teaches people to read and write with the journal.
  • journal serves as more than just religion

Circle Time / Class Discussion:

• Olivar and KSF: gated community
  • corporate take over
  • people have to work to stay in community

• Role and relations of people: in the community
  • In the community before how did people deal with things?
    • they were taught to shoot, had nigh watch, underground safe.
    • the people weren’t ignorant or unaware but wanted to maintain the status quo.
    • they were interested in preservation and opposed to change

• Analysis on Keith: Lauren’s brother
  • he was wanted by those on the outside so he can teach them to read and write.
  • Has major conflicts with laurels father
  • sneaks out of the community, robbing and killing people in the process
  • Lauren uses him to find out what the outside world is like, what to prepare for.

• Destiny of earthseed
  • To go to space
  • “to take root around the starts” ( page 222)

• New community members
  • Harry and Zara
  • travis, Nat., Dominic
  • allie and jill
  • justin
  • amaris and torrie
  • bankole

Annoucements:

-Literary Event Blog due Sun. Talk about what your experience as well as what you saw, liked etc. Keep in mind that it is still a reflection.

-Next week we are wrapping up the discussion we had on Thursday.

-Monday night there is a blog due for chapters 14-23

Discussion:

.Lauren’s hyperempathy is what makes her human in a cruel world

.Everyone is so accustomed to the brutality that one day there can murder and the next is business as casual

We talked about “Earthseed” quite a bit

.It is slowly evolving through the book and catches the attention of some of the later characters

.God is change, he is what you shape him to be. He is also described as both in unchanging yet is moldable.

We also discussed some of the viewpoints of the characters and how there is an innocent view of the world as well as the more realistic, brutal

Vocab:

Fanaticism- overly obsessed with something (sports fanatic, highly religious people, etc)

Adaptability- able to change with the circumstances (input new things and output new things)

Inexorable- impossible to stop/prevent

.

Extension of the 4/25 blog for the reflection of the first 6 chapters of Parable of the Sower to tomorrow night.

Science Fiction Archive Collection.

• Covers are eye-catching
• The Age of Writing molds Science Fiction
• Interesting that City Tech has such a collection of Science Fiction in the Library Archives.
• Variety of Science Fiction books
• Hard work into the archives, with plans of expansion of space and books.
• Historic feel of the Science Fiction Archives ranging from pulp fiction to novels.

Science Fiction vs. Science Fantasy

• Hard Science Fiction: Bare-bones about provable science
• Middle: Uses science, but is not 100% bound to it
• Science Fantasy: Loosely based on science

• Brave New World
  • Cloning
  • Human Manufacturing
• 1984
  • Futuristic Technology
  • Politics
• Parable of the Sower
  • Hyperempathy
  • Post-Apocalyptic

Parable of the Sower was nominated to a Nebula award and Hugo Award.

Mundane Science: Everyday, “normal” science in fiction.

Parable of the Sower

• Settings:
  • Gated Community
  • Targeted community by outsiders
  • Rarely Rains
  • A lot of drugs
  • People, included children and the Priest, uses guns
  • Harsh Environment
  • 20 miles away from Los Angeles in a gated cul-de-sac
• Conflicts:
  • Attacked by gangs, criminals, and arsonists/druggies
  • Lauren finds her religion, but follows her father
  • The possibility of the wall being torn down
• Politics:
  • People see no point in voting, so most people don’t vote.
  • Despite the world being Post-Apocalyptic, Presidents still exists/are important.
• People:
  • Have tall walls around houses and blocks to protect them from arsons, gangs, and thieves.
  • Religious.  Goes to church despite leaving their walls that protects their homes.
  • Schools are small and taught by the community.
  • People teach children about guns and train children 15 years old or older how to use and shoot guns.
  • Denial of the world; hoping things will just get better in the future.

Issues:

• Diseases
• Drugs
• Economy Collapse
  • Water and Gas prices are up and very expensive.
• Environmental crisis like natural disasters, lack of food, lack of clean water.
• Poor State of Affairs

God is Change.  Each chapter has bold excerpts at the beginning of each chapter that talks about this.

• Hyperempathy
  • Lauren, the main character of the book, has this
  • Her description tells about the world
  • Has to change with the world and learn to kill or despite her hyperempathy
• Tone
  • Redemptive apocalypse; hope of things getting better
  • Day by day existence; living/surviving one day at a time
  • Harshness and Tragedy

-Feel free to add on anything that I might be missing.

-In this class, it took place in the library in the CityTech’s archives, which was in room 543.

-Archive: a place where historical documents, books or papers are kept so that they can get passed down for future generations.

-We learned various information about the college itself like the Atrium building being opened 30 years ago. Also in 1946 City Tech was originally an applied school for arts and sciences and it was also created for people who fought after World War II. Also in 1970 it was a community college before.

-In the City Tech’s archives there are around 4,000 or more works of science fiction inside of it. It was acquired from California from a science fiction enthusiast who offered them. Two professors named Allen Lovegreen and Jason Ellis made it possible for the college to be able to acquire all those books.

-The story was that it was supposed to be delivered around a certain date but it ended up coming earlier than expected which was tough for the people to organize. Books would be scattered in various places in offices and it took the people several weeks to arrange them and put them on shelves.

-This website has information on the City Tech’s archives and also on youtube if you type in “The City Tech Science Fiction Collection”, you would see a video in which they describe it.

-An example of two authors that was mentioned in that session by the kind man who gave us information about the archives would be Charles Belmont and George Clayton Johnson and they were science fiction authors who had great works. Like for example George Clayton Johnson helped write the first episode of star trek. Also when you want to view or explore the archives you must schedule an appointment and you are allowed to work with the books but you can not rent them and must stay in archives area when using them as well.

-In class also the students got to see some books and we touched them and smelled them as well and they felt old-fashioned because they were older works. Each group was given books or magazines to work with. The magazines are different than what we are usually used to because they are smaller and actually look like actual books. We also got handouts with various questions like for example about “Pulps” and questions based on the magazines we received and we had to use tablets to research it. We also got to explore the archives in groups and it was interesting because of the amount to science fiction books and works one can find in there.

-Visceral: Embodied reaction to something.

-Also essay#2 is due at the time when we come back from break. This essay is actually a more personal essay in which we would describe what we have experienced in the class and about how our knowledge has changed in terms of science fiction. (Can check this website for essay#2 for more information.) Read Parable of the Sower as well because when we get back from break we are going to discuss this text.

-Also reflection blog due as well.

-Hope everyone enjoys their spring break!