I wanted to give you all a heads-up that your midterm grades are now available on our OpenLab Course Site. Click on the Gradebook link on the left side to see your midterm grade. This is only an indication of how you are doing in the class. It doesn’t average into your final grade. I looked at your participation on the Weekly Writing Assignments and other work so far this semester. Midterm grades are: Passing, Borderline, and Unsatisfactory. If you received Borderline or Unsatisfactory, there’s still plenty of time to turn that around and earn a good grade in the class. If you have any questions or need some extra support, remember to email me or come to my office hours on Wednesdays from 3-5pm.
Author: Jason W. Ellis
Extra Credit Opportunity: Eagle-Con, Mar. 11-13
If you’d like to earn extra credit that can take the place of a Weekly Writing Assignment or be applied to a larger assignment, register for a free pass to this year’s Eagle-Con, attend at least one session on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and email Prof. Ellis at least 250-words about what went on and your experience at the virtual convention.
Eagle-Con is a science fiction convention held annually at Cal State LA, but the pandemic moved the event online this year making it easier for those of us on the east coast to participate. Renowned SF writer Nnedi Okorafor and Star Trek actor George Takei will be there receiving special awards. The full schedule of events is linked below.
Eagle-Con 2021 will be held virtually on Thursday, March 11 (10am-5:30pm); Friday, March 12 (10am-4:30pm); and Saturday, March 13 (9:20am-4:00pm).
Our special guest on Thursday is writer Nnedi Okorafor (the Binti trilogy, Black Panther: Long Live the King), who will be awarded the Octavia E. Butler Memorial Award.
On Friday, legendary actor and activist George Takei (Star Trek, They Called Us Enemy) will be given the Prism Award for outstanding contributions to diversity in science fiction across media.
Our special guest Saturday will be production designer Wynn Thomas (Mars Attacks, Hidden Figures) who will be presented the Imaginator Award for wondrous achievement in visual conceptualization.
Click here to view the full schedule.
Each of this year’s awardees have long been barrier breakers for other writers and artists, building impressively varied careers that have impacted millions in a manner that is at the heart of Eagle-Con’s mission.
Each day of the event will feature two exhibitions of artwork from our Founding Sponsor, Art Directors Guild (Local 800), that showcase the work of their members from your favorite science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies and television shows.
Eagle-Con’s mission is to educate Cal State LA students and members of the Greater Los Angeles community about the history, impact, and continued necessity of the contributions of women, BIPOC, the LGBTQIA-identified, the differently-abled, and the variously-aged to the science fiction and fantasy genres. Our 2021 event explores representations of diversity within these genres and furthers our efforts to provide opportunities for students to learn about these genres from artists, writers, and professionals working in southern California’s entertainment industries, network with these professionals, and imagine how they might one day join their ranks.
Click here to view the full schedule.
Sponsored by: Cal State LA University-Student Union, Art Directors Guild Local 800, and Cal State LA College of Arts & Letters.
Lecture, Week 6
This week’s lecture covers Pulp SF, E.E. “Doc” Smith, and C.L. Moore plus other writers from this era we couldn’t fit into the reading schedule. Watch this week’s lecture and then complete the Weekly Writing Assignment below. Also, if you haven’t uploaded your midterm notebook yet, please see the post from week 5 further down the page with instructions on getting that turned in.
Remember that I have office hours on Wednesday from 3-5 (link on the syllabus).
Email me with your questions or if you would like to setup an appointment to talk outside of my office hours.
Hang in there–we can make it through this all together!
Weekly Writing Assignment, Week 6
After watching this week’s lecture on Pulp SF, Hugo Gernsback, E.E. “Doc” Smith, and C.L. Moore, and completing the assigned readings, write at least 250 words summarizing your notes. Focus on what stands out to you, what were some of the important points that I made, what were interesting elements in the readings, connections between the readings and other SF that you know, etc. Remember, the weekly writing assignment is graded on best effort. I would like to know what you find notable about each week’s class. As long as the posts relate to the class and you give me your best, you receive all the credit. Also, this serves as regular writing practice, which has been shown to improve your writing skills by simply doing this kind of work. It will help prepare you for the writing that you will do on your research essay and the final exam.
Also, don’t forget to upload your midterm notebooks. See the week 5 post below with instructions.
Lecture, Week 5
During this week’s lecture, I discuss the 19th century, proto-SF, and the assigned readings by H.G. Wells and E.M. Forster.
Remember to watch this week’s lecture before scrolling down to complete the following two homework posts: 1) submitting a PDF scan of your notebook for your midterm grade, and 2) completing the Weekly Writing Assignment.
Also, I will have office hours on Wednesday from 3-5pm. The Google Hangouts link is at the top of the syllabus.
Email me your research essay topics so that we can have a discussion about it. I want to ensure everyone has a good topic before diving into the project!
Midterm Notebooks Submission, Week 5
For your first big grade in the class, you need to create a PDF of your handwritten notebooks and submit them to Prof. Ellis. This counts as 20% of your grade, and it gives me a substantial amount of work on your part to calculate your midterm grade.
You may scan your notebook into a PDF using any software that you prefer. Some of the examples that I discussed as options in the lecture that are free to use with a smartphone running Android or iOS include:
- Scan a document as a PDF with Dropbox on Android or iOS
- Scan a document as a PDF with Google Drive on Android or iOS
- Scan a document as a PDF with Notes on iOS
After you have created a PDF of your notebook, you should open it and verify that it accurately shows the pages of your notebook that you want me to grade. Then, visit the following link to submit your work–click Add files > File from computer > Choose the PDF, then enter your name and email address, and click Upload. When you see the marathon runner image, you know that your upload was successful and your notebook has been submitted.
In all of my classes, I think it is vitally important for students to learn how to use these tools and technologies. This is building up your digital literacy while serving the practical purpose of getting your work to me in an asynchronous class setting.
Weekly Writing Assignment, Week 5
After making notes on this week’s lecture on Proto-SF, H.G. Wells, and E.M. Forster and the assigned readings, write at least 250 words summarizing your notes. Focus on what stands out to you, what were some of the important points that I made, what were interesting elements in the readings, connections between the readings and other SF that you know, etc. Remember, the weekly writing assignment is graded on best effort. I would like to know what you find notable about each week’s class. As long as the posts relate to the class and you give me your best, you receive all the credit. Also, this serves as regular writing practice, which has been shown to improve your writing skills by simply doing this kind of work. It will help prepare you for the writing that you will do on your research essay and the final exam.
Lecture, Week 4
This week, we conclude Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and discuss the Research Essay. See the posts below for the Weekly Writing Assignment and an Announcement about emailing Prof. Ellis with your Research Essay topic.
Email Prof. Ellis with Your Research Topic
As discussed in the Week 4 Lecture, you should begin thinking about the work of Science Fiction that you want to write about for your Research Essay. While there is plenty of time for you to work on this before the end of the semester, I would like you to choose your topic sooner rather than later. Then, email me at jellis at citytech.cuny.edu with your topic, a short description of the question you want to investigate in your essay, and any questions you might have right now about the Research Essay. I will reply to everyone to give some feedback before you begin your research. This isn’t due this week, but you should email me as soon as you choose your topic so that you have as much time as possible to work on your Research Essay.
Weekly Writing Assignment, Week 4
This week, we completed our coverage of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Using your notes of this week’s lecture and your reading, write approximately 250 words summarizing and highlighting those points that stand out the most in your mind and in your notes.
After posting your response, take some time to read others’ responses. We can learn a lot from each other in this way.
If you have the time, comment or reply to those that correspond with your thinking or those you might disagree with. In all of our communications, remember to be professional, polite, and cordial. Also, be aware that communicating via writing can result in misunderstandings–always read your responses to yourself aloud before posting and think about what you write from other perspectives. These things will help you craft your responses to others online and avoid misunderstandings.
