Preparing for the midterm exam:

• Review SF Studies and Literary Studies Keywords

• Review Course Notes (both those posted and those you have taken)

• Review your assignments

• Re-read the  “Introduction” to the Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction and The Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry “Definitions of SF”

• Prepare study cards for each story that we have read in the context of the elements of fiction and SF keywords, themes, and issues

Our midterm exam will consist of two parts: 1/ some short definitional questions of Literary and SF Keywords; 2/ two short essay questions, i.e., three paragraphs each, each asking you to do a close reading of a passage from a text or to discuss some attribute of or theme of a text in the context of other texts that we have read

What we have read so far:

“We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” (1966) by Philip K. Dick

“Day Million” (1966) Frederick Pohl

“The Second Inquisition” (1970) by Joanna Russ

“Time Considered as a Helix of Precious Stones” (1969) by Samuel Delany

“About 5,750 Words” by Samuel Delany

“There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950) by Ray Bradbury

“Reason” (1941) by Isaac Asimov

“Fondly Fahrenheit” (1954) by Alfred Bester

“Helen O’Loy” (1938) by Lester Del Rey

Common themes and concerns:

1/ there is some confusion or disorientation at the beginning of the story that is generally cleared up by the end

2/ all of the stories deal in some way with advanced technologies

3/ all of the stories are concerned in some way with the fate of humanity

4/ all of the stories try to guess what the future will look like

5/ all of the protagonists are affected or impacted by technologies

6/ many of the stories deal in some way with the relationships between humans and machines and/or nature and culture/society

7/ All of the stories are interconnected.  The authors write in response to the themes, characters, plots, and settings of other authors

Some key discussion questions:

1/ What will be/is the fate and/or role of humanity in a world of endless technological progress?

2/ Are humans inferior machines?

Sample midterm exam questions:

Section 1: Definitions of Keywords and Terms

Sample question:

Genre

Definition:

Why the term is important in SF studies:

Section 2: Three paragraphs about some particular element of a story we have read [see elements of fiction]: setting, plot, character, theme, narrative point of view, figurative language/style

Sample question:

The way in which a story is told often helps to develop the meaning of the story. Consider the narrative points of view in ONE of the stories we have read.

Section 3: One page (three to five paragraphs) on a more open-ended question related to the study, reading, and interpretation of SF

Sample question:
Write about two different characters from two different stories that we have read.  Compare/contrast these characters and reflect on what their similarities/differences may have to say about the characteristics of sf in the era in which they were written.

March 6, 2017

It is a fiction about a robot gaining consciousness.  [see Professor Rodgers’ handout: “Writing About Texts”]

“Reason” by Isaac Asimov is a short story.  It is about …

There are these two engineers who are living inside a ship and they need to keep the reactor going.  They get a new robot and they put it together and it is like an advanced robot.  HOw do they put it?  The robot’s name is QT, also called “Cutie.”  So they tell QT that they made him and his purpose is to serve them, but QT does not believe it.  So QT goes off and develops his own story about how he was created, which is the reactor, i.e., the Master created him, to serve the master and the humans in there are inferior and they need to go and now he is in charge and blah, blah, blah.  

This story is about a robot gaining consciousness and achieving his beliefs.  Setting: space station?  Year?: 2058 A.D. Main characters: Mike Donovan, Gregory Powell, QT-1, The Master, other robots, Franz Muller, Sam Evans

The story is about engineers and a new robot.  QT thinks he is smarter than the engineers.  QT makes all of the robots follow him.  He does not believe that beings and planets are

The story is about two engineers that constructed a robot whose logic contradicts the logic of their reality.  The conflict is whether or not the robot can complete its purpose based on its beliefs or the reality.

QT-1 believes that human beings are not important.  They die fast and they are expendable.  

Destiny (video game)

TV show: Dr. Who (“The Ood”): alien race made to serve

“Reason” by IA is a short story set in the year 2058AD.  The robot that they have constructed gains consciousness and believes that it the humans that built him did not really build him.  Therefore, he develops his own beliefs and that the converter is his one true creator and his one purpose in life is to serve him/her/it. 

Narrator: third person omniscient

Can you read Bester’s “Fondly Fahrenheit” as a continuation of Asimov’s “Reason”?  Why?  In what ways may it be a commentary on Asimov’s “Reason”?

We will be finishing up our discussion of Delany’s essay and short story next Monday.  At that time, we will also discuss the excellent contributions to the SF Keywords definitions.  I encourage you to read/re-read Delany’s essay and story,  the notes below, the Delany posts, and the SF Keywords posts before our class next Monday.

February 22, 2017

“Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones” by Samuel Delany, which was published in the late 1960s, is a short story.  The main character is a middle-ranked reluctant thief who simply wants to make a better living.  HCE are the initials used consistently in the multiple names and identities attached to the protagonist and narrator.  HCE as a woman meets Maud, who is an agent and wearing the stone of Jasper, which is a word, and he is not sure if he should approach her or not.  Set in the future, in year –75 (space travel to Triton and Mars, three subways in NYC, three dimensional imaging/holographs, at least 500 years into the future (237)).  Arty, Maud, Singer, HCE (at least three separate characters: the orphan boy named Harold Claney Everett growing up on a farm in Vermont, the small time crook named Hank Culford Eccles, the woman in the high heels named Harmony C. Eventide, big time Hector Calhoun Eisenhower.  Ending appears to be unclear; no big finale.  Consistent limited first person narrator.  Most of the story takes place in a future NYC.

1. 256:  The whole plotof the story appears to be reflected in this passage because throughout the story, Maud has a problem with HCE becoming a big boss.  Maud wants only one top level boss and many lower level thieves.

Crime does pay

Space travel

Digital imaging technologies

Questions:

1/ Why are the rising people the most dangerous?

2/ Why are the Singers so important?

3/ If HCE is always immersed in his new identities, how/why is he found?

“About 5, 750,” published in 1969? is an essay about how you can use different words to express the same thing and claims that there is no separation between style and content in fiction.  The change of a single word in a 700 page novel could be important (2).  Delany also emphasizes how each word revises the context of the words the precede it.  Word choice matters to build up a story.

1. 3:

D

Why might Delany’s style be important for writers and readers?  1/ For example, how might Delany’s ideas about writing influence other writers?  How might they influence and affect readers?

2/ Is Delany’s style/ideas used by other science fiction writers/other fiction writers?

3/ How do you think the “structure” of someone’s writing affect the reader.

In “About 5, 750 Words,” D. argues that one’s choice of words matters.  In “Time Considered a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones,” he appears to be putting into practice some of his ideas in “About 5, 750 Words.”  It is important to notice the passage on p. 222.

What is the significance of the Singers?

What does the title mean?

Story: Yaya, Kyle, Giovanni, Lorelei (DF), Robert, Oni (GF), Andy

Essay: Ermis (DF), Vlad (GF), Jonathan, Santos, David, Edwin, Josh

Connections: Hussein (GF), Joseph (DF), Michael, Noshin, Jose, Miquel, Sali, Dorian

How To Approach a Text: Guidelines for Textual Description, Analysis, and Interpretation

What?  [title, author, date, narrative perspective (s), plot synopsis, characters, themes, genre(s), publication history]

How? [how is it structured? sections? acts? argument?  references?]

Why? [what may the title mean? why is this text interesting and important in the context of the author’s work and in the context of sf studies generally?  what questions does the text raise?  What is unique about it?]

Select one short passage for us to discuss together. [why this passage?]

So What? [3 Discussion Questions for the Class]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_AWsp3ol_kVZWl5djh3SlZrQ1E/view?usp=sharing