DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

[REVISED 11/17/2015 and 12/09/2015]

Thursday, September 3, 2015

• First Class

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

• Email contact information to me at hhalbert@gmail.com.  See handout on Blackboard  for exact information sought and link to template.  PLEASE USE THE TEMPLATE FILE.
• Read, sign, and return your contract.
• Read "How to Really Read This Book" (Handout)
• Read and mark the following selections from Science Fiction: Stories and Contexts (Hereafter called "Masri"):
• "A Brief Introduction to Science Fiction and Its History" (1-10)
• [skim only, no need to mark] "A Selective Guide to Science Fiction Research" (11-16)
• from The War of the Worlds—H.G. Wells (18-32).
• "A Martian Odyssey" –Stanley G. Weinbaum (32-52)
• "The Fact of Blackness"—Frantz Fanon (189-193)
• Read and mark Chapters 1-10 of Starship Troopers. Pages 1-145

Thursday, September 10, 2015

• Read and mark Chapters 11-12 of Starship Troopers. Pages 146-201
• We will begin to watch Blade Runner in class.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

• Finish reading and marking Starship Troopers, including Historical Note on last page. Pages 202-264
• We will finish Blade Runner in class.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

• Read and mark "Liar!"—Issac Asimov (Marsi 282-295)
• Read and mark "Burning Chrome"—William Gibson (Marsi 371-386)

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

• Read and mark "A Cyborg Manifesto"—Donna J. Haraway (Marsi 455-475). WARNING: This text is going to challenge you and will require multiple nights to complete.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

• Read and mark "Mars Is Heaven!"—Ray Bradbury (Marsi 73-87)
• Read and mark "Bloodchild"—Octavia E. Butler (Marsi 119-133)

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

• Read and mark "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick (Marsi 296-331)
• Read and mark "The Algorithms for Love" by Ken Liu (Marsi 415-427)

Thursday, October 1, 2015

• Read and mark "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (Marsi 342-370)

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

• Read and mark "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke (Marsi 915-921)
• Read and mark "'All you Zombies­'"  by Robert A. Heinlein (Marsi 551-561)
• Read and mark "Bear Discovers Fire" by Terry Bisson (Marsi 1194-1202)
• Exam Quotation Assignment Due.  Submit to Blackboard Drop Box.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

• Read and mark "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"—Harlin Ellison (Marsi 758-768).
• Read and mark "Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government"—Hannah Arendt (Marsi 850-863)

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

• Draft of Paper #1 due.  Bring a copy to class and post a copy in the "Paper #1: Draft" forum of the class discussion board.

Thursday, October 15, 2015

• Midterm Exam.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

• NO CLASS.
• Final draft of Paper #1 due by 9:35 AM in the appropriate Dropbox on the class web site, on Turnitin.com, and on the Discussion Board.  See checklist for details.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

• Read and mark Section 1, Chapters 1-8 of 1984. Pages 1-106
• We will begin watching Gattaca in class.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

• Read and mark Section 2 of 1984. Pages 107-230.
• We will continue watching Gattaca in class.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

• Finish reading and marking 1984. Pages 231-308. You do not need to read the appendix on "The Principles of Newspeak," but you may do so for five points extra credit.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

• Read and mark pages 3-115 of The Handmaid's Tale. ("I: Night" until "VIII Birthday").
• We will start watching Planet of the Apes.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

• Read and mark pages 109-195 of The Handmaid's Tale ("VIII Birthday" until "XII: Jezebel's").
• We will continue watching Planet of the Apes.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

• Finish reading and marking pages 199-211 of The Handmaid's Tale ("XII: Jezebel's" through the end of the "Historical Note").

Thursday, November 12, 2015

• Read and mark Chapters 1-4 of Watchmen.  You may find it easier to use large Post-it notes to mark the text.
• Bring The Handmaid's Tale.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

• Finish reading and marking Watchmen.
• We will review the research project today.

Thursday, November 19, 2015 [REVISED 11/17/2015]

• NO CLASS. Dr. Halbert has a medical appointment.
• Do, however, complete the following:
  • Read and mark "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes (Marsi 1110-1132).
  • Read and mark "How the World Was Saved" by Stanislaw Lem (Marsi 937-941).
  • Start reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy over the weekend

Tuesday, November 24, 2015 [REVISED 11/17/2015]

• Research project prewriting due.  Post a copy to the discussion board in the "Research Paper: Prewriting" forum.
• Meet in the library (in College Hall) to do research.  Sign in with Dr. H in the lobby of the library.
• You should continue reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
• Attendance counts double today.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

• NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Day.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

• Read and mark all of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Thursday, December 3, 2015

• NO CLASS.
• Annotated Bibliography Due at 9:35 AM.  Post a copy to the "Research Paper: Bibliography" forum and submit a copy to the "Annotated Bibliography" dropbox.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

• Draft of Paper #2 Due.  Post a copy and bring two copies to class.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

• Last Class.
• Read "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke (see Course Documents)

Thursday, December 17, 2015:

• Final exam 10:10 AM to 12:10PM.
• Bring Exam Card.
• Final Draft of Paper #2 Due by 12:30 PM. See checklist for details.

Friday, December 18, 2015

• Rewrite of Paper #1 due by 10PM. Email it to me and clearly label your email "Sci-Fi Paper Rewrite."