DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

(Revised on 10/12/2016)

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

• First Class.

Friday, September 2, 2016

• 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)

Monday, September 5, 2016

• No Class.  Labor Day.
• START READING STARSHIP TROOPERS.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

• Read and mark Chapters 1-12 of Starship Troopers. Pages 1-201.
• We will begin watching Blade Runner  in class.

Friday, September 9, 2016

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

Monday, September 12, 2016

• 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. Start on Monday night. This is a 10 point reading.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

• Read and mark "Liar!"—Issac Asimov (Marsi 282-295)

Friday, September 16, 2016

• Read and mark "Burning Chrome"—William Gibson (Marsi 371-386)

Monday, September 19, 2016

• Read and mark "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick (Marsi 296-331)

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Last day to drop course before withdrawal period begins.

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

• Read and mark selection From The Second Sex (Marsi 179-185)
• Withdrawal without signature period begins.

Friday, September 23, 2016

• Read and mark "When I Was Miss Dow" (Marsi 87-96)

Monday, September 26, 2016

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

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

• Read and mark "The Algorithms for Love" by Ken Liu (Marsi 415-427)

Friday, September 30, 2016

• Exam Quotation Assignment Due.  Submit to Blackboard Drop Box.
• Read and mark "Bloodchild"—Octavia E. Butler (Marsi 119-133)

Monday, October 3, 2016

• 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)

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

• Read and mark "Mars Is Heaven!"—Ray Bradbury (Marsi 73-87)
• Read and mark "Bear Discovers Fire" by Terry Bisson (Marsi 1194-1202)

Friday, October 7, 2016

• Midterm Exam.

Monday, October 10, 2016

• 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.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016 (UPDATED ON 10/12/2016)

• Make up writing workshop

Friday, October 14, 2016

• Read and mark "The Historian and His Facts"—E. H. Carr (Marsi 673-684)

Monday, October 17, 2016

• 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.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 (UPDATED ON 10/12/2016)

• Read and mark Harry Turtledove's "The Road Not Taken" (Handout, available in course documents)
• Read and mark Robert Silverberg's "Passengers" (Handout, available in course documents)

Friday, October 21, 2016

• Read and mark "At the Rialto"--Willis (Marsi: use table of contents to locate)

Monday, October 24, 2016

• Read and mark "The Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang ((Handout, available in course documents). WARNING: This piece is long.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

• Read and mark "Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government"—Hannah Arendt (Marsi 850-863

Friday, October 28, 2016

• Read and mark "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"—Harlin Ellison (Marsi 758-768).
• Last day to withdraw without professor's signature.

Monday, October 31, 2016

• Read and mark Section 1, Chapters 1-8 of 1984. Pages 1-106
• We will begin watching Gattaca in class.
• Extra Credit Opportunity: students who wear a legitimate costume to class (not a note pinned to clothing or other bogus "conceptual" costumes) will receive 5 points extra credit.  Students in costume will be photographed.  This extra credit opportunity is optional.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

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

Friday, November 4, 2016

• 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.

Monday, November 7, 2016

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

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Extra Credit Opportunity: students eligible to vote who take a picture of themselves in front of their polling station will receive 5 points.  Make sure it's clear in the picture that this is a legitimate polling station.  Apologies to students ineligible to vote. Email the picture to me with the subject line "Sci-Fi Voter Extra Credit."

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

• 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.
• Extra Credit Opportunity: attend presentation by poet and National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming, from 12:30PM to 2PM.  Location TBA.  Students who attend will receive 5 points.  Students who also read and mark the packet of her poems in the course documents section of Blackboard will receive an additional 5 points.  Students who purchase her book and read and mark it will receive ten points.

Friday, November 11, 2016

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

Saturday, November 12, 2016

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Saturdays.
• Last day to withdraw with professor's signature.  After today, you must appeal to the Vice President of Academic Affairs for a withdrawal and show cause.

Monday, November 14, 2016

• Read and mark chapters 1-4 of Watchmen.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

• Read and mark chapters 5-8 of Watchmen.

Friday, November 18, 2016

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

Monday, November 21, 2016

• Read and mark "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes (Marsi 1110-1132).

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

• NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break.

Friday, November 25, 2016

• NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break.

Monday, November 28, 2016

• Research project prewriting due.  Post a copy to the discussion board in the "Research Paper: Prewriting" forum.
• Library Orientation in our regular classroom.
• Attendance counts double today.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

• Read and mark "How the World Was Saved" by Stanislaw Lem (Marsi 937-941).
• Meet in the library (in College Hall) to do research.  Sign in with Dr. H in the lobby of the library.

Friday, December 2, 2016

• 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.

Monday, December 5, 2016

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

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

• Read and mark Chapters 1-13 of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Friday, December 9, 2016

• Finish reading and marking The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Monday, December 12, 2016

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

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

• NO CLASS.  This day is an College-wide exam day
• Final Paper Due electronically. See handout for details.

Friday, December 16, 2016

• FINAL EXAM: 10:10 AM to 12:10 PM in our regular classroom.
• Please bring final exam essay card with you.
• Last day to submit rewrites of first paper.  Email them to your professor with the subject line "Sci-Fi Rewrite" and attach the updated file in MS Word format.
• Last day to show readings to your professor for credit.