DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

[Revised 4 September 2019 to accomodate book issue)

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

• First Class.

Friday, August 30, 2019

• 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 Masri (copies are located in the course documents folder on the class web page):
• "A Brief Introduction to Science Fiction and Its History" (Masri 1-11)
• [skim only, no need to mark] "A Selective Guide to Science Fiction Research" (Masri 11-17)
• from The War of the Worlds—H.G. Wells (Course Materials)
• "A Martian Odyssey" –Stanley G. Weinbaum (Masri 18-38)
• "The Fact of Blackness"—Frantz Fanon (Masri 135-140)

Monday, September 2, 2019

• Labor Day: NO CLASS
• You may want to start reading Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (Course Materials)

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays
• Last day to Add Courses without Faculty Signature

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

• Read and mark Acts I and II of Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (Course Materials)
• We will start watching Blade Runner in class.

Friday, September 6, 2019

• Finish reading and marking Act III and the Epilogue of Karel Čapek's R.U.R. (Course Materials)
• We will start watching Blade Runner in class.

Monday, September 9, 2019

• Read and mark "A Cyborg Manifesto"—Donna J. Haraway (Masri 271-291 or in course documents). WARNING: This text is going to challenge you and will require multiple nights to complete. Start on Friday night. This is a 10-point reading.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

• Read and mark "Liar!"—Issac Asimov (Masri 141-155))

Friday, September 13, 2019

• Read and mark "Burning Chrome"—William Gibson (Masri 230-246)

Monday, September 16, 2019

• Read and mark "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick (Masri 155-191)

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays
• Last day to Drop Courses

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

• Read and mark selection From Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex (Course Materials)
• Withdrawal without signature period begins

Friday, September 20, 2019

• Read and mark "When I Was Miss Dow" (Masri 74-83)

Monday, September 23, 2019

• Read and mark "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (Masri 201-230)

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

• Read and mark "The Algorithms for Love" by Ken Liu (Masri 246-257)

Friday, September 27, 2019

• Exam Quotation Assignment Due.  Submit to Blackboard Drop Box.
• Read and mark "Bloodchild"—Octavia E. Butler (Course Materials)

Monday, September 30, 2019

• Read and mark "The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke (Masri 575-580)
• Read and mark "'All you Zombies­'" by Robert A. Heinlein (Masri 328-327)

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

• Read and mark "Mars Is Heaven!"—Ray Bradbury (Masri 59-74)

Friday, October 4, 2019

• Midterm Exam.  Bring completed Exam Card.

Monday, October 7, 2019

• 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..  This is a 20-point assignment for a completed draft.  Incomplete drafts will be prorated, but it is better to come with a partial draft than to skip class.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

• Read and mark Robert Silverberg's "Passengers" (Course Materials)

Friday, October, 11, 2019

• Read and mark "The Historian and His Facts"—E. H. Carr (Course Materials)

Monday, October 14, 2019

• NO CLASS.
• Final draft of Paper #1 due by 10 AM in the appropriate Dropbox on the class web site and on the Discussion Board.  See checklist for details.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

• Read and mark "Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government"—Hannah Arendt (Course Materials).  This non-fiction theoretical piece is a bit challenging.

Friday, October 18, 2019

• NO CLASS: Dr. Halbert will be at a conference.

Monday, October 21, 2019

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

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

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

Friday, October 25, 2019

• 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, October 28, 2019

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

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

• Read and mark pages 109-195 of The Handmaid's Tale ("VIII Birthday" until "XII: Jezebel's").
• We will continue watching The Matrix.
• Withdrawal without Faculty Signature Ends

Thursday, October 31, 2019

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays
• Withdrawal with Faculty Signature Begins (60%)

Friday, November 1, 2019

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

Monday, November 4, 2019

• Read and mark chapters 1-4 of Watchmen.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

• Read and mark chapters 5-8 of Watchmen.

Friday, November 8. 2019

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

Monday, November 11, 2019

• Read and mark "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes (Masri 678-700)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

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

Thursday, October 31, 2019

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays
• Withdraw with Faculty Signature Ends (74%)

Friday, November 15, 2019

• Meet in the library (in College Hall) to do research.  Sign in with Dr. H in the lobby of the library.
• Excused Withdrawal Only (WEX) Begins (75%)

Monday, November 18, 2019

• 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.
• Two-Minute presentation on your paper topic

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

• Read and mark Connie Willis' "At the Rialto" (Course Materials)

Friday, November 22, 2019

• Read and mark "How the World Was Saved" by Stanislaw Lem (Marsi 597-601).

Monday, November 25, 2019

• Read and mark "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"—Harlin Ellison (466-475)

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

• NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break

Friday, November 29, 2019

• NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Break

Monday, December 2, 2019

• Draft of Paper #2 Due.  Post a copy and bring two copies to class.  This draft will be graded out of 20 points for a complete paper with a works cited page (and not just a copy of the annotated bibliography) attached.  It is better to come with a page or two than to skip class.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

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

Friday, December 6, 2019

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

Monday, December 9, 2019

• LAST CLASS
• Second Quotation Assignment Due.  Post a copy to the "Quotations for Final" Dropbox.  Make sure to use the template linked in the instructions: don't just copy and paste.
• Read and mark "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke (see Course Documents).

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

• NO CLASS.  Class is over.
• Final Draft of Paper #2 due.  Remember to have the works cited page as part of the final copy.
• Submit to discussion board and to the dropbox. 

Friday, December 13, 2019

• FINAL EXAM: 8AM to 10AM in our regular classroom

Monday, December 16, 2019

• Optional Major Paper Rewrite of Paper #1 Due.  See Assignments section for expectations.