DAILY ASSIGNMENTS

Note: bulleted assignments are due on the date immediately above the bulleted list.

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

• First class.

Friday, January 19, 2024

• Read the instructions and complete the Contact Information handout.
• Read the instructions and complete the Student Contract handout.
• Read and mark the following selections Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page:
• “How to Really Read This Book"
• "A Brief Introduction to Science Fiction and Its History"
• [skim only, no need to mark] "A Selective Guide to Science Fiction Research"
• from The War of the Worlds—H.G. Wells
• "A Martian Odyssey" –Stanley G. Weinbaum
• "The Fact of Blackness"—Frantz Fanon

Monday, January 22, 2024

• Watch and take notes on Blade Runner (Final Cut). You can see where it is legally streaming here.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Last day to add a course.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

• Read and mark "Liar!"—Isaac Asimov (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Friday, January 26, 2024

• Read and mark "Burning Chrome"—William Gibson (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Monday, January 29, 2024

• Read and mark "A Cyborg Manifesto"—Donna J. Haraway (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).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, January 31, 2024

• Read and mark "Second Variety" by Philip K. Dick (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Friday, February 2, 2024

• Read and mark “When I Was Miss Dow” (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).
• Read and take notes on the Handout “Dealing with Titles in MLA Format” on the class web page.

Monday, February 5, 2024

• Scholarly Article Analysis Project: read and mark Lisa Yaszek’s “Of Fossils and Androids: (Re)Producing Sexual Identity in ‘Jurassic Park’ and "’Blade Runner’" and then complete the questions found on the template document in the Scholarly Article Analysis Project

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

• NO CLASS: we do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Last day to drop a course.

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

• Read and mark selection From Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).
• Withdrawal Period without faculty signature starts.

Friday, February 9, 2024

• Read and mark "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Monday, February 12, 2024

• Read and mark "The Algorithms for Love" by Ken Liu (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).
• Read and mark "Mars Is Heaven!"—Ray Bradbury (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

• Read and mark "Bloodchild"—Octavia E. Butler (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Friday, February 16, 2024

• Midterm Exam Quotation Assignment Due.  Use the template in the instructions. Make sure to use multiple texts, not one or two texts repeatedly. Submit to “Midterm Quotations” Assignment.

Monday, February 19, 2024

• Draft of Paper #1 due.  Post a copy in the "Paper #1: Draft" Discussion Board topic. Posting is worth five points.
• We will have a workshop on your drafts today worth 20 points. You must attend class with a completed draft printed for a partner to read to get those points. Incomplete drafts will be prorated, but it is better to come with a partial draft than to skip class.
• If you had an accommodations letter sent to me, please send me an email to remind me that you will need extra time on the midterm exam so I can make arrangements.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

• Read and mark Orson Scott Card’s “Ender’s Game” (the original short story version, not the novel, available online).

Friday, February 23, 2024

• Read and mark Robert Silverberg’s “Passengers” (see course documents).
• Read and mark "How the World Was Saved" by Stanislaw Lem (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Monday, February 26, 2024

• No class.
• Final draft of Paper #1 due by noon in the “Paper 1: Final Draft (Graded copy)” in Assignments (for up to 200 points) and the “Paper 1: Final Draft (Discussion Board)” option (for 5 points).  See checklist for details.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

• Midterm Exam, Part 1 (Identifications: use the Midterm Quotation Guide to help you study)

Friday, March 1, 2024

• Midterm Exam Part 2 (Essay). Make sure you prepare an exam card.

Monday, March 4, 2024

• Read and mark "Ideology and Terror: A Novel Form of Government"—Hannah Arendt (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).  This non-fiction theoretical piece is a bit challenging.

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

• Read and mark "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"—Harlin Ellison (Found in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Friday, March 8, 2024

• Please arrange to view Gattaca. You can see where Gattaca is legally streaming here. Take notes that will serve as your reading check for the film.

Monday, March 11, 2024

• NO CLASS: Spring Break

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

• NO CLASS: Spring Break

Friday, March 15, 2024

• NO CLASS: Spring Break

Monday, March 18, 2024

• Read and mark Section 1, Chapters 1-8 of 1984. Pages 1-106.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

• Read and mark Section 2 of 1984. Pages 107-230.

Friday, March 22, 2024

• Finish reading and marking 1984. Pages 231-308.
• Read the final essay in 1984, "The Principles of Newspeak.”

Monday, March 25, 2024

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

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Tuesdays.
• Withdrawal Period without faculty signature ends.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

• Read and mark pages 109-195 of The Handmaid's Tale ("VIII Birthday" until "XII: Jezebel's").
• Withdrawal Period with required faculty signature starts.

Friday, March 29, 2024

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

Monday, April 1, 2024

• Read and mark Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five (Chapters 1-4, pages 1-86).

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

• Read and mark Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five (Chapters 5-6, pages 87-157).

Friday, April 5, 2024

• Read and mark Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five (Chapters 7-10, pages 162-215). You will finish the novel for today.

Monday, April 8, 2024

• Read and mark chapters 1-6 of Watchmen. Since the text is a graphic novel, I suggest using large Post-it notes so that you do not have to cover up the pictures that are as much a part of the text as the words.
• We will discuss our second paper, which requires research.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

• Read and mark the rest of Watchmen.
• Withdrawal Period with required faculty signature ends.

Thursday, April 11, 2024

• NO CLASS: We do not meet on Thursdays.
• All Withdrawal from this point on require documentation and approval from Academic Affairs.

Friday, April 12, 2024

• Please arrange to watch and take notes on The Matrix. You can see where it is currently streaming for legal viewing here.

Monday, April 15, 2024

• Library Orientation. We will meet in the library: College Hall 265.
• Post a half-page description of one or two topics you are considering for Paper #2 that requires library research. Indicate the author, text, and overall topic about the text. Copy and paste AND attach the description to the “Research Paper Topics” Discussion Board Topic.
• Attendance counts double today.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

• Library Research Day. Meet on the main floor of the library and sign in with Dr. Halbert. Bring your laptop

Friday, April 19, 2024

• Annotated Bibliography Due at start of class.  Post a copy to the "Research Paper: Bibliography" Discussion Board Topic and submit a copy to the "Annotated Bibliography" Assignment. You may wish to review the Sample Annotated Bibliography to verify that your submission looks as it should and contains all three major sections.
• Two-Minute presentation on your paper topic.

Monday, April 22, 2024

• Draft of Paper #2 Due. Post a copy in the "Paper #2: Draft" Discussion Board topic. Posting is worth five points.
• We will have a workshop on your drafts today worth 20 points. You must attend class with a completed draft printed for a partner to read to get those points. Incomplete drafts will be prorated, but it is better to come with a partial draft than to skip class.
• If you had an accommodations letter sent to me, please send me an email to remind me that you will need extra time on the final exam so I can make arrangements.

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

• Read and mark “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes (available in the “Readings” section of our Canvas page).

Friday, April 26, 2024

• Second Exam Quotation Assignment Due.  Use the template in the instructionsL don’t just copy and paste. Make sure to use multiple texts, not one or two texts repeatedly. Post a copy to the “Quotations for Final” Assignment. 
• Read and mark Chapters 1-13 of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Monday, April 29, 2024

• Last class for this course.
• Finish reading and marking The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Thursday, May 2, 2024

• NO CLASS: Our regular class meetings are over, except for the final exam.
• Optional Major Paper Rewrite of Paper #1 due by noon. Please submit to “Major Paper Rewrite” Assignment.

Friday, May 3, 2024

• NO CLASS: Our regular class meetings are over, except for the final exam.
• Final Draft of Paper #2 due by noon. Post to “Paper #2 Final Draft: Discussion Board” (for 5 points) and to “Paper #2 Final Draft: Graded Copy” (for up to 200 points). See checklist for details.

Monday, May 6, 2024

• Final Exam in our normal classroom from 10:20 AM to 12:20 PM. Make sure you prepare your exam card. Quotation List-- MS Word or PDF

End of Semester Notes and Reminders:

• Attend the final meeting of all your classes.
• Check your Montco email and Canvas announcements every day until Dr. Halbert says the grades are posted.
• Don’t email Dr. Halbert to see if the grades are done: he will announce when he is done.
• Do check your gradebook on Canvas during the exams to see individual assignment grades as they are entered.
• If there is a problem with a graded assignment, please email Dr. Halbert immediately.