English 90: Evolutionary Fictions
Fall 2006
Meets MWF 10:00 - 10:52 am in Carnegie 106
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English 90: Evolutionary Fictions
Fall 2006
Meets MWF 10:00 - 10:52 am in Carnegie 106
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BOOKS
These books should be available in the Bucknell Bookstore, amazon.com; if you have any problems obtaining them, please let me know. YOU SHOULD ALSO PURCHASE A GOOD, HARDBACK DICTIONARY, IF YOU DON'T OWN ONE ALREADY.Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Blade Runner)
Pat Cadigan, Ed. The Ultimate Cyberpunk
Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child
ADVISING DATES TO BE AWARE OF:
Last Day to Drop/Add: Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Last Day for Four-Week Withdrawal From a Course with Dean's Permission: Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Last Day for Nine-Week Withdrawal with Dean's Permission: Thursday, October 26, 2006
Advising for Spring 2007 Semester Begins: Monday, October 30, 2006
Preregistration for Spring 2007 Semester Begins: Monday, November 6, 2006
SYLLABUS
This is a provisional syllabus; changes will be discussed and announced in class. The readings specified below will often be supplemented by handouts I will give you to read for the next class. You are responsible for learning of and responding to syllabus changes during the semester. I will expect you to have the works read by the first day they are listed on the syllabus.
WEEK ONE: Introductions
Wednesday, August 23:
Introduction to course, syllabus, assignments
Friday, August 25:
Selections from Charles Darwin -- Click here to download this reading
WEEK TWO:Monday, August 28:The Evolution Controversy, Continued -- Browse "The Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design Controversy" online and explore selected links; see also The Raelian Movement and "The Raelian Movement: The Messages"; read Natasha Vita-More's "Primo Posthuman" paper and design; see also Wikipedia's Creation-Evolution Controversy links
Wednesday, August 30:Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, up to page 61
Friday, September 1:
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, up to page 110
WEEK THREE:Monday, September 4:Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, up to page 184
SUGGESTED--Frankenstein--1995 (Kenneth Brannagh) version--PN1997 FRANK -- DVD or VIDEOTAPE
Wednesday, September 6:
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, to page 211
Friday, September 8:Selections from Friedrich Nietzsche, Cesare Lombroso (Criminal Man) , and Max Nordau ( Degeneration) (Handouts)
WEEK FOUR:
Monday, September 11:Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeWednesday, September 13:
Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Friday, September 15:
Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
WEEK FIVE: Frankenstein
Monday, September 18:Rough Draft Workshop -- Bring draft of Paper One to class
Wednesday, September 20:
Bram Stoker, Dracula -- Read Chapters 1 - 7 (up to page 99)
Friday, September 22:
Bram Stoker, Dracula -- Read Chapters 8 -13 (up to page 184)
Due: First draft of Paper One
WEEK SIX:
Monday, September 25:
Bram Stoker, Dracula -- Read Chapters 14 - 22 (up to page 306)
Wednesday, September 27:Bram Stoker, Dracula -- Finish book (to page 382)
Friday, September 29:
Final Rough Draft Workshop: Paper One
WEEK SEVEN:
Monday, October 2:H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau, Chapters 1 -7 (up to page 36)
DUE: Paper One
Tuesday, October 3: Extra-credit lecture by Dr. Cary Wolfe of Rice University, 7:30 pm, location TBA
Wednesday, October 4:
H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau -- Finish book by today
Friday, October 6:
H. G. Wells, The Island of Dr. Moreau
WEEK EIGHT:Monday, October 9:Technology and Evolution: Read Max More's "The Proactionary Principle," look at posthuman.com, and read excerpts from Marshall McLuhan and read Donna Haraway (Handouts)
Wednesday, October 11:
Discuss Metropolis
Friday, October 13:
Discuss Metropolis
WEEK NINE:Monday, October 16:FALL BREAK: No class todayWednesday, October 18:
Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner) -- read pages 1-112 (first eleven chapters)
Friday, October 20:Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner)
WEEK TEN:
Monday, October 23:Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner)
Finish Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and discuss Blade Runner (Film)
Friday, October 27:Rough Draft Workshop: Paper Two
WEEK ELEVEN:
Monday, October 30:Wednesday, November 1:William Gibson, "Burning Chrome," in Ultimate Cyberpunk, pages 127-152
Due: Paper Two
James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon), "The Girl Who Was Plugged In," in Ultimate Cyberpunk, pages 74-120
Friday, November 3:
REQUIRED--The Ghost in the Shell -- PN1997 GHOST8 -- DVD
Library Session: Meet in Bertrand Library
WEEK TWELVE:Monday, November 6:Discuss The Ghost in the Shell (Film)Wednesday, November 8:Vernor Vinge, "True Names" (Handout) and Marvin Minsky's "Afterword to 'True Names'"Friday, November 10:
REQUIRED--The Matrix -- PN1997 MATRIX2 -- DVD
The Matrix
For an interesting collection of essays on "Philosphy and The Matrix," go to http://whatisthematrix.warnerbros.com/rl_cmp/new_phil_main.html.
WEEK THIRTEEN: The Matrix
Monday, November 13:
The MatrixWednesday, November 15:Pat Cadigan, "Patterns," Ultimate Cyberpunk, pages 341-348
REQUIRED--The Thirteenth Floor -- PN1997 THIRT3 -- DVD
Friday, November 17:
Discuss The Thirteenth Floor
Monday, November 20:
Greg Bear, "Blood Music," in Ultimate Cyberpunk, pages 153-183
Wednesday, November 22:
THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY -- NO CLASSThursday, November 24:THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY -- NO CLASS
WEEK FIFTEEN:
Monday, November 27:
Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child
Tuesday, November 29:
Doris Lessing, The Fifth ChildThursday, December 1:Doris Lessing, The Fifth Child
FINAL WEEK: Conclusions
Monday, December 4:Final Draft Workshop: Paper Three -- bring full draft to class
Evaluation and discussion of course
Paper Three is due by 5:00 pm on Friday, December 8, 2006
COURSE OBJECTIVES, POLICIES, AND ASSIGNMENTS
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Although Darwin's Origin of Species was published almost 150 years ago, the theory of biological evolution seems as "hot" a topic in contemporary American culture as it was in Victorian England following the appearance of Darwin's famous book. School boards in Pennsylvania and Kansas have recently attempted to mitigate the impact of darwinism on school curricula and textbooks, and many people seem to find evolution as construed by the biological sciences inimical to their religious beliefs and worldviews. On the other hand, many writers, philosophers, psychologists, and scientists have responded to their own understandings of darwinism with great excitement and hope, believing that the concept of evolution has opened up new vistas for humankind, new possibilities for developing and re-imagining ourselves. Clearly, evolution is a "symptom" of a cultural divide, a source of anxiety and aspiration.
This course will explore some of the ways that writers from Mary Shelley onwards have responded to the new powers, possibilities, and anxieties that modern science and technology have brought about. Looking at philosophical, scientific, literary, and internet writings as well as film, we will probe in particular the ways in which scientific developments such as evolutionary theory have changed the ways we view and understand our own bodies and "human nature" more generally. We will explore the growing sense that technological protheses are stimulating "(r)evolutionary" changes in the bodies and minds of human beings, the notion that we are in fact becoming a new and different species, perhaps even something partly mechanical. Just as Freud did, we will ask what the ramifications of such changes might be, grappling with relevant texts in an attempt to better understand what being "modern" has come to mean in terms of the destabilization and/or fragmentation of origins, traditions or "metanarratives," and even our own bodies and personal identities. We will end with very recent books and films in the so-called "cyberpunk" genre.
Thoughout the semester, we will work to develop reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through in-depth analysis of written texts and films and practice in the writing process. We will work together on a series of essays aimed at developing various types of writing skills. You will prepare weekly answers to assigned questions in order to deepen and develop your reactions to the course materials.
An important part of my job is making sure that you know how to use sources carefully and correctly in academic writing and that you understand the University's policies concerning plagiarism, which I define as the unacknowledged use, either intentional or unintentional, of material first expressed by another person. We will discuss plagiarism and proper methods of documentation during the semester, but if, at any time, you have questions about plagiarism problems in this or any other class, please come and ask me about them.
CLASS FORMAT: Although at times I may lecture in order to present background material, most of our class time will consist of discussion among the members of the seminar. Class participation in discussion and other activities is essential, is taken for granted, and will be an important part of your grade. Failure to participate will lower your grade, as will excessive absences or chronic tardiness. After three absences your participation grade will begin to drop. I will occasionally assign a student to prepare a brief, informal oral presentation for the next class on a word, person, or topic we will cover; these brief presentations will be part of your participation grade.
More than six absences will guarantee an "F" for the class. If you do not feel that you are willing or able to keep up with the reading, attend class daily, and participate in discussion, you should consider withdrawing from the course before the end of the drop/add period. In case of an absence, it is your responsibility to obtain copies of any class handouts, to find out what we covered in class, and to learn whether any extra work was assigned.
ASSIGNMENTS: We will practice a variety of forms of written and oral presentation in this class, some involving formal analysis and some inviting more direct reaction. The first two essays will be shorter, formal "analysis" papers that explicate the ways in which a piece of literature "works." I will also require you to turn in a weekly two-page paper by midnight every Sunday on a suggested topic related to our assignments and class discussions. Your final project for the course will involve a researched investigation of a theme, writer, text, and/or film that you found particularly interesting. I may assign other (mostly ungraded) writing both in and out of class. Please expect occasional reading quizzes and/or in-class writing on the assigned material.
I prefer to receive all papers electronically -- through e-mail or in my "drop box" in my Bucknell public space. Papers should be prepared in Microsoft Word format. If this presents any problems for you, please let me know early in the semester.
FILMS: Since film is such an important part of the history of science fiction and since so many of the books we read have been "interpreted" by films based upon them, the syllabus lists a number of films related to the concerns of the course. When a film is listed as "required," you must watch it during the week it is listed and be prepared to discuss it on the day listed on the syllabus. The films listed above in the syllabus will be held for you at the Reserve Desk in the Library; I encourage you to watch them in groups. If you prefer, and if we can arrange it, I can also try to set up group viewings of the films outside class times.
EVALUATION:
Paper 1 Analysis Paper
Due October 2 15% Paper 2 Analysis Paper
Due October 30
20% Paper 3
Researched Analysis Paper
Due December 4
25% Reaction Paper As assigned (see online schedule)
10% Weekly Writings Due every Sunday by midnight
20% Class participation, quizzes 10% LATE PAPERS: I will at times allow students an extra day to work on finishing a late paper, but only if you have an acceptable reason for turning the essay in late and only if you ask me for an extension before the paper is due. Students who get their essays in on time justifiably consider it unfair for a professor to allow other students extra time to finish assignments; therefore, unexcused late papers will go down one letter grade for every day they are late. I will not allow extensions on the oral presentation or on the final paper.
FINALLY . . . As noted above, my office is Carnegie Building 202. I am available during my normally-scheduled office hours to meet with you. If you need to speak with me outside of my scheduled office hours, you can e-mail me (rickard@bucknell.edu) or call me at 577-1424. If you have an important message or really need to speak with me urgently, please call me at home at 523-7784 (please always try my office number first).
