Short Stories - For Fun!

In case you're looking to continue your exploration into science fiction, I thought I'd post a few links to some short stories online which we weren't able to get to in class:

This first one I discussed with Jessi, Larry, John, and Warren in class today (it's sort of, though not completely, along the lines of if the whole world was a computer program):
"The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov
I may have been getting the above story confused with E.M. Forster's "The Machine Stops," which has similar motifs (Wall-e fans may want to check this second story out; unfortunately I don't have a link to an online copy).

Here is a story by James Tiptree, Jr. which goes well with Joanna Russ' "When It Changed" (which we read before beginning The Handmaid's Tale):
"The Women Men Don't See" - James Tiptree, Jr.

Last, "Burning Chrome" by William Gibson is a classic (he wrote the book Neuromancer and the short story "Johnny Mnemonic" which was turned into a film with Keanu Reeves).

HW Reminder and Presentation Dates

• Bring your copy of Handmaid's Tale to return Tuesday.
• If I haven't given your group the ok already, email me by Sunday night with the info about the article you will be reading - if you're not sure, email me sooner so I can approve.
• Read your group's article. Make sure you come prepared to fulfill your literature circle role on Tuesday.
• Work on your final project and paper! Do not leave it until Tuesday!
  

Here is the presentation schedule* again:
Wednesday
Group 1: Luis, Steven, Jennifer
Group 2: Catriona, Saruul, Safa, Amy
Group 3: Amanda, Raymond, Stephanie

Thursday
Group 4: Ashley, Eileen, Kim
Group 5: Holleigh, Victor, Duc, Polian
Group 6: Warren, Jessie, Larry, John

Friday
Group 7: Mary, Sheryl, Shirlyn, Nicole
Group 8: DiMarco, Anthony, Herman
Group 9: Maybo, Vincent, Jasmine, Paula

*Be early on the day you present - whichever group arrives first will get first pick of order!

Final Project update

As a reminder, here are the updated dates for the final (to accommodate Kermesse and Memorial Day):

• Text 1/Novel Part 1 - Tuesday, May 19th
  
• Text 2/Novel Part 2 - Thursday, May 21st
• Supplemental Text (Criticism) - Tuesday, May 26th

Make sure that tomorrow you choose roles for when you meet on Tuesday. You will also need to come prepared with notes for the text you will be discussing.

To help focus your notes, when looking at your text, here are a couple of questions to consider:

1. What "message" is the text trying to convey?
2. How does the "author" convey this message?

Literature Circle Roles

Here is the handout on literature circle roles I will be passing out in class tomorrow. Each of you will choose one role for your group meeting on Tuesday which you will need to prepare for in advance (hence, I'm posting it today so you can start planning if you like).

Suggestions for your final project

Here are some works I have seen/read and enjoyed and/or have some information about. Many have dystopian/utopian themes which will be good choices for writing about social message. One thing you may want to consider doing would be to evaluate a story/novel/comic book and its film/television version, or two works of any genre by the same author. Most of these works are science fiction, but a few are fantasy. Don't forget to have one person in your group email me with the names of your group members and the works you'll be examining by tomorrow. I encourage you to ask me about any of these works if you have questions! Also, contact me if you want me to make a specific recommendation for something I think you'd like.

Films

2001: A Space Odyssey

A Clockwork Orange

Alphaville

A Scanner Darkly

Barbarella

Dune

Edward Scissorhands

Gattaca

Jonny Mnemonic

La Jetée

Mad Max

The Matrix

Metropolis

Minority Report

Paycheck

Soylent Green

Space Is the Place

Spirited Away

Star Trek

Star Wars

The Time Machine

V for Vendetta

Wall-E

Short Stories/Novellas

"Aye, and Gomorrah" by Samuel R. Delany

“Burning Chrome” - William Gibson

"Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" by James Tiptree, Jr.

“Johnny Mnemonic” - William Gibson

“The Last Question” - Isaac Asimov

“Paycheck” - Philip K. Dick

“There Will Come Soft Rains” - Ray Bradbury

“The Star Pit” - Samuel R. Delany

“We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” - Philip K. Dick

Novels

A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess

A Unicorn is Born – Trinie Dalton

Beloved – Octavia Butler

The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin (part of the same cycle as Left Hand)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick (or anything else by him – this is the novel version of the film Bladerunner)

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – Cory Doctorow

Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick

Minority Report – Philip K. Dick

Neuromancer – William Gibson

Parable of the Sower – Octavia Butler

Slan – A.E. Van Vogt

Trouble on Triton – Samuel R. Delany

Ubik – Philip K. Dick

We – Yevgeny Zamyatin

Graphic Novels

V for Vendetta

Watchmen

Television Series

Battlestar Galactica

Doctor Who

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Sliders

Star Trek

The Twilight Zone

Science Fiction Final

Here is the handout on your final project for this class.

Also: Do not forget to email me by Wednesday night telling me who is in your group, and what work(s) you will be discussing!

Works Cited page

Here's a link to a page on using MLA format if you need help with your Works Cited pages.

For videos, your basic system is:

Video title. Person or organization who put it out/directed it.
Production company name, Year.

Links from Last Week's Videos

Here are the videos we watched in case you'd like to see them again. Also, just to clarify since there may be some confusion, for your presentation and paper you are to look at political advertisements (i.e. not product advertisements) - these are what we looked at and discussed in class. Again, your political "issue" can be a particular proposition, a specific campaign (such as governor, president, mayor, etc.), or a general topic up for debate in the political sphere (such as same sex marriage). To clarify again, there needs to be some sort of pending legislation which is being advertised. While the ads don't necessarily have to link to the specific proposition (such as we saw in the "Gathering Storm" video), it cannot be a broad social issue (such as "racism"). The reason for this is that you are generally not going to find specific advertisements on such a broad topic. This issue/campaign can be current or past. Also, make sure your presentation is focused on your analysis on the propaganda, rather than your opinion on the issue.

Email me if you are not sure what I am talking about, because this is a crucial part of "addressing the task!"

Video 1:


Video 2:


Video 3:


Video 4:

Info from Today's Class

Here are links to info and whatnot from class today:

Info on giving an oral presentation
Using gestures
Rubric for the presentation/paper
Checklist for the presentation/paper

Warren, John, Nicole, and Eileen: Don't forget to email any media you want projected to me by 11:59pm on Sunday, along with what you need to bring to class!