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!

Presentation Signup

Signup here for the presentation

Homework for 4/23

Here is a link to the handout on propaganda techniques.

Again, your instructions for tonight:
Using the worksheet, look at some online political advertisements/commercials. Try to find examples of at least half of the techniques we have talked about in class over the past two days. In the middle column, write how the technique is used, and on the right, tell me where you found it. Here are some non-youtube links you can use to check out ads:

Living Room Candidate
2008 Election Ads
Washington Post Database of Ads

Also, since I'm asking you to do this for homework, I've extended the blog deadline until 11:59pm TOMORROW. Also, don't forget to respond to your critical friends!

Handmaid's Tale Major Assessment Survey

Click here to take the survey!

Your blogs

All of your blogs are now on a sidebar on the right under "My Blog List," so you can quickly access the blogs of your critical friend and your other classmates. They are arranged in the order that they have been updated. Don't forget to post by midnight tonight!

Task for today and Wednesday

Each of you has received an email asking you to create a pbwiki account. An account is needed in order for you to edit your wiki. You will have part of today and all of tomorrow to work on your wikis together. Here are your instructions for today:

1. Spend at least 20 minutes finishing your discussion and finding your neologisms, biblical language, and Offred's language musings. You don't need to rush through the discussion to get to creating the wiki.
2. Each of you will need to create your pbwiki account.
3. Delete my greeting, then begin editing!

Here is our wiki:
http://msaaland1415.pbwiki.com

Neologisms

Here is some more information on neologisms.

Reading Schedule for Handmaid's Tale

The dates to the left of the chapters are when you should have completed the reading by:

4/14 - Ch. 18-20
4/15 - Ch. 21-23
4/16 - Ch. 24-26
4/17 - Ch. 27-28
4/20 - Ch. 29-31
4/21 - Ch. 32-34
4/22 - Ch. 35-37
4/23 - Ch. 38-40
4/24 - Ch. 41-44
4/26 - finish!

Handmaid's Tale Blogs

While we read The Handmaid's Tale during this unit, you will not be required to keep any reading logs. However, I will ask you to post a minimum of six (6) blog entries where you think through thoughts and feelings that you have in response to the material we study, the class discussions and activities that we engage in, and any other experience you have with the unit topic. You may choose to start a new blog, or you can continue with the blog you began during the last unit. If you would like to change your blog URL, you need to let me know by Tuesday, April 14^th (as your next entry is due the following day).

If you would like to review the criteria for the blog, look at the directions from the Left Hand blog task on our class blog. Do keep in mind that your entries need to be more than just a summary of the text, a minimum of 150 words each, and must be posted by 11:59pm (before midnight) on the date the blog is due in order to receive full credit (5 points) for each entry. I would recommend that you do not wait until the deadline to upload your entries, as any entries posted after midnight will be considered late and will receive half credit. Also, if you prefer writing by hand, you may wish to compose your entries on paper and type them later.

Note: Although there are seven (7) deadlines listed below, you only need to post six (6) times. This means you get one freebie! You may choose any one of the seven days to drop, and you do not need to let me know in advance. I would recommend not using your freebie right away in case you have problems with internet access, a big project or a test in another class, or you just plain forget! If you do post more than six entries, you will receive two (2) participation points for each full entry you make (and 1 point for shorter entries).

As soon as possible, you should choose one classmate to be your “critical friend” as we explore, analyze, critique, and discuss The Handmaid's Tale and the issues it addresses. You will be responsible for posting a timely response on your critical friend's blog at least four times throughout the unit. The purpose here is that your critical friends will help support you as you develop your understanding of the text, and the surrounding topics we discuss in class. Please do not wait until the last minute to respond to your critical friend. Your entries should meet the 150-word length requirement, and any additional responses to your critical friend or any other of your classmates will earn you participation points.

Due Dates for Blogs

4/13 – Blog #1

4/15 – Blog #2

4/17 – Blog #3

4/21 – Blog #4

4/23 – Blog #5

4/27 – Blog #6

4/29 – Blog #7

Spring Break HW

Read pgs. 1-99 of The Handmaid's Tale. Post one 150-word blog entry by 11:59pm on Monday, 4/13.

Have a great break and don't forget to explore your city and do something fun!
Tomorrow is free day at the museums, check it out! The YBCA has an exhibition which looks especially cool.
Yerba Buena
SF Moma
Museum of Craft Art and Folk - installations of artists re-creating their working spaces
Legion of Honor
de Young
Cartoon Art Museum

further info

Some links for you:

Social Construction
Social construction at wikipedia
An interesting flickr pool of photos showing social constructs and contrasts
Some basic info about social constructs and race
A longer article on social construction
Social construction of gender


Ursula K. Le Guin


Feminism
Feminism at wikipedia
Feminist scifi at wikipedia
Feminist scifi and fantasy

Joanna Russ

Octavia Butler

Don't forget to upload your reports to turnitin.com by 11:59pm tomorrow! Also, please bring your copies of Left Hand and your journals and reading logs along with you to class tomorrow.

Rubric

Here it is!