06.26.06
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English 192 Science Fiction
Summer (A) 2006
Catalog No. 5504
Meets: MTWR 3:30 – 4:35.
Location: ARTS 1241
Instructor: Kim Knight (kimberly_knight@umail.ucsb.edu)
Office Hours: M, T 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. and by appointment in Transcriptions Lab (SH 2509)
Course Website
Course Wiki
In the age of networked culture and spectacular media, the line between science fiction and “real life” becomes increasingly difficult to define. In this version of English 192 we will explore the development of cyberpunk, a genre of science fiction that typically features a hacker-figure in the context of cyberspace and is typically set against larger institutions. Born of the 1980’s, this particular strand of science fiction has anticipated the future in uncanny ways. Our goal will be to examine the literature and film of this genre to determine whether, in fact, “the future is now.”
We will begin with Frankenstein, the earliest example of science fiction and then trace the development of the genre through cyberpunk-precursors such as Philip K. Dick and James Tiptree Jr. We will then work extensively with cyberpunk texts and film, including its many subgenres, to address questions of spirituality, the un/human, and the role of the individual in society. Finally, we will end the course with a look at “real life” iterations of cyberpunk (hypertext literature, hacker art, etc) in order to assess the relevance of this genre to contemporary information culture.
Prerequisite: Writing 2 or 50 or 109; English 10; or upper-division standing.
Satisfies a GE Area G and a Writing Requirement.
The texts for the class are listed below, in the order that we will be reading them:
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. (Norton Critical Edition)
Cadigan, Pat, ed. The Ultimate Cyberpunk.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer.
Cadigan, Pat. Mindplayers.
Stephenson, Neal. The Diamond Age.
Jackson, Shelley. Patchwork Girl. CD-Rom.
Unfortunately, the two Cadigan texts are out of print. You can find copies through Alibris, Amazon or Powells. Alternatively, the UCSB bookstore is working to procure the rights to reprint them for our class.
Course Policies
Course Schedule
Assignments
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06.25.06
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Due Dates will be assigned on the first day of class.
Each student will select a work of theory or secondary criticism (see below for the difference) in response to the reading for a week. The student will then write a 250-word abstract of the article and a 150-word reflection on the article and post them to the class Wiki. The Wiki entry should include the full bibliographical details of the article and links to other pertinent articles, websites, etc. See the sample entry on the Timothy Leary essay, “The Cyberpunk: The Individual as Reality Pilot” for an example of both content and proper formatting.
You may not duplicate an article that another student has already posted. If you are worried about overlap, you may want to “claim” your article by creating a page for it and then adding the content later.
Please use categories in your Wiki entries. Every wiki entry should include the category “All Pages” and the category for your name. For instance, if you decide to write about Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” in the week we are reading Frankenstein, then you would place your entry in the following categories: All Pages, Theory, Frankenstein, YourName, etc. See the Wiki Posting Instructions below for assistance.
On the due date, you will give the class a brief overview of the article. Plan on spending no more than five minutes summarizing the article and giving us your overall response to the content.
These Wiki entries will form a collective repository of information that will be useful in writing your papers later this term.
Wiki Posting Instructions
Wiki Posting Instructions – PDF
This assignment is worth 10 points, i.e. 10% of your final grade.
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Critical Responses are due each meeting, before class begins. You should critically reflect upon the reading for the day and post one or more discussion questions to the class wiki. Look for the article for the appropriate week and edit it to add your question(s). Be sure to include your name. Bring a copy of your question(s) to class (for your own reference only; these will not be collected)
Completion of critical responses in a timely manner will count as part of your participation grade.
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Participation, including attendance and critical response assignments 20%
Wiki Assignment 1, ongoing due dates 10%
Mid-term Exam, Mon 7/17 25%
Wiki Assignment 2, due Fri 7/28 10%
5 – 7 page Critical Paper*, due Sun, 8/6 35%
*For the final project, students may write a shorter paper (4 – 5 pages) as part of a web publication. This option is required for those who wish to receive LCI credit for the course. A web-publishing workshop will be held prior to the project’s due date.
Details of each assignment will be posted on the class website.
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Attendance:
The most valuable insights will come out of our class discussions and your participation is necessary for our success. It is important that you come to every class prepared and on time. To be “prepared” means that you have thoughtfully engaged with the reading, completed the critical response assignment, are prepared to discuss it and that you are equipped with the supplies necessary to participate in class (books, paper, writing instruments, etc.)
Because your presence in class is important, two or more absences will impact your final grade. In most circumstances, four absences will result in failure. Two instances of tardiness will equal one absence.
Cell phones and pagers are to be turned off and kept out of my sight. If your phone or pager rings during class, or if I see you checking your messages / pages during class, you will be marked absent. No exceptions.
Email Policy:
Please be aware that I respond to most email messages within 24 hours Monday – Friday. If you send me an email and I do not respond during this timeframe, chances are that I did not receive it. It is your responsibility to re-send the email or to contact me another way.
Online Etiquette:
As we will undoubtedly discover in class, the finer points of online communication can be tricky. Emotions are difficult to express and read. Our many online assignments will require vigilance to ensure that we are always preserving an atmosphere of mutual respect. Disagreements may arise and consensus may not be possible. We can, however, respect each person’s right to an opinion. Name-calling or menacing behavior will not be tolerated.
Academic Honesty:
From the UCSB General Catalog: “Materials submitted to fulfill academic requirements must represent a student’s own efforts. Any act of academic dishonesty, such as plagiarism or other forms of cheating, is unacceptable and will be met with disciplinary action.”
Plagiarism will result in a failing grade on the plagiarized assignment and possible disciplinary action by the university. We will review the proper way to use outside sources in order to avoid plagiarism; however, I encourage you to meet with me if you are at all uncertain about whether your writing could be misconstrued as plagiarism.
Late Work:
All late work will be given a failing grade. No exceptions.
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06.15.06
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Introduction and Early Science Fiction
Mon, 6/26 Course Overview
Tue, 6/27 Frankenstein Preface, Volume I, and Introduction to the 3rd Edition (pages 169 – 173 of the Norton Critical Edition)
Wed, 6/28 Frankenstein Volume II (pages 59 – 101)
Thu, 6/29 Frankenstein Volume III (pages 102 – 156)
Wiki Assignments:
Pamela Kilroy
Jack Rubin
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Precursors to Cyberpunk
Mon, 7/3 Philip K. Dick “We Can Remember it for You Wholesale” (Ultimate Cyberpunk)and “The Minority Report” (
online)
Tue, 7/4 – July 4th Holiday, No Class
Wed, 7/5 James Tiptree Jr. “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (Ultimate Cyberpunk)
Film Screening: Blade Runner
Thu, 7/6 Blade Runner. Dan O’Bannon & Moebius
“The Long Tomorrow”.
Wiki Assignments:
Joanna Stevenson
Joshua Kelley
Andrew Huang
Megan Dufault
Adriana Blancarte
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Cyberpunk I
Mon, 7/10 Follow up discussion on readings from week one and week two.
Tue, 7/11 William Gibson Neuromancer parts 1 – 3
Wed, 7/12 William Gibson Neuromancer part 4 and Coda
Film Screening: Ghost in the Shell
Thu, 7/13 Ghost in the Shell
Wiki Assignments:
Sann Kim Kam
Carmen Rojas
David Reed
Neuromancer Cheat Sheet
Neuromancer Cheat Sheet – PDF Version
Ghost in the Shell Summary
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Cyberpunk II
Mon, 7/17 Midterm Exam
Tue, 7/18 Pat Cadigan Mindplayers Part One (pages 1 – 99)
Wed, 7/19 Pat Cadigan Mindplayers Parts Two, Three, and Afterword (100 – 279)
No Film Screening: Arrange to view The Matrix outside of class.
Thu, 7/20 Class canceled; Get a head start on The Diamond Age
Wiki Assignments (Note: they are due Wed, 7/19 this week!):
Amy Matteson
Raechel Bedayan
Kevin Saddi
Dan Hawley
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(Post?) Cyberbunk
Mon, 7/24 Cory Doctorow, “I, Robot”;
Printable version of “i, robot” *Please do print it and bring it to class – even if you have to print it really tiny in 2-up format.
Tue, 7/25 Neal Stephenson The Diamond Age Part The First
Wed, 7/26 Neal Stephenson The Diamond Age Part The Second
2pm – 3:15 pm extended office hour in SH 2509
5pm – 7pm Film Screening: Gattaca
Thu, 7/27 Gattaca
Wiki Assignments:
Zac Schriock
Isabel Hsiao
Jack Harris
Rodrigo Noronha
Tyler Werrin
Carina Sanchez
Douglas Lee
Wiki Assignment #2 due Friday, July 28 at 11:59 p.m.
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Cyberfiction / Cyberlife
Mon, 7/31 Andrew Plotkin Shade; The Agrippa Files and William Gibson Agrippa (a book of the dead) **If Andrew Plotkin’s site continues to be down, read “Photopia” by Adam Cadre instead**
2pm – 3:15 pm extended office hour in SH 2509
Tue, 8/1 Shelley Jackson Patchwork Girl;
Wed, 8/2 Felis Rex, LambdaMoo: An Introduction
LambdaMoo Your computer will launch a “telnet” window. In the window that says LambdaMoo at the top, type “connect Guest” to get started. I highly recommend typing “@tutorial” right away to help you find your way around. Spend some time exploring and interacting with people.
Linden Labs, Second Life (register for a free
basic account and spend a couple of hours playing).
Originally scheduled for this week, and still worth taking a look at: 0100101110101101.org; wwwwwwwww.jodi.org; anti-capitalist operating system
Thu, 8/3 Course Wrap Up;
Wiki Assignments (Please note: they are due Wed 8/2 this week!):
Daniel Le
Sunday, August 6th: Final Projects Due in class wiki by 11:59 p.m.
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