Turlington
2328
Office:Turlington
4335
Office
Hours:Tuesday, 5-6 p.m. Wednesday,
11 a.m.-1 p.m.;
and
by appointment
Phone:
392-6650. ex. 261 (office); 392-0777 (dept.)
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/pwegner/home.htm
The preceding quotation is taken from Stanislaw Lem's Solaris (1961), one of the true masterpieces of twentieth century science fiction literature.Lem's novel, as is the case of many of his other works, is centrally concerned with some of the most enduring figures and themes of modern science fiction literature and film: that of the alien and of "our" first contact with new beings and worlds.With its roots in the genre of travel literature, and having such auspicious literary precursors as Thomas More's Utopia and William Shakespeare's The Tempest, the science fiction alien story narrates the disorienting and estranging encounter with radically other beings and worlds.If, as Lem suggests, the figure of the alien points toward the very limits of the human imagination, it also can tell us a great deal about the interests, fears, hopes, and desires of those who engage in this supreme creative act.Thus, much more than idle speculation or simple storytelling, the alien encounter narrative serves as a vital tool for thinking about this world, the one we inhabit in the here and the now. In this course, we will explore a wide variety of manifestations of the figure of the alien and of the theme of first contact, beginning with one of the works that founds the modern genre and does a great deal to set the paradigm for all alien encounter narratives that follow--H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds (1898)--and continuing up through contemporary works by such authors as Octavia Butler, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Joe Haldeman. While our main focus will be on science fiction produced in the United States and Great Britain, we will also read at a few SF works in translation in order both to think about the ways the theme of the alien encounter has been treated in other times and places and to help us better appreciate how science fiction had in the course of the previous century become one of the supreme achievements of world literature.
Texts
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds
Karel
Capek, War with the Newts
A. E. Van Vogt, "Black Destroyer"(on reserve)
Murray Leinster, "First Contact"(on reserve)
Stanislaw Lem, Solaris
Philip K. Dick, "Faith of our Fathers" (on reserve)
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic (available on-line at http://sf.hikarigaoka.gr.jp/abs/english/e-books.htm )
Joe Haldeman, Forever War
Octavia Butler, Dawn
Orson Scott Card, Enders Game
These texts are all available at Goerings Book Store Campus Location (1717 NW 1st Avenue, next door to Bageland; 377-3703).As we will be doing a good deal of close reading during the course of the semester, I ask that you get copies with the same pagination as these editions.Some additional readings, primarily short essays, may be made available during the course of the semester.
Requirements, Grading, and Related Matters
1)First, a brief but important general reminder: This is an upper-division English literature course, and there will be a good deal of reading during the course of the semester.You will be expected to keep up with all the readings, and you will be asked to demonstrate, in both your oral and written contributions to the class, proficiency in the kinds of critical and analytical skills expected of advanced literary studies majors.These minimally would entail some experience in reading literary fictions critically, an ability to ascertain the thematic and formal textures of the work, a familiarity with some of the technical devices deployed by writers (point-of-view, metaphor, irony, and so forth), some broad sense of modern literary history, and a willingness to think about the intimate connections between these works and the historical contexts in which they unfold. At the same time, this is not a history course; hence, I will not assume that you have any familiarity with the various historical issues we will also be discussing.If you have any questions about whether this course is right for you, or want suggestions on how you might brush up on some of the basics, please come and speak with me soon.
2)Three typewritten papers of varying lengths, all double-spaced, with one-inch margins, a reasonable 12-point or smaller font, and a consistent bibliographic format.A successful paper will fulfill all of the previous formal requirements, and demonstrate three things: your grasp of the concrete particulars of the reading material; your understanding and familiarity with our class discussion; and your ability to describe the relationship between these works and the various historical and cultural issues outlined in class.Approximately two weeks before each paper is due, I will provide you with a series of questions that will help focus your discussion, and you will be required to develop each of your papers in response to them.
I will from time to time also make available to you additional related readings that address the larger issues we will be discussing in class, or provide other background information.You are welcome to use these in developing your paper discussion.However, you must provide a bibliography of any additional readings.Moreover, you need to come and talk to me in advance about the use of any other materials in completing your papers: these include other criticism, study guides, books, articles, internet resources, and so forth. Also, please review the note on academic honesty found below.
Papers are due on the dates noted; late papers will receive lowered grades unless other arrangements have been made in advance with me.
3)Readings should be completed before the first class meeting in which they are to be discussed.The length and difficulty of each reading varies, and to keep on pace you must be reading continuously throughout the semester: in short, this means as the semester progresses you will be reading well ahead of our discussions.
Moreover, I do expect lively participation on everyone's part in the discussion of these works.Depending on your activities in class, occasional short quizzes or other brief writing assignments may occur from time to time as well.
4)I will also ask each of you to turn in every week a brief reading log, wherein you will track your progress in the course readings.There are two primary things I will ask you to do in these logs.First, you will offer a brief summary of the action in the novel or story thus far.What is the plot in each of the chapters?What happens and to whom?Who are the characters, what are they doing, and how are they presented to us?Secondly, I will ask you briefly to share your thoughts on the specific representation of the aliens in each work.I don1t want you to evaluate the representation ("this is stupid" or "this isn1t realistic" are not acceptable), but instead note some of the work1s major concerns and themes.Why does the author present the alien in the way they do?What does the representation say about the society and culture--its hopes and fears--in which the author is writing?In what ways has the representation of the alien changed from that evident in some of our earlier readings?What other favorite alien stories does this bring to mind and why?
5)As everything above should suggest, attendance and participation in class discussion are an indispensable part of the work we are going to do here.To this end, you will sign a class attendance roster circulated at the beginning of each meeting.You will be allowed three unexcused absences, totaling no more than four class hours, throughout the semester.Any additional non-emergency, non-medical absence not cleared in advance by me will result in a lowering of the final course grade.To state the matter simply and directly, if you miss an excessive number of classes, you will have been considered not to have completed the requirements of the course, and hence will not receive a passing grade.Moreover, regular late arrivals (or early departures) will be counted as absences.
6)The alien encounter story also has been one of the most popular and enduring film genres: one of the earliest films, Georges Méliès'Le voyage dans la lune (1902), is an alien encounter story; a number of the works we are reading this semester have been adapted into films (The War of the Worlds, Solaris (twice), "Black Destroyer"); and these stories have of course spawned countless filmic imitators.Given the richness of the film archive of the alien encounter story, we will view together a handful of these films.These will be informal meetings scheduled in the evening throughout the semester.Attendance will not be required, but if you do attend, you will be able to use these films as part of your paper discussion.
7)No final or midterm examinations.
8)Grades will be based on the conscientious completion of all of the above requirements, with about 70 percent of the grade resting in the three papers.However, failure to fulfill any of the above requirements--including attendance or reading logs--will impact directly on your final grade.If you have any concerns or questions about your work for this class, please come and speak with me.
9)Finally, communication is crucial to everything we are going to do in the next four months.Thus, if you are unsure about any of the course requirements, or run into any kind of difficulty, academic or otherwise, as the semester progresses, please come and speak with me as soon as you can.I will try to be as accommodating as possible, but I cannot help you if you do not let me know what is going on.Also if you have any general questions, or just feel like continuing the discussion begun in class, I encourage you to drop by during my scheduled office hours, or to make an appointment to see me.
A Brief Note on Academic Honesty
Plagiarism in any form?including but not limited to
directly quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing from external sources without
proper citations, as well as presenting as your own work papers written
by someone else (for example a paper written by a friend; a purchased or
retyped paper; or one taken from a file, electronic or otherwise)?is a
direct violation of the university Academic Honesty Code.You
are required to review this code and the Academic Honesty Guidelines, especially
the discussion of plagiarism, found in the Undergraduate Catalogue.Plagiarism
or any other form of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic failure
of the assignment, a mandatory rewriting of the assignment, and a lowering
by two letter grades of your final course grade (a B would become
a D); a second attempt will result in an automatic failure of the course
and a filing of a report in your academic file.If
you have any questions, or even the slightest
doubt, about what constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonesty, I beseech
you to come and speak with me before you
turn in the paper.
Tentative Schedule
Capek , War With the Newts (1936): Alien as Allegory and Satire
Paper #1 Due: September 25
Leinster, "First Contact" (1945): The Alien in Wars, Hot and Cold
Dick, "Faith of Our Fathers" (1967): Just because you1re paranoid. . .
Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969):Gender, Sexuality, and Friendship
Paper #2 Due October
30
Haldeman, Forever War (1974):War, Disorientation, and a New Global Order
Card, Ender1s Game (1985): Friends, Enemies, and the Face
NO CLASS November 27
(Thanksgiving)
Final Paper Due:
December 9