2019 Why Read Sci Fi

DIRECTIONS: Work on one person's paper at a time. Please answer in complete sentences and take time and care in responding, as you will be graded on your answers. You do not need to write down the questions. You should address all questions within a given section. Give the notes to the Paper Author when finished. They will hand it in to me next week at the beginning of class on the day your final paper is due, and you will both get credit for the assignment. 1)  Is the essay's thesis clear? Point out any areas where it could be clearer. Is it arguable? Is it well-qualified (specific)? Even if the thesis seems to be specific enough, suggest a way for the writer to make it even more specific and narrow (i.e. do they list the topics they plan to discuss in the body paragraphs?). Also note any awkward grammar or unclear word choice. (Note: the thesis should not just be a list of topics with no indication of why they matter and what ties them together). 1.5) ...

This upcoming Tuesday, please bring the following with you: 1) Make sure you have a physical copy of The Hunger Games with you. You should do this every class (have a physical copy of the book we are discussing that day with you). You will be quizzed on the portion you were required to read for class, and that quiz will require enough close reading that those of you who have read the book in the past must have re-read it for the class. (In other words, this quiz will be even more specific than many of our quizzes). This is a courtesy warning. 2) Briefly research one American reality TV show, and be prepared to talk about: -How it reflects something specific about American cultural values. What does it teach us about our culture? -How it intersects with The Hunger Games. Suzanne Collins is critiquing reality TV culture in the book. Give a specific example of a moment in the book (have a quotation/page number ready) where you can see a parallel between the show and the book. Wha...

Describe/create a dystopian OR utopian future for the United States of America, centered around the banning of one important thing. Just as books are banned in F451, something vital to our society will be banned in your dystopia or utopia. Make an argument for how banning that one particular thing restructures society and shows what they value. Additionally, please make sure what you ban is something that is central enough to our existence that removing it will reshape society significantly. Banning beanie babies might not do that, but banning electricity probably would. Describe how people's lives have changed and how society has changed in big and small ways as a result of the ban. Why was the ban enacted in the first place? Be as specific with all of this as possible. Write 1 page total. Banning of books = value superficial happiness, mind control, avoidance of discord and critical thinking

Please write down your answers for these, providing specific examples from the novel in your response. 1) Why do the firemen burn books in the novel? What effect does this have on society? Why is it seen as a good thing? p.56 2) What forms of our technology do the wall families resemble? What is the effect on the people of the Farenheit world, interacting with the wall families all day? Do we have any similar effects in our society, due to the types of technological, social media, and mass media interactions we experience in our daily lives? How have TV, email, and social media changed the way we interact with one another? 3) What role does conformity play in the society of the novel? 4) What parallels can you see between this world and the world of Nosedive? What about Stepford?

1) How does the rating system at the heart of the episode work to organize society?  2) What values, behaviors, and beliefs does the system promote? 3) What values, beliefs, and behaviors does the system actively or passively punish or discourage? What are the consequences for those who behave outside the norm? 4) How is the rating system a form of currency in this society? Do they also use "real money"? How are the two related? 5) What parallels do you see between this system and current forms of social media in our world? What about other forms of surveillance or social control in our society? 6) How does the pastel aesthetic complement the themes of the episode? 7) What utopian elements does the society possess? What dystopian elements? 8) The episode seems to encourage a kind of freedom or escape from the system as a solution to it. Is freedom or escape really possible in this society? What would be the consequences of a life lived bucking the system? 

A utopia is a fictive ideal society based around notions of equality, social harmony, economic prosperity, and political stability.  The word came from novel by Thomas More about a completely planned community based upon controlling individual impulses that could be destructive to the public good. In a utopia there is no private property, and everyone wears the same clothes, so there’s no envy of wealth or social status, no poverty, hunger, violence, no bars or hiding places.  There is always a concept of slave labor in a utopia. The word comes from two Greek words that mean "no place." When pronounced in Latin it means "good place."  A utopia is an ideal place we can create, that does not yet exist.  Utopias often include the following elements: • Information, independent thought, and freedom are promoted (at least in theory.) There is still a level of conformity however (such as everyone wearing the same clothing). • A figurehead or...