Syllabus

WHY READ SCIENCE FICTION?
Kate Durbin
Spring 2019
Required Texts: 
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Island of Dr. Moreau by HG Wells
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Selected short stories on blog
*Please order or purchase your books all at once, at the very beginning of the semester. Bring the respective book we are reading to class every session that reading is due, even if you think we might not use them in the session. As for the short stories, I will provide links to these on the Course Blog, so you don't have to purchase them.
COURSE OVERVIEW
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin
"I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining."
--Octavia Butler
Dystopias and totalitarian regimes, aliens, and the singularity: what can we learn by studying the parallel worlds and bodies of science fiction’s greatest literary works? In this class we will examine race and gender, climate change, politics and governments, and questions of technology, genetics, and ethics via the novels of Octavia Butler, Suzanne Collins,  and others, as well as the Netflix series Black Mirror, and more. We will ground each text in the socio-political contexts from which they came, examining each dystopian world as a telling mirror of our own fears and hopes for our past, present, and future.
This class will serve as an introduction to the aesthetics and critical reading of science fiction. The primary goal of this course is to help you become a better reader of literature, with an enhanced ability to analyze, discuss, and write about literary texts. By the end of the course, you will have garnered new skills and intensified old ones to help you appreciate the joy and complexity of literature, and the gifts only it can offer you. You also might become a little more "alien"—in a good way.
One project that you will take on in this course is a speculative project of your own--one wherein you get to create science fiction, as well as consider how our present actions might impact the world 100 in the future. This project has both a practical and a critical-creative purpose. Our world is currently experiencing much upheaval, and it is up to us to develop the tools to navigate it, and to open our imaginations to the world that we want to bring into being for those who come after us.

An additional question this course will seek to answer is: why read? What unique gifts does literature offer us, that other art forms do not? 
This course satisfies the Liberal Education requirement COM 2. INTD 100 is a pre-requisite. It is assumed that you have a basic working knowledge of grammar, paper formatting, and MLA style.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
For this class you will write two traditional papers, do one larger project (which also contains a paper element), and revise one of your earlier papers. The papers will be approx. 5 pages in length, and you will receive separate instructions for all of them. You will also have short exercises and reading quizzes throughout the semester.
All papers must be typed and carefully proofread. Papers should always have a title and a Works Cited page. If you have grammatical or stylistic questions consult reference guides such as A Writer’s Reference or the OWL @ Purdue website. If you are using a computer lab, always be sure to give yourself extra time, and to save your material frequently.
Plagiarism—claiming ownership of ideas and language that are not your own—is simply unacceptable.  Plagiarized papers will result in a failing grade for the course, and a report will be submitted to the office of Student Life.
“REPORT FROM THE FUTURE” PROJECT
Students will create a speculative project with a creative component and a critical component. This project envisions a future for the United States (or another country the student knows well), based on current events, technological advancements, politics, and other thought experiments.  The critical part of the project will examine how the ideas learned in class have been applied to the student's projection. More details on this assignment will be covered in class.
COURSE CIVILITY
In order that we all stay focused, have fun, and learn a lot, there are some course expectations that we all need to abide by. We will show courtesy to those who disagree with us, we will encounter difficult ideas with curiosity and openness, and we will eliminate distractions in the form of cell phones.
It's also vital that you show up having done your work, so that our work together is productive and meaningful.
PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE
There will be moments when I will lecture. Aside from these times, class should operate like a seminar. This means that it is imperative that you read the material--on time--and are prepared to verbally discuss this material in class. Again, you should always have your book with you.
Always be prepared, and always come to class on time. Two tardies count as an absence. More than two absences may result in a lower grade; more than four may result in a failing grade.
More than two absences can only mar your performance in the class. Inform me in advance regarding serious operations or other significant reasons for being excused, and please note that without any exception they will only be excused with written verifiable proof.
Please note that I allow two unexcused absences (so, absences without proof), free and clear, for you to use during the semester, at your discretion. You should not use these on workshop days, as you will miss valuable insights, but you may wish to use them when you, for example, get a cold or have a family emergency. Use them wisely, as once they are gone, they are gone. 
If you are an athlete, or you are going to be absent for any reason, it is your responsibility to check in with a classmate to find out what you missed, and to plan accordingly to be prepared for the subsequent class session. If you have questions about an assignment after talking with your classmate, you can of course ask me via email to clarify, but please do not ask me to catch you up on what you missed. This responsibility falls squarely on your shoulders--to keep track of what is going on in the classroom as you would at a job where you were gone for the day.

Last but not least, please note that for any absences, I do not allow makeups of in-class work. Instead, I allow you to miss a couple of reading quizzes per semester and have it not harm your grade. 
BLOG AND EMAIL
I will communicate with you regularly via email on Moodle, so check it for updates.

I respond to emails within 24 hours on weekdays; 48 hours on weekends. 
I will also post any updates to the Course Schedule here. You don’t need to print the syllabus out, unless you want to. Please note that I will at times update and change the reading schedule and other assignments; I will do my best to shift things around with at least a day--if not more--advance notice.
PAPERS AND WORKSHOP
As this is a writing-intensive course, we will do some workshops in order to help you with your writing skills. All papers will be submitted electronically, via Moodle, at the very beginning of class. For every half hour your paper is late, your grade is lowered one whole letter score. Do not turn in late papers. If you are going to be absent for some reason on the day your paper is due, please turn it in early.
If a true emergency occurs that prevents you from turning in your work, please note that I will only accept your late paper provided that both of the following conditions are met:
1) You have physical proof that I can verify of your emergency (accident reports from the police, doctor's notes, etc.).
2) You tell me immediately via email what is going on, on the day the paper is due.
If either of these conditions is incomplete, out of fairness to your peers who got their work in on time, I will not be able accept your late paper. Thank you for your commitment to academic fairness in abiding by this policy.
You will turn in hard copies of your rough drafts for workshop. You may NOT bring your laptops instead of hard copies for workshop. If you fail to bring in hard copies of your papers for workshop, you will be asked to leave and take an absence for the day. Please be on time on Workshop Day, so that I do not have to interrupt any pairs that have already been formed by the time you arrive.
GRADE BREAKDOWN
Paper 1: 20%
Paper 2: 20 %
Future Project (includes 1  Paper, and one Creative Component): 30%
Attendance, participation, reading and brief assignments: 15%*

Revision Paper (due finals week): 15%
*Please note that because reading, attendance and participation are worth 15% of your grade, it is next to impossible to pass this course without regularly reading, attending, and sharing your thoughts.

Title IX
Whittier College is dedicated to providing a safe and equitable learning environment for all students. Sexual misconduct, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence and domestic violence, is prohibited by the College. You are encouraged to report any incidents to the Title IX Coordinator, Cynthia Joseph, at 562-907-4830 or cjoseph@whittier.edu. For more information about reporting and prohibited conduct, please see the Sexual Misconduct Policy at www.whittier.edu/smap.

Disabilities Services
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Disability Services.  Student Disability Services is located on the ground floor of the Library building and can be reached by calling (562) 907-4825.

Academic Honesty Statement and Policy
Please review the Whittier College Academic Honesty web page for the most recent college policy on academic honesty at http://www.whittier.edu/academics/academichonesty.

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