Plan for the Day
- Introduction
- Syllabus
- Canvas
- Why Science Fiction?
- American Culture
Introduction
Obviously, this is an online course, so we’ll be using the Internet to interact. I’ll get into Canvas in a second, but I want you to understand how to navigate this class website. The previous page–the Daily Class Lessons Page–has links to all the notes for the readings, TV shows, Films, etc. that I assign. Although we don’t really need to have a course calendar for readings, I’ve kept with the face-to-face model to provide a better structure. In order to make this more manageable, I’ve broken up the material as if we we’re meeting Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It just seemed easier to keep that format. Feel free to work ahead. Just make sure you post the appropriate responses for the appropriate day.
Because this is a Writing Intensive course (W), you’ll need to do an appropriate amount of writing. According to UNC Charlotte’s “Best Practices,” that means 15-20 pages of polished worked that accounts for 50% of your grade. It’s hard to do that much polished writing in a summer course, so we’ll aim for 11-13 pages (total) of polished writing that’s 50% of your grade.
You will also reflect on Canvas prompts every Tuesday and Thursday. You’ll have until Friday to post, but I recommend doing them when they’re assigned. In fact, now would be a good time to set a recurring calendar reminder for the next 5 weeks, so you won’t forget to do these.
Stay on top of the reading and reflection, and you’ll have no trouble doing well in this course. It’s easy to get behind in a summer course; it’s harder to correct that once you’re behind.
Syllabus
Here’s the syllabus for Science Fiction in American Culture, which is also on the previous page and Canvas. Pay particular attention to the calendar section for important dates. I’ll have short story readings on Canvas, and the required books are below:
- Asimov, Isaac. I, Robot. {Any Edition}
- Gibson, William. Burning Chrome. {This is a collection of short stories}
Additionally, I’ve assigned several TV Shows, a few films, and even video game sequences. I did my best to find easily accessible ones on Hulu, Netflix, etc. You might have to rent a film for a few dollars if you don’t have access to a premium site, but renting shouldn’t cost more than $10. I’ve done my best to keep the course material costs low. I’ve indicated in the syllabus where you can find certain material, but things do change. A quick Google search should land you at the right place.
Canvas
Canvas houses the short stories not in William Gibson’s Burning Chrome. I’m only assigning three stories from Gibson’s collection, but I encourage you to read more. The “Discussion” section on Canvas will have prompts, based on the readings and other media, you’ll reflect on. You’ll have two 250-word reflections to do every week.
You’ll also turn in your Essays–Drafts and Finals–on Canvas. Please submit them in either Microsoft Word or as a PDF. Remember to include a brief outline with your drafts. Trust me; outlines are good for direction. More on that in the Assignments guidelines found on Canvas and the previous page. Also, if you don’t have MS Word, you can use Google Docs to “Download” your essay in Word (.docx) or PDF formats:
Why Science Fiction?
Why not? I hope to answer this directly and indirectly over the course of this summer term. This is a fun, exciting genre, but it’s worthy of study. Science fiction is a world literature genre, but we’ll be focusing on the American cultural aspects of that.
If you’re interested in a discussion on why I incorporate science fiction into many of my courses–not just ones specifically on science fiction like this one–check out Why Science Fiction?
American Culture
I have other course pages devoted to this listed below, so check them out for more information. Don’t worry about getting this all at once; we’ll be exploring American culture all term, and you’ll be arguing for (or against) what seem to be essential American qualities in your writing.
Places to review the think more about American culture:
Future Stuff
Keep up with the syllabus. Go onto May 19th’s page when ever you like. The readings scheduled for tomorrow won’t be the basis of your reflection, but they help define the context of American culture.