Essay #4 revision

Four your final essay, due finals week via email only, you are required to do an extensive re-write of essay 1. You will be expected to incorporate at least two more outside sources than your original ones and to make revisions to every single paragraph in the essay. Add in detail where it is lacking, correct grammar, strengthen your arguments, and re-work organization. You are required to re-write your thesis, making it clearer and stronger, unless I wrote that it was perfect on your first draft. If you would like to significantly alter your thesis and paper (shifting topics, for example), this is fine too, although it is not required. 

Your re-write should be 1-2 pages longer than your initial draft as well, bringing your final page count to 6-7 pages (or longer). 

Please utilize the notes I have made you for essay 1, on both your rough and final drafts. You can also visit me during office hours to discuss your work, should you need additional input.

Your paper will be reviewed alongside your initial paper, and if the changes made are not substantial, you will not receive a passing score. Should you have already gotten a high score on your paper initially, I recommend expanding your thesis and lengthening your paper, as well as adding in more research. 

Due: noon on friday 5/8, email only, .doc or .docx format only

Extra credit option

Hi guys,

I am reading tomorrow at 1:30 at the Shamnon Center, and on a panel at 3:00.

You are invited to both. If you want to come and do a little write up of the event, you can get extra credit (and no, I can't offer credit if you just aren't free then).

Hope to see you there. I will have a very exciting jacket on.

Office Hours

If you want to meet with me for office hours, please simply email me to make an appt.

Presentation Schedule

Presentation Schedule

*Please note that your presentation materials (paper plus creative component) are due on the day on which you present.
*If you want to switch dates with another person, you may, but you need to both email me for approval at least three days before the start of the presentation week.

4/22

Amanda E.
Miranda
William
Da
Rudy
Elizabeth
Alison


4/27

Ayla
Sarah
Mark
Amanda R.
Laura
Collin


4/29

Samantha
Aubrey
Byanca
Emily
Raymond
Kaitlin

Hi guys,

I just updated the course schedule. Let me know if you have questions.

Revision Option for Hunger Games Essay

If you would like to revise your in-class essay, you may do so. It will not replace your original score, but it can bring that score up one full letter grade.

Please revise according to the notes I made on your paper. Submit the revised version via email only no later than our last regular class meeting (please note that we do not meet during finals week).

Please also note that I will NOT be sending comments on these revision papers, only scores. You can ask questions about them, though, if you have them, after you receive your scores.

Additionally, I will not be grading them until after finals week, no matter when you send them, due to time constraints.

This is a great option for those of you who would like to bring your grade up!

Assignment #3 and Presentations

Science fiction is any idea that occurs in the head and doesn't exist yet, but soon will, and will change everything for everybody, and nothing will ever be the same again. As soon as you have an idea that changes some small part of the world you are writing science fiction. It is always the art of the possible, never the impossible. -Ray Bradbury

Look into the future 200 years. What do you see? What kind of world are we living in? Are we even living on planet Earth, or have we moved into outer space? Have we developed AI? Has disease been eradicated, or has there been even more disease as a result of pollution and warfare? What is the world like? What kind of beings have we become?

Create a sci-fi future "snapshot" to present to the class, based on what is going on in the world today. In other words, take actual events and scenarios from our current world, and project them into the future. You can use Black Mirror and The Hunger Games as a sort of guide, or think of what Octavia Butler did in Kindred with the past. 

Your snapshot can come in the form of a skit, a video, a short story, a posterboard, or an other (approved by me) form. You will have 8 minutes to present it to the class, and do plan to use the full 8 minutes (but no more).

In addition to presenting your future snapshot to the class, please write a 4 page essay detailing the events/situations in our world today that led you create your snapshot. Your snapshot should not be based on simply wish fulfillment, but you should have news articles and other resources bolstering your projection. Be prepared to share these with the class. For example, you could use current news articles on the melting of the polar ice caps to project a future where there are no polar ice caps at all. However, just because you are using real life events from today to project into the future, does not mean that you cannot get creative and cannot be hopeful about the future. It's up to you if you want to create a dystopian or a positive snapshot (or some mixture thereof). There are all kinds of things happening in the world today, large and small, that will make our future: don't be afraid to look in unusual places for inspiration.

Rough Draft Workshop

ROUGH DRAFT WORKSHOP GUIDELINES

DIRECTIONS:

Please take time and care in responding, using complete sentences. Make sure to write about 3-5 sentences in response to each section; you should be addressing all questions within a given section with specific answers. “The thesis answers the prompt,” or “The essay looks organized to me,” are NOT specific answers—for example, if the essay is that organized, then you should be able to tell me what specifically is so organized about it. Use concrete examples. 

And remember--your tips and advice are significantly more beneficial to your classmate than giving them the thumbs up. So please, don't be afraid to be constructively critical.

Questions:

1) Does the writer have a strong hook for the introduction? If not, suggest one. Does the writer introduce their topic clearly and succinctly, providing the necessary historical, cultural, and plot background information? Give one or two suggestions for improvement in this area (do not skip).

2) Does the essay’s thesis seem to be undeveloped or too broad, or is it just specific enough to argue in an 4-6 page paper?  Many any necessary suggestions for clarification and more specificity as well (do not skip). Lastly, please remember that the thesis needs to address the prompt.

3) Please note any places in the essay where further clarifying details could be added. This is something everyone in the class needs to work on. Is the writer clear about what they are analyzing? Do they discuss certain scenes in the novel in detail? Who are the characters involved, how are they defined, etc? Make sure historical context information is also provided.

4) Is the writer incorporating research from two extra scholarly sources into the essay (not .com sources or dictionary/encyclopedia sources)? Do the sources seem to be strong and ON TOPIC? Why or why not.

5) Does the writer have plenty of quotes from the novel and their outside sources in the essay? They should! Are those quotes strong quotes? Which quote is the strongest and which is the weakest? Suggest an ordering for the quotes that would help the writer work from their strongest point to their weakest (keeping in mind the importance of chronology/topic organization as well)—do not skip! Are the quotes smoothly integrated into the essay and not plopped? 

6) Does the writer have sufficient analysis for their quotations? Remember, analysis is even more important than the quote itself. Make sure the writer is not simply explaining the quote in a summarizing fashion, but connecting it to its larger significance (relationship to their thesis). Make suggestions for improvement below, and be specific.

7) Is the essay organized? Do the body paragraphs seem to build logically upon one another? Give at least one suggestion for improving the organization of the essay. Starting at the beginning of the scene and then going forward from there is a good idea.

Essay One Prompt

Essay One Prompt

In a 4-5 page essay, please answer the following:

In the novel Kindred, Octavia Butler demonstrates the ways in which Dana is connected to her ancestry and the past, in particular, to the time of slavery in the antebellum south. Analyze the ways in which Butler demonstrates throughout the novel how the past and the present are inextricably tied together, and in particular, how slavery still affects us in the USA today. Please don't use simple answers, as this is not a simple novel.

If you like, you may also discuss how your own ancestry affects you in the present. This is not required, but it's something you may tie in if you feel it is relevant. For this portion of the essay, you may use the first person pronoun (for the rest, please stick to the remote third-person pronoun of academic essays).

Please use proper MLA formatting. You are required to use at least two library-based, critical, scholarly sources (on Kindred, on the antebellum south, on racial tensions in the world we live in today, etc) in addition to the novel itself in your paper. Make sure these are cited properly. I recommend using articles you've found through the library's databases, although books are also welcome. Again, these must be found through the Wardman library.

You are required to provide plenty of examples from the novel itself in your essay, to demonstrate your points. Make sure to cite these as well.

Your rough draft is due next Monday. It needs to be at least three pages. Please bring one copy, typed and double-spaced, to class for workshop.

Good luck!

Optional Additional Reading and E.C. Assignment

If you like, you may read the following article and write a one page response to the following question:

How can science fiction inform actual science? How is the heart of science fiction and the heart of science one and the same?

Use examples from the article to prove your points, but you may also bring in other references of your own.

http://higherperspective.com/2015/01/consciousness-death.html#sQpqtmeO9xKmWcZD.99

DUE: Monday, Feb. 9 by noon

Course Schedule

Course Schedule 
*All reading is due on the date on which it is listed. Schedule subject to change with notice. You are always encouraged to read ahead. 

Week One 

M 2/2 Course Introductions

W 2/4 read to end of Ch 5 in "The Fall" in Kindred

Week Two

M 2/9 Essay #1 introduction; read up to end of "The Fight" in Kindred

W 2/11finish Kindred; work on Essay One

Week Three

M 2/16 Essay One Rough Draft Workshop

W 2/18 Black Mirror viewing; read through end of Chap 6 in Hunger Games

Week Four

M 2/23 Essay One Due; read through end of Chap 13 in Hunger Games

W 2/25 read through end of Chap 20 in Hunger Games

Week Five

M 3/2 finish Hunger Games; prep for in class-essay

W 3/4 Essay Two in Class

Week Six

M 3/9 read through Chap 7 in I Am Legend

W 3/11 read through chap 14 in I Am Legend

Week Seven

M 3/16 Spring Break *finish I Am Legend

W 3/18 Spring Break

Week Eight

M 3/23 read through 72 in I, Robot

W 3/25 read through 143 in I, Robot

Week Nine

M 3/30 finish I, Robot

W 4/1discuss I, Robot

Week Ten

M 4/6 read to end of Chap 3 in Under the Skin; Introduce Presentations

W 4/8 read through end of Chap 6 in Under the Skin

Week Eleven

M 4/13 read through end of Chap 10 in Under the Skin

W 4/15 watch Alien; finish Under the Skin

Week Twelve

M 4/20 finish Alien; Introduce Final Paper Assignment

W 4/22 Presentations

Week Thirteen

M 4/27 Presentations

W 4/29 Presentations

Week Fourteen

M 5/4 Party; EVALS

Monday HW

Read through the end of "The Fight" section in Kindred for Monday

Wednesday HW

For Wednesday please read through the end of Chap 5 in "The Fall" section of Kindred

Course Syllabus

Professor Kate Durbin
Spring 2015
Classroom: HV 4B
12:00--1:20; 1:30--2:20
Office Hours: MW by appointment
E-mail: katedurbinteacher@gmail.com (NOT MY WHITTIER)
Class Blog: www.scifiwhyread.blogspot.com

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph (possibly) of an alien being

Required Texts: 
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Under the Skin by Michael Faber
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
* 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. Please note that I Am Legend is not available in the WC bookstore, so you will need to purchase online or at another bookseller.

Again, please note: no excuses are ever accepted for not doing your reading (barring extreme professionally documented illness) or for not having your books in class.

Course Description:

“People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.” 
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wave in the Mind: Talks & Essays on the Writer, the Reader & the Imagination

“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

“As you read a book word by word and page by page, you participate in its creation, just as a cellist playing a Bach suite participates, note by note, in the creation, the coming-to-be, the existence, of the music. And, as you read and re-read, the book of course participates in the creation of you, your thoughts and feelings, the size and temper of your soul.” 
― 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 

Cyborgs, aliens, and mutants—oh my! These fringe phenomenon have existed in humankind's mythos all the way back to ancient times. What can we learn about our own human condition by studying the parallel worlds and bodies of science fiction’s greatest contemporary literary works? A lot! In this class we will examine race and gender dynamics, environmental issues, global politics, and questions of technology, genetics, and ethics via the novels of Octavia Butler, Suzanne Collins, Richard Matheson, and others, as well as the film 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien, the Netflix series Black Mirror, and more. We will ground each text in the social and 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!

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 papers, one paper revision, and do one solo presentation (which also contains a paper element). The papers will be approx. 4-5 pages in length, and you will receive separate instructions for all of them. One will be an in-class essay. You will also have short exercises and 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.

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 three absences will result in a lower grade; more than six will result in a failing grade. 

Any absences at all 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. 

Technology and Classroom Behavior Etiquette:

No laptops or iPads unless I approve them for notetaking (ask first). I don’t want to see your phones out—if I do, I will take them away, no exceptions. If it seems you are not paying attention or you are talking while I am talking, you may be asked to leave the classroom and take an absence for the day. If you show up without having done your reading or work, you may also receive an absence for the day.

Class is only 50-80 minutes long, so you should have no reason to get up and leave the room unless it’s an absolute emergency. That also means that you should not have more than one or two emergencies in an entire semester, as emergencies by their very nature are rare. 

Please use the facilities before class—it’s your job to be in class on time as you would for a job. Please note that arriving right on time, setting your things on the table or desk and then leaving to use the restroom or get a drink of water does not mean that you are on time to class. Being on time means being in your seat, ready and prepared to go, right when class begins.

Abiding by these policies will allow us a pleasant, productive class session. Thank you for your cooperation!

Class Blog:

I will communicate with you regularly via this class blog, so check it for updates hereevery day. You can sign up to subscribe to the blog to get automatic updates if you like. 

I will also post any updates to the Course Schedule here. You don’t need to print the syllabus out, unless you want to.

Papers and Workshop Etiquette:

All papers will be submitted electronically, 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, I will not accept your late paper. No exceptions. 

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 note as well that if you are more than five minutes late to class on a workshop day, you will be asked to leave and take an absence for the day. Pairs will have already been formed at that point, and I will not interrupt others to accommodate your lateness.

Email and Facebook:

I do not check the Whittier email address EVER so please contact me via katedurbinteacher@gmail.com. I do check this email address several times a day, and will get back to you asap.  I recommend this over any other means of contacting me.

Grade Breakdown:

Paper 1: 20%
Paper 2: (in-class) 15%
Paper Revision: 20%
Solo Presentation & Paper: 30%
Attendance, participation, reading and brief assignments: 25%*

*Please note that because reading, attendance and participation are worth 25% of your grade, it is next to impossible to pass this course without regularly reading, attending, and sharing your thoughts.

Students with Disabilities:

Students desiring accommodations on the basis of physical, learning or psychological disability for this class are to contact Disability Services. Disability Services is located in the Library building, first floor, room G003 and can be reached by calling extension 4825.