SYLLABUS FOR HN 368:
SCIENCE IN
SCIENCE FICTION
ITS USE AND ABUSE
Day/Time: TR 9:30 Place: Scott Shipp 106
Profs.: Stacey Vargas, Physics (Mallory 266), Alan Baragona, English (SS 224;
Preston 201B)
Office Hours: Vargas—MWF 1:00-2:00
Baragona—MW 11:00-12:00 (in SS); MW 1:00-2:00 (in
Preston)
TEXTBOOKS:
Edwin Abbot
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Flatland
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New American Library
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Johannes Kepler
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Somnium, or the Astronomy of the
Moon
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On Reserve
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Cyrano de Bergerac
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Voyage to the Moon
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On Reserve
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Jules Verne
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From the Earth to the Moon
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Bantam
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H.G. Wells
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The Time Machine
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Online
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Fred Hoyle
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The Black Cloud
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Lightyear Press
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Carl Sagan
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Contact
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Pocket Books
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Michael Crichton
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Timeline
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Ballantine
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
What can properly be called "science
fiction" (as opposed to fantasy) has existed since the beginning of the
Age of Science. Scientists have used
fiction to explain and explore their science, and professional writers have
used science to extend the limits of fiction.
But like fraternal twins, science and science fiction often reflect each
other imperfectly. This course will
examine the sometimes uneasy relationship between the two. It will investigate several perennial
questions about the genre. How good is
the science in any given work of sci-fi, given the scientific knowledge of the
author's time? Can sci-fi writers ever
really anticipate the science of the future?
Is there a relationship between the quality of the science and the
quality of the narrative, or must one be sacrificed for the other? Is there a difference between the work of a
sci-fi writer and of a scientist writing sci-fi? The course will span the entire Age of Science, from the 17th
century to the present, including work by Kepler, Verne, Wells, Sagan, and
Crichton. Students will study the
history of science by learning what the authors could have known and will
explore the nature of narrative and the similarities and differences between
scientific and fictive discourse.
REQUIREMENTS:
Leading Class Discussion:
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5%
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Reading Quizzes:
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10%
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Midterm Exam:
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15%
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Research Project:
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Paper—30%
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Presentation—10%
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Final Exam:
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30%
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POLICIES:
Other than unannounced quizzes, all required work for the course must be submitted in order for students to get a passing grade. Late work will not be accepted unless students arrange it with the professors well in advance. Professors reserve the right not to accept late work.
EXPLANATIONS:
Leading Class Discussion: Once during the
semester, each student will be part of a small group of two or three assigned
to lead the class discussion on the reading for the day. Assignments will be made early in the course. General class participation throughout the
semester will be a factor in the final grade, as well, especially for
borderline grades.
Reading Quizzes: Students will be given
standard reading quizzes on the content of the reading on any given
day.
Midterm Exam: The midterm exam will
consist of both objective questions and a short essay, covering both the
reading and lectures on the history of science and literature.
Research Project: Every student will be
required to read a work of science fiction not on the syllabus, write a
research paper, and give a class presentation on the research of approximately
10 minutes. See the Project Description
at the end of the syllabus.
Final Exam: The final exam will follow the
same model as the midterm and will be comprehensive.
COURSE HOME PAGE:
There is a web site for HN 368 at http://www.vmi.edu/gen_ed/Sci&SciFi.html.
The main home page includes bibliographies
and other research resources that students can use when they are working on
their research project and are preparing to lead class discussion on a
work. There is also a copy of this
syllabus. Any changes to the syllabus
made during the semester will be posted to the web site. It is the students’ responsibility to keep
up with the daily reading requirements and to be aware of what is on the
syllabus at all times.
Reading Schedule
Unless otherwise indicated, read the
entire work for the first day of discussion.
T 1/16 Introduction to the course: requirements, issues
R 1/18 Flatland, Introduction, Preface and Part I (pp. 7-96)
T 1/23 Flatland, Part II (pp. 99-160)
R 1/25 Intro. to 17th-century literature and science
T 1/30 Kepler’s Dream (on reserve)
R 2/1 Cyrano’s Voyage to the Moon (on reserve)
T 2/6 Kepler and Cyrano, cont’d.
R 2/8 Intro to 18th-century science and literature
T 2/13 Discuss handouts of 18th-century material (Defoe, Mercier, etc.)
R 2/15 Intro to 19th-century science and literature
T 2/20 Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon
R 2/22 Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon cont’d.
T 2/27 Midterm exam
R 3/1 Introduction to 20th-century science
T 3/6 Introduction to 20th-century literature
R 3/8 Wells’s Time Machine (online)
T 3/20 Hoyle’s The Black Cloud
R 3/22 Hoyle’s The Black Cloud, cont’d.
T 3/27 Sagan’s Contact, pp. 1- 210
R 3/29 No class for Jonathan Daniels ceremonies
T 4/3 Sagan’s Contact, pp. 211-end
R 4/5 Science at the end of the 20th century
T 4/10 SPRING FTX
R 4/12 Crichton’s Timeline, pp. ix-252
T 4/17 Crichton’s Timeline, pp. 252-491
R 4/19 Student presentations
T 4/24 Student presentations
R 4/26 Student presentations
T 5/1 Student presentations
R 5/3 Last class
RESEARCH PROJECT
Each student will read a science fiction book (novel or short story collection) outside the course reading list, research the biography of the writer and the scientific and literary context of the work, and write an 8-10 page paper that analyzes the book’s quality in terms of both science and literature. Students can choose from the list below or can pick a different work as long as they clear it in advance with both Profs. Baragona and Vargas. Some of the works listed here are out of print, but they are all available either in the VMI or W&L libraries, by interlibrary loan or online. Some online e-text sites are The University of Virginia Electronic Text Center at http://etext.lib.virginia.edu (we highly recommend that you download the free Microsoft Reader software and use the e-text format so that you can make notes in the text; otherwise, save the text to disk and call it up in Word or WordPerfect so that you can make notes in it as you read), Project Gutenberg at http://promo.net/pg/, and Bartleby.com at http://www.bartleby.net/.
Each student will give a class presentation of approximately 10 minutes that summarizes the research and analysis in the paper. Since everyone will give a presentation, each student should do a different book. There will be a sign up deadline early in the semester.
Cyrano de Bergerac, Voyage to the Sun
Daniel Defoe, The Consolidator
Sebastien Mercier, Memoirs of the Year Two Thousand Five Hundred
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Jules Verne, Off on a Comet OR Twenty Thousand
Leagues Under the Sea OR Journey to the
Center of the Earth
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds OR First Men in the Moon
Any fiction work by Isaac Asimov
Fred Hoyle, A for Andromeda
Poul Anderson, Tau Zero
Larry Niven, Flatlander or Ringworld
Arthur Clarke, 2001 OR 2010 OR 2061
Hal Clement, Mission of Gravity
Dionys Burger, Sphereland
A.K. Dewdney, Planiverse
Robert L. Forward, Indistinguishable from Magic
Work for Grade: Cadets' responsibilities
"Work for grade" is defined as any work, whether written or oral, that is presented to an instructor for a grade. All work submitted for grade is considered the cadet's own work, whether or not he or she has indicated that it is "certified." "Cadet's own work" means that he or she has composed the work from his or her general accumulation of knowledge and skill and that it has been composed especially for the current assignment. No work previously submitted in any course will be resubmitted for grade in a current course without the specific approval of the instructor. The cadet is referred to the VMI-authorized handbook for rules concerning quotations, paraphrases, and documentation, and to his or her instructor for requirements on identifying sources used on certified assignments.
If a cadet has received help on work submitted for grade from sources other than those specifically authorized, he or she must write "HELP RECEIVED" conspicuously on his or her written work (or, at the beginning of an oral presentation, state that he or she has received help), and he or she must explain the nature of the help received. Admission of help received may result in a lower grade but will not result in prosecution for an honor violation.
Cadets are certified in regard to the contents of a quiz/exam until it is returned to them. Certification, in this case, means that they cannot talk to anyone, except the instructor, about the contents of the quiz/exam. This enjoinder does not imply that any inadvertent expression or behavior that might indicate one’s feeling about the test should be considered a breach of the certification. The real issue is whether individuals received information, not available to everyone else in the class, which would give them an unfair advantage. If an individual inadvertently gives or receives information, the incident must be reported.
Each
cadet is responsible for familiarizing himself or herself thoroughly with the
policies stated in this section, with any supplementary statement posted by the
academic department offering a course he or she is taking, and with any
policies stated by his or her instructor.
If he or she has any doubt about the correct interpretation of a policy,
he or she should consult the instructor offering the course. The violation by a
cadet of any of these policies will, if he or she is found guilty, result in
his or her being dismissed from VMI.
His or her ignorance of the correct interpretation of these policies is
no excuse.