« Comparative Studies in Emerging Media, Fall 2009 | Main | Issues and Perspectives in Communication Theory, Spring 2010 »

Classes

Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fall 2009

How do we dream our visions of the future? How do we explore our fantasies of the past?

Science fiction extrapolates the trends of the present to imagine possible future worlds, both utopian and (more often) dystopian. Fantasy looks back to imagine past worlds in which technology has not yet usurped nature. Both genres are rooted in mythic traditions that push beyond the boundaries of realism to reach for deeper truths.

This class will examine the genres of science fiction and fantasy across multiple media, including film, television, literature, comics and gaming. We’ll survey the history of science fiction and fantasy, while at the same time tracing the influence of each text forward into the present. We’ll look at how these works have reflected and influenced American society, as each new generation of creators has responded to changing social conditions by re-imagining the key tropes and themes of the genres. And we’ll try to understand why these visions continue to capture the world’s imagination.

Readings
Class readings will include books, a coursepack of articles, and news items distributed via the class email list. The course books are available at the GSU bookstores. Here are the books you’ll need:

Maggie Hyde and Michael McGuinness, Introducing Jung
Salman Rushdie, The Wizard of Oz
Neal Gaiman, The Sandman: Season of Mists
Junot Diaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game

The coursepack is sold by Bestway Copy Center, 18 Decatur Street SE (on the first floor of One Park Place South).

Graduate students will read two additional books of their choice, one fiction and one nonfiction.

Class Schedule

Unit I: Modern Myths

T 8/18 Understanding Fantasy and Science Fiction

Th 8/20 The Power of Myth
Ted Friedman, “Star Wars and the Dialectics of Myth”:
http://www.tedfriedman.com/essays/2005/03/star_wars_and_t.html
Ted Friedman, “Myth, the Numinous, and Cultural Studies”:
http://flowtv.org/?p=4161

T 8/25 Star Wars
Joseph Campbell, excerpt from The Hero With a Thousand Faces (CP)
Christopher Vogler and Stuart Voytilla, excerpt from Myth and the Movies (CP)

Th 8/27 The Collective Unconscious
Hyde and McGuinness, Introducing Jung
Ted Friedman, “Jung and Lost”:
http://flowtv.org/?p=3865

Unit II: Folklore and Fantasy

T 9/1 The Wizard of Oz
Salman Rushdie, The Wizard of Oz

Th 9/3 Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog
Diana Wagonner, “Theory of Fantasy” (CP)

T 9/8 The Company of Wolves
Angela Carter, “The Company of Wolves” (CP)
Selections from Marjorie Tatar, ed., The Classic Fairy Tales (CP)

Th 9/10 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Shannon Craigo-Snell, “What Would Buffy Do?
Feminist Ethics and Epistemic Violence”:
http://ejumpcut.org/archive/jc48.2006/BuffyEthics/index.html

T 9/15 The Lord of the Rings
JRR Tolkien, “Introduction to The Fellowship of the Ring” (CP)
Ursula K. LeGuin, “The Child and the Shadow” (CP)
China Mieville, “Beyond the Tolkienesque Fairyland We Know”
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=mieville

Th 9/17 True Blood
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, “Why Vampires Never Die”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/31/opinion/31deltoro.html?_r=1
Laura Miller, “Real Men Have Fangs”:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122540672952785957-lMyQjAxMDI4MjE1MTQxMDE2Wj.html

T 9/22 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Henry Jenkins, “Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and
the Harry Potter Wars” (CP)
Ted Friedman, “The Politics of Magic,”
http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/article.php?issue=14&id=1138§ion=article&q=rose

Th 9/24 Anime TV
Roland Ketts, excerpts from Japanamerica (CP)
Daniel H. Pink, “Japan, Ink: Inside the Manga-Industrial Complex”
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-11/ff_manga
Jason Thompson, “How Manga Conquered the U.S.”
http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2007/1511_ff_manga

T 9/29 Spirited Away
Margaret Talbot, “The Auteur of Anime” (CP)

Th 10/1 Futurama

T 10/6 No Class
Download and play the free World of Warcraft trial:
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com

Th 10/8 No Class
Go see District 9, Ponyo, 9, Jennifer’s Body, or Zombieland

T 10/13 Pan’s Labrynth
Neil Gaiman, The Sandman: Season of Mists

Unit III: Science Fiction

Th 10/15 Mystery Science Theater 3000
David Hartwell, excerpt from Age of Wonders (CP)

T 10/20 Metropolis
J. P. Telotte, “The Seductive Text of Metropolis” (CP)
William Gibson, “The Gernsback Continuum” (CP)
Andrew Ross, “Getting Out of the Gernsback Continuum” (CP)

Th 10/22 The Twilight Zone
Take-home midterm due

T 10/27 Bride of Frankenstein
Gary Morris, “Sexual Subversion: The Bride of Frankenstein”:
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/19/19_bride1.html

Th 10/29 Star Trek
Henry Jenkins, “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” (CP)
Ted Friedman, “Capitalism: The Final Frontier”:
http://www.tedfriedman.com/essays/2005/03/capitalism_the.html

T 11/3 Blade Runner
Donna Haraway, “A Manifesto for Cyborgs” (CP)
Fredric Jameson, “Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism” (CP)

Th 11/5 The X-Files
Carl Jung, “Flying Saucers as Modern Myths” (CP)

T 11/10 Brazil
Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game

Th 11/12 Lost
Jeff Jensen, “EW University: Lost”:
http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20284496_20284498,00.html

T 11/17 The Matrix
David Weberman, “The Matrix: Simulation and the Postmodern Age” (CP)
Slavoj Zizek, “The Matrix, or the Two Sides of Perversion” (CP)

Th 11/19 Battlestar Galactica
Spencer Ackerman, “Battlestar: Iraqtica,”
http://www.slate.com/id/2151425/nav/tap2/

T 11/24 No class - Thanksgiving Break

Th 11/26 No class - Thanksgiving Break

T 12/1 Children of Men
Junot Diaz, The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Th 12/3 Class Choice

Take-home final due Thursday, December 10

Screening Schedule

You are responsible for viewing assigned films in time for class discussion. Screenings are held on Thursdays at 12:30 at A&H 406.

8/20 Star Wars
8/27 The Wizard of Oz
9/3 The Company of Wolves
9/10 The Lord of the Rings
9/17 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
9/24 Spirited Away
10/1 Pan’s Labrynth
10/8 No screening - go see District 9, Ponyo, 9, Jennifer’s Body, or Zombieland
10/15 Metropolis
10/22 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956 version)
10/29 Blade Runner
11/5 Brazil
11/12 The Matrix
11/19 Children of Men
11/26 Thanksgiving Break - rent class choice
12/3 No screeningAssignments

The class assignments add up to total of 100 possible points. Your final grade for the class is determined by adding up your grades for each assignment, adjusting for attendance, then applying the final number to the following scale:

A 100-93 B+ 89-87 C+ 79-77 D 70-65
A- 92-90 B 86-83 C 76-70 F 64-0
B- 82-80

TV Presentation - 10 points
As part of a 3 person team, you will research an influential fantasy or science fiction TV series, then lead class discussion of an episode. Each member of the team will give a 5-minute presentation on a different aspect of the show: 1) the background of the creator; 2) the economics of the production; 3) fan responses. You will also each prepare a one-page handout summarizing your research and listing sources. A minimum of three sources is required. More information on the presentations will follow on a separate handout.

Take-Home Midterm - 45 points
The take-home midterm will require you to relate concepts from the readings and lectures to the films and series screened for class. Due October 22.

Take-Home Final - 45 points
The take-home final will be structured just like the midterm, covering the second half of the semester. Due December 10.

Attendance Adjustment
As Woody Allen put it, “80 percent of success is showing up.” It’s less than that in this formula, but the bottom line is that you can’t contribute to the class if you’re not there. You’re allowed one unexcused absence for the semester. After that, each unexcused absence subtracts one point from your grade total. Excused absences include medical and family emergencies. You will be expected to schedule any employment responsibilities around this class, or accept the consequences of missed classes for your grade. If you do need to miss a class, please contact me ahead of time, and make arrangements to catch up on missed material.

Policies

Academic Honesty
The university’s policy on academic honesty is published in On Campus: The Undergraduate Co-Curricular Affairs Handbook, available online at http://www.gsu.edu/~wwwcam. The policy prohibits plagiarism, cheating on examinations, unauthorized collaboration, falsification, and multiple submissions. Violation of the policy will result in failing the class, in addition to possible disciplinary sanctions.

Incompletes
Incompletes may be given only in special hardship cases. Incompletes will not be used merely for extending the time for completion of course requirements.

Changes to the Syllabus
This syllabus provides a general plan for the course. Deviations may be necessary.

Posted by tedf at September 23, 2009 08:21 PM

Comments

Post a comment