Course Times: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:30-3:45 PM, in 204 EPB
Screenings on Thursdays, 5:30-8:00 PM, in 107 EPB
Office Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 1:00-2:15 PM, and by app't, in 455 EPB
Phone: 335-0465 (office); 337-3364 (home); robert-latham@uiowa.edu (e-mail)
Required Texts (all at Prairie Lights Bookstore):
Also Required (on library reserve):
Description: This course offers a survey of American science fiction from the late 1960s to the present. It provides an historical overview of major developments and significant authors within the genre, focusing principally (though not exclusively) on the following themes: confrontation with the alien/other, utopian vs. dystopian social systems, and the complex ramifications of human-machine interfaces. Throughout, we will attend to how SF writers during this period deployed scientific theories and technological developments as flexible metaphors for psychic and social processes, focusing especially on the implications for identities and relationships based on race, gender, and sexuality. Occasional screenings of important SF films--most but not all of them American--will supplement the readings.
Requirements and Assignments: The first requirement is preparation and attendance; you must be here for every class meeting with the day's reading and/or viewing completed. You must also be on time; class will begin promptly at 2:30, and late arrivers will not be admitted. Further, you must attend the film screenings, which are mandatory. If you miss more than three class sessions, you will receive an automatic F for attendance; if you miss more than five sessions, you will fail the class.
The required writing is as follows: in-class quizzes, two take-home mid-term exams, and a final exam. The quizzes, of which there will be roughly twenty over the course of the semester, are designed to test your reading/viewing of the texts; the format will be 3-4 short-answer, fact-based questions. Quizzes missed due to absences cannot be made up and will thus count as zeroes against your final quiz grade. (I will, however, in calculating your final grade, drop your three lowest quiz scores.) The two take-home exams will be essay-format responses to a handful of questions distributed in class one week before each exam is due; you must choose two of these questions, and write 4-5 page responses to each. The completed essays are to be handed in on the Thursday class meetings of the exam weeks; late exams will be marked down by 1/2 grade for every day they are late. The text of the exams must be double-spaced on 8 1/2 x 11-inch unruled paper, with one-inch margins all around and no font size larger than 12-point type. The papers must be proofread for typos, misspellings, and minor grammatical errors; 1/2 grade will be deducted for those that are not. The final exam will include objective and essay sections and will be held in class during the scheduled time on exam week.
Grading: The breakdown in grading is as follows: Attendance and Participation = 10%; Quizzes = 15%; Mid-term exams = 25% each; final exam = 25% . All grades will be numerical; the final grade will average and convert these to letter form, on the following scale: 97-99 = A+; 93-96 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 63-66 = D; 60-62 = D-; below 60 = F. Note: I expect all students to contribute, however modestly, to class discussion; if I feel that too many students are consistently remaining silent, I will start calling on people randomly.
Week 1. (August 26, 28)
Tuesday: Introduction
Thursday: Samuel R. Delany, "Aye, and Gomorrah..." (1967) *
Robert Silverberg, "Passengers" (1969) *
Thomas M. Disch, "The Asian Shore" (1970) *
Week 2. (September 2, 4)
Ursula K. Le Guin, THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS (1969)
Screening: THX 1138 (American; 1971; dir. George Lucas)
Week 3. (September 9, 11)
Tuesday: R.A. Lafferty, "Ishmael into the Barrens" (1971) *
---, "The World as Will and Wallpaper" (1973) *
Thursday: Thomas M. Disch, "Angouleme" (1971) *
---, "Bodies" (1971) *
Week 4. (September 16, 18)
Tuesday: Ursula K. Le Guin, "Nine Lives" (1969) *
Kate Wilhelm, "Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" (1974) *
Thursday: Gene Wolfe, "The Fifth Head of Cerberus" (1972) *
Screening: DEATH WATCH (French; 1979; dir. Bernard Tavernier)
Week 5. (September 23, 25)
Philip K. Dick, FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID (1974)
Screening: THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (English; 1976; dir. Nicholas Roeg)
Week 6. (September 30, October 2)
Tuesday: Michael Bishop, "Death & Designation Among the Asadi" (1973) *
Thursday: Joanna Russ, "When It Changed" (1971) *
James Tiptree, Jr., "The Girl Who Was Plugged In" (1973) *
Barry N. Malzberg, "Uncoupling" (1976) *
Screening: ALIEN (American; 1979; dir. Ridley Scott)
FIRST TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE
Week 7. (October 7, 9)
Tuesday: James Tiptree, Jr., "Houston, Houston, Do You Read?" (1976) *
Thursday: John Varley, "The Phantom of Kansas" (1976) *
Joan Vinge, "Eyes of Amber" (1977) *
Week 8. (October 14, 16)
Samuel R. Delany, TROUBLE ON TRITON (1976)
Week 9. (October 21, 23)
Tuesday: Gene Wolfe, "Seven American Nights" (1978) *
John Kessel, "Another Orphan" (1982) *
Thursday: Vernor Vinge, "True Names" (1981) *
William Gibson, "Burning Chrome" (1982) *
Screening: BLADE RUNNER (American; 1982; dir. Ridley Scott)
Week 10. (October 28, 30)
William Gibson, NEUROMANCER (1984)
Week 11. (November 4, 6)
Bruce Sterling, SCHISMATRIX PLUS (1982-85)
Screening: REPO MAN (American; 1983; dir. Alex Cox)
Week 12. (November 11, 13)
Tuesday: SCHISMATRIX PLUS, cont'd
Thursday: Marc Laidlaw, "400 Boys" (1983) *
Pat Cadigan, "Rock On" (1985) *
---, "Pretty Boy Crossover" (1986) *
Screening: THE THING (American; 1982; dir. John Carpenter)
SECOND TAKE-HOME EXAM DUE
Week 13. (November 18, 20)
Octavia Butler, DAWN (1987)
Week 14. (November 25, 27)
Tuesday: Greg Bear, HEADS (1990)
Thursday: Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15. (December 2, 4)
Maureen F. McHugh, CHINA MOUNTAIN ZHANG
Week 16. (December 9, 11)
Neal Stephenson, THE DIAMOND AGE (1995)
FINAL EXAM (Wednesday, December 17, 4:30 PM, in 204 EPB)