SCIENCE FICTION TO SCIENCE FACT
HSS 408
Syllabus Professor James M. Lipuma Spring 2008
HSS 408, “Science Fiction To Science Fact,” is a Humanities Capstone course that
focuses on writing and the discussion of scientific principles that lead to creative
exploration of future possibilities. In
addition, the students will examine several modern technological advances and
how they might lead to divergent alternate futures. This is a writing intensive
course that discusses the theory and practice of writing fiction in the genre
of science fiction and fantasy. Students
will work on the various parts of the writing process to learn and hone skills
as writers and making arguments. The
final outcome of the course will be a fiction story or vision of society in the
future. The required texts for this
course are available in the NJIT bookstore or will be provided by the professor
in class or via webCT.
Asimov, I (2004).
Robot Visions, Roc Publishing ISBN: 0451450647
Asimov, I et al (1993) Writing Science Fiction &
Attendance will be taken
randomly throughout the semester. A
greater emphasis is placed on participation rather than simple attendance;
however, you cannot participate if you do not attend. Absences and late work are excused only by
prior arrangements with the instructor.
Any late assignment is assessed a 10% reduction of grade per class day
after the due date. Throughout the
semester, there will be homework and paper assignments that each student must
complete in order to receive a grade in the class. There is an in-class presentation and a final
that is required for this class.
The papers handed in for
this course are to be college-level research papers. A college-level paper is type written, has
page numbers, contains references to research and includes a reference page at
the end for works quoted or otherwise referenced to in the document. Citations for the research used needs to be
included with the paper and should follow the APA format for citations. This means parenthetical citations within the
text with a reference page at the end of the document. Only works that are actually quoted from or
referenced directly should be cited. Do
not list all works that were read for the creation of the paper. This is not a bibliography but rather a
“Reference Page.” Please remember,
simply lifting text from a dictionary or encyclopedia is something found mainly
in high school. Though it may be
necessary to quote from these types of sources, rarely are they the only works
used for references.
It
should be stressed that the work for this class should be formal research
papers. There should be no contractions, spelling errors, punctuation errors,
or mistakes in grammar. Please be
consistent within the paper with abbreviations and other acronyms. Double-space the paper. Please use Times New Roman 12-point font, as
it is clear and easy-to-read. Your
margins should be a uniform 1-inch on all sides and the paper should minimize
large areas of white space within the text.
If you wish to have assistance with writing, the HSS department has a
writing tutor who can be contacted for assistance with all aspects of the
paper. The lead contact is Dr. Janet
Bodner (Bodner@njit.edu). You may also ask your professor, Dr. James
Lipuma, for further assistance or more detailed information. All assignments handed in for this course
should be original and the sole work of the student. The rules and procedures set down in the
student handbook as administered by the Dean of Students office will be used to
judge plagiarism. DO NOT PLAGIARISE. If you are unclear about the rules, please
see the NJIT student handbook available on the NJIT webpage.
Turnitin.com will be used to
check for plagiarized work. All major
writing assignments must be submitted to this page for review. You will be able to view the report and make
revisions for the rough drafts of your work.
You must register for an account and then log into our class using the
class ID and password provided via email
Office: Culimore—Room 420 Phone: 973-642-4743 http://web.njit.edu/~lipuma Lipuma@NJIT.edu Fax: 973-642-4689 Office Hours-TR-2:30-3:30: W3-6
SYLLABUS
|
DAY |
SUBJECT
MATTER |
ASSIGNMENT
|
|
1 |
Introduction |
Introductory Assignments—Journal 1 |
|
2 |
Reviewing the Basics |
Read
Slayer Of Evermore
|
|
3 |
Creativity and Writing |
Journal 2—Definitions
|
|
4 |
Description and Explanation |
Journal 3—
|
|
5 |
Setting, Character, Plot |
Journal 4—Robot
Vision comments
|
|
6 |
Narrative and Dialogue |
Group Oral Presentation |
|
7 |
Analysis Of Science And Fiction |
Group Oral Presentation |
|
8 |
Science Fiction and Fact |
Group Oral Presentation |
|
SB |
SPRING BREAK |
|
|
9 |
Science Fiction and Fact |
Midterm
|
|
10 |
Analysis Writing And Story |
Journal 5—Group Reflection
|
|
11 |
Storytelling |
Journal 6—Premise
|
|
12 |
Storytelling |
Final Journal |
|
13 |
Future events |
Journal Review |
|
14 |
Summation |
|
|
15 |
Final submissions |
Final Report Due |
Throughout the
semester, there will be homework and other assignments that each student must
complete in order to receive a grade in the class. WebCT will be used to handle some class
assignments and file distribution. You
must register for a WebCT account and log yourself into this class. This can be done at Http://webct.njit.edu with your UCID. These assignments are part of the class
participation grade. Some class files
and assignments will also be posted on WebCT for you to download. You should write all posts for WebCT in MS
Word or another word processing program before posting and then paste them into
a blank submission page as well as keep the file with all your posts so that
the file can be placed in your journal and portfolio. Do not attach assignments to WebCT or use it
as an email to contact the professor. It
is designed for class interaction. Late
assignments will not count towards participation grades.
JOURNAL
Each
student must maintain a writing journal. They will be expected to write in the
journal each day (approximately 750 words a week). The journal writing can be
on any writing topic the student wishes but should give at least a brief answer
to the assigned journal topics below. The key is for each week’s writing to
reflect the lessons covered that week of class.
Homework and other class writing assignments can count towards the
writing for the journal and should be used to develop the final paper for the
class. You must write your journal
entries electronically using Microsoft Word and save your entries in one
continuous file dated at the start of each new entry. The journal should be written in preparation
for class or assigned as part of the semester project. In addition, you should reflect on the previous
group or class discussion and how the lessons covered throughout the semester
tie together so that your learning and understanding are shown. It is imperative that you write each journal
entry before coming to class, because it will be drawn on for group and class
discussions. DO NOT neglect your journal and
write all of your journal entries at one time when it is to be reviewed; you
should be writing at least one entry per class day. Journals
must be submitted as an MS Word file attached to an email to Dr. Lipuma’s
account Lipuma@NJIT.edu Journals
will be reviewed and evaluated on your 1) conceptual clarity 2) writing and
expression 3) degree of reflection and depth of discussion on the assigned
topics.
Initial Entry, Autobiography— The first entry in your
journal should be a brief history of your academic and personal life to explain
what has brought you to this class.
Afterwards, give an evaluation of your own strengths and
weaknesses. In particular look back over
your academic career and give insight into the courses you have taken and what
skills these courses have provided to you with a focus on different aspects of
writing. How would you assess yourself
as a writer and what skills do you feel you might need to improve?
Journal 1—Define
the following terms in your own words: Science, Fiction, Fact and
Technology. You may use outside sources
but I do not want you to just copy and paste or retype what they have
written.
Journal 2—Define
the following terms: Writing, Communication and Storytelling. You may use
outside sources but I would like you to give your own idea of what these words
mean. If you use a source, please
indicate it properly using the APA style of citations.
Journal 3— Give
a description of a person, a place and an action. Write three separate descriptions.
Journal 4—Discuss the material written by
Isaac Asimov presented in class. Do you think his vision of the future of robots is
accurate?
Journal 5—Discuss
the topic you have selected for the group oral and the people you are working
with. What types of science are present
in the work? Do you agree with the
vision put forth in the movie?
Journal 6—Discuss
the topic you have chosen for the semester project and the thesis for your
work. Give insight into why you are
moving towards the final paper you have chosen.
Other Journals—You
should include the material you are writing and reviewing for the group oral
and the final paper. Feel free to write
about the out-of-class group interactions as well as your own comments about
group presentations or more about your own work. In either case, the journals should show your
thinking and learning during the class.
Final Journals—The last
journal entry you write should cover what you feel you have learned in the
class and what you feel the class has provided you as a student. In particular, comment on what you have
learned from the assignments in the class and how they have worked to teach you
the course materials. Also, give any
other comments or criticisms you would like.
GROUP ORAL REPORT
Each
student will be asked to work with 2-3 other students to make an oral
presentation in which they review one of the movies listed below. Each group
will be asked to make comments and discuss the future of the technology that is
presented in the movie. The movie should
be summarized and the vision of the future along with the state of technology
must be covered for the class.
Afterwards, the group’s view of the accuracy of the vision and the
possibility of the technology coming into existence should be given. Each oral report should be approximately 30
minutes including time for clips and Q&A.
Star
trek, the motion picture--1988
Star
Trek: the next generation–1991
Escape from L.A—1996
Minority
Report—2002
You may choose other movies if your group agrees and it is approved by
the professor
Some questions to consider
and address are:
1)
What is the
vision of the future of the movie?
2)
What technology is shown?
3)
Do you think this would exist in the world
shown?—Why or why not?
4)
How long would it take for current technology to
reach the state of the technology shown and why? Within 10 years --- 10-25
years --- 25-50 years --- 50-100 years
--- 100 –200 years --- more than 200 years --- never
MIDTERM
Each student will be
required to submit a midterm paper that examines a story and essay from ‘Robot
Visions’ by Isaac Asimov in light of what is given in “Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy”. You should summarize what the story was about
and explain the ideas of the essay.
Start with the premise, plot, and characters in the story. Next, the essay should analyze the vision of
the future ftom the story and essay. A discussion of the current state the
technology shown along with a discussion of the future developments of that
technology should be given to comment on Asimov’s vision of our future. Adequate research will be expected to support
these arguments and ideas. Finally, the
essay should argue for or against the likelihood of that version of the future
becoming reality with the reasons why or why not as well as a give some
critique and comments on the quality of the writing of the story.
The paper should be
approximately 4-6 pages in length. It
can be longer, if necessary, in order to accomplish the objective of informing
the reader of your points. Citations must
be included and should follow the APA format. The completed paper should be
emailed as a MS Word file sent as an attachment to Dr. Lipuma’s email Lipuma@NJIT.edu as well as posted on
turnitin.com to check for plagiarism.
Each student will be
required to submit a written copy of the final paper at the end of the
semester. The final project will be a 10-14 page double-spaced paper, though it can be longer if
necessary. This paper should be on one
of three topics:
1) A vision of the
technology and society of NJIT in 25, 50 and 100 years from now supported by
research;
2) A fantasy short story
based in the world of Slayer of Evermore;
3) A science fiction short
story derived from The Ultimate Contract.
No
other limitations are placed upon the author other than those discussed in
class with regard to good writing. The
final is due the Saturday of final’s week of class and should be emailed as a
MS Word file sent as an attachment to Dr. Lipuma’s email Lipuma@NJIT.edu. The paper must be original work for this
class.
If the essay is chosen,
the student should describe the current state of the technology or group of
technologies being selected. Then, the
development and advancement of that technology over the next 100 years should
be described and explained with evidence.
Finally, the essay needs to describe how changes in environmental social
and political conditions will influence the technological development through
time. You need to provide arguments and
evidence to support your opinion of how the technology will develop and not
just fabricate a vision of the future based on your own thoughts. Citations must be included and should
follow the APA format.
If a story is chosen, you
need to follow the rules of the world I have established but no other
limitations are placed upon the author other than those discussed in class with
regard to good writing.