Blog Set 13: Reader's Choice

What did you choose for your Reader's Choice presentation? What gap are you filling in our reading list? How does the story answer one of our course's essential questions?

Blog Set 12: Lessons Learned

Edgar Allan Poe's "The Premature Burial"

Do you believe the medical condition Poe describes is legitimate? Why or why not?








W.W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw

In what way is "The Monkey's Paw" a story of the supernatural? Are there other explanations for what happens in the story?

Blog Set 11: Madness and Lost Love

Write an imaginary interview between you and Egaeus from Edgar Allan Poe's story "Berenice." What would you ask him about what happened to Berenice? What else do you wonder? Answer the questions as Egaeus.

O. Henry once said “I would like to live a lifetime on each street of New York. Every house has a drama in it.” How does "The Furnished Room" reflect his view of city life?

Does "The Boarded Window" by Ambrose Bierce involve the supernatural or not? Use evidence from the story to support your claim. 

Blog Post 10: Hauntings

Clearly the story poses problems of reading and interpretation. Can the story be read as a "realist" tale, or is it a symbolist tale or allegory? Is it a comment on the values and lifestyle of a degenerate and aesthetic aristocracy? Or is it a form of psychological encounter and, if so, who and what is being encountered? Is it meant to be interpreted at all, or is it simply a journey into the world of the Imagination (echoing the importance of art, music and literature within the tale, as means to an alternative reality)? 

Modern haunted houses in literature, film, cartoons, and even amusement parks owe a debt to "The Fall of House of Usher," which showcases one of the first haunted houses to appear in American literature. What stereotypes of a haunted house are present in the story?

"Afterward" by Edith Wharton, 1910

"Afterward" is considered to be American Gothic.

American Gothic is defined by Aldona Witkowska as:
"American Gothic constitutes the darker side of Romanticism. Its nature was accurately captive by Leslie Fiedler "American fiction became 'bewilderingly and embarrassingly, a gothic fiction, non-realistic, sadist and melodramatic- a literature of darkness and the grotesque in a land of light and affirmation.'" 

American Gothic arose in the world of optimism, in the country filled with vision of freedom and endless happiness. As Eric Savoy rightly noticed, this paradox has its explanation in the history of the United States. It shows the other side of the coin, the nightmare which hides under the "American dream". In the world of American Gothic the ghosts of the past never sleep and constantly haunt the present. 

American Gothic writers did not have spooky old castles, monasteries and legends like their European "professional colleagues", but they did have: the frontier, Puritan legacy, slavery and political utopianism. Puritan's heritage was the consciousness of good and evil coexistence, the sense of guilt and fear from the Day of Judgment. Outwardly optimistic character of utopianism, in turn entailed less optimistic consequences, like: undisciplined rule of majority, rule of the mob or the danger of collapse."

In what ways does "Afterward" conform to this definition? In what ways does it differ?

Blog Set 9: For Real. Poe.

What feelings, emotions, and mood does Poe attempt to communicate in "The Raven"?

How would you describe the overall tone of "Annabel Lee"? How does the rhythm of the poem affect the tone? 

Blog Set 9: Fantasy

I.

After watching The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring consider the following and respond in your blog:


Tolkien said that fairy tales have three functions:

Recovery: Think about the portrayal of the Shire. What sense was Tolkien trying to recover? Can you think of any other concepts that the film helps to recover that may seem missing from our world?

Escapism: Myths transport us to another reality in which we are able to think freely. How did seeing the film change your perspective on the reality of your world?

Consolation: 'It is a sudden and miraculous grace that is in fact evangelism, giving a fleeting feeling of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief . . .' What elements of the film made you feel joyful?

(questions from the Damaris Film & Bible blog: http://www.damaris.org/film-and-bible-blog/2840)

II.  After viewing Ever After, consider the following and respond in your blog:  1. Bruno Bettelheim, a scholar who has studied fairy tales, contends that the dark and threatening figures in fairy tales should not be sanitized; that children make use of them to work through their fears and primitive emotions. Do you agree or disagree? 2. What is the childhood fear that the Cinderella fairy tale explores? 3. Name some other fairy tales and talk about the fears or concerns of childhood that they explore. What about: Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? (questions taken from Teach With Movies, http://www.teachwithmovies.org/guides/ever-after.html)

Blog Set 8: Gender and Sexuality

Frederik Pohl's “Day Million” (1966) 

The narrator begins by promising to tell us a “love story” but then keeps overturning our expectations. How is this not a conventional love story? How is Don not really a “man” and Dora not really a “woman”?

Joanna Russ' “When It Changed” (1972) 

What is parthenogenesis? Are human males really needed for species reproduction? If not, what other purpose do they serve, if any? 

Blog Set 7: Phillip K. Dick

This week you are reading Phillip K. Dick's "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" and watching the film Total Recall which is based on the story.

In your blog, reflect on the following:

1. Does the creation of artificial memories by technology seem plausible to you? What would the implications be if memories could be changed as bodies are changed by cosmetic surgery?

2. “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale” was adapted into the movie Total Recall, in which Douglas Quail was played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. What do you think of this casting decision?

3. How does adaption from a short story to a movie impact the story?

Blog Set 6: Computers and Virtual Reality

"Burning Chrome,"  William Gibson, 1982



What sort of world does “Burning Chrome” imagine will exist in the future? Who has power? Who is Chrome?









"Computer Friendly," Eileen Gunn, 1989

Why do you think that the author chose to tell this story from a young child’s point of view? How might this point of view affect the reader’s experience of this future world?

Blog Set 5: Artificial and Post-Human Life Forms

"Reason," by Isaac Asimov, 1941

Robots are not supposed to experience emotions, yet QT often seems to do so. Also, the three laws of robotics mandate obedience to human beings, yet QT seems to flout these laws. How do you account for this apparent contradiction?







"Super-Toys Last All Summer Long," by Brian Aldiss, 1969

Science fiction stories often explore possible transformations in social relations resulting from developments in science and technology. What are some of the ways in which social relations are shaped by technology in this story?




As always, you can also reflect on our course essential questions or other connections you make with the text. Be sure to elevate your response above comprehension level.

Free Movie Nights!

The A.S. in Film Production is hosting six movie nights this semester.

All films are on Monday nights, from 6-8 p.m., in Building 3, room 100.

The line up is:

2/2     Metropolis          Metropolis Trailer

2/16    The Shining      The Shining Trailer


3/16    Invasion of the Body snatchers      Invasion of the Body Snatchers Trailer

3/30     Open City
4/13     Some Like it Hot
4/27     Memento

I've linked to the trailers for the ones that are applicable to our class.

Did I mention the free popcorn? Hope to see you there!

Active Reading, Poe, and the Tell-Tale Heart

A little sneak peek of what's coming when we get to horror: Reading Poe

Blog Set 4

H.G. Wells, "The Star," 1897

The basic plot of “The Star” has been used many times, from Wells’s own day, to modern films like Meteor, Armageddon, and Deep Impact, all the way to contemporary scientific speculations about how to defend against errant asteroids. What is the appeal of such stories about objects in space threatening the Earth?

Ocatavia Butler, "Speech Sounds," 1983
 How does the dystopic near future of the story comment on the state of the world now?

Blog Set #3

In addition to our course essential questions and your own reader response, you can also reflect on the following questions for this week's readings: 

"That Only a Mother" by Judith Merril
The story’s setting (a modest middle-class home) is very different from most science fiction locales. How does the world of science/technology impinge on this domestic landscape?

"We See Things Differently"by Bruce Sterling
How can we tell that the near-future America depicted in this story is in economic and social decline? What global events have led to this “gloom-and-doom” situation? 

Remember that both stories need to be addressed. You can address them individually or put them in conversation with each other or other stories. 

A note about comments: Remember that comments should add value to the post. It is an on-going conversation, and your job is to keep that conversation going. 

Academic Websites of Interest

Horror Writers Assoc.
Science Fiction Writers Assoc.
Professional site devoted to Sci Fi
The International Assoc. for the Fantastic in the Arts

Questions to Help You Blog

You can choose one or more of the following questions to address in your weekly blog:

1. Science fiction often explores alternative belief systems (religious, philosophical, political, etc.) or the impact on current ideologies of various futuristic changes or alien ideologies. Discuss this point with reference to any two of the above texts. How are our opinions and beliefs linked to social and/or technological systems? What happens when alien or opposed ideologies come into confrontation or conflict? How do sf texts reflect “conservative” tendencies (salvaging or recuperating settled norms of belief) and how do they suggest “radical” or “revolutionary” possibilities (the subversion or supersession of pregiven norms)?

2. Much science fiction is about technology and its impact on/in the world. Discuss this point with reference to any two of the above texts. How does the evolution of technology affect the possibilities for self-understanding and social connection? Do technologies promote specific social values and norms of behavior, or do values and behavior define and constrain technologies? What are the implications of the fusing of humans and machines in the form of cyborgs? Does technology in these stories appear to be principally a utopian or a dystopian force?

3. Science fiction imagines situations that are estranged from our world and that are also reflections of the world in which they were written. What concerns of the time and place in which it was written are reflected in a work? What present concerns do you see reflected in the work? What significant differences from the real world does the work portray and what is their metaphorical or thematic importance?

4. Science fiction is in conversation with itself. That is, each work answers back to the works written before in some way. How is each work different from previous works in the course? How is it similar to them?

5. Science fiction is as much about the formal ways in which future or alien worlds are depicted as it is with the represented content of those worlds. Discuss this point. How does the very mode of representation (word-choice, literary style, forms of textual ordering) limit or enable the sorts of worlds represented? How do sf texts incorporate information about their futures into the very fabric of their textual worlds? Does the representation of future worlds seem to demand some sort of “futuristic” method of representation?

Aliens: Resources

Back ground info:
Aliens pre-1900
Aliens 1900-1940
Aliens post-1940

Further reading and viewing on the theme:
A selective, chronological reading list
Alien Invasion Novels
Films and TV movies

Links to Student Blogs

Alexandra
Bianca
Cailin
Erika
Flavia
Gabriela
Joey
Karina
Kelsey
Mairelys
Michael
Mitchell
Niki
Priscilla
Ryan
Sarah
Sebastian
Shanteria
Tanya

Blog Sets #1 & #2

Blog Set #1: For your first blog entry, set up your welcome/introduction page. Who are you? You don't need to identify yourself by more than your first name, and you need only share as much information on-line as you're comfortable with, but give the reader some sense of what kind of reader is behind the blog. Questions you might consider: What interests you about science fiction, fantasy, or horror stories? What do you want to get out of LIT2310? What are you hoping to accomplish for the semester? What's your reading/viewing wish list?

*Email me the link to your blog!

Blog Set #2: Consider the course essential question: In what ways does science fiction reflect humanity back on itself? Using "Passengers" by Robert Silverberg and Nancy Kress' "Out of All Them Bright Stars," discuss how alien encounters are portrayed and how you interpreted the human-alien interactions. Did the background information found on p. xii-xviii help you better contextualize the story? How? What did these stories make you consider about the human condition and humanity's future? 


*Remember to post before noon on Wednesday and to read and comment on two other class blogs before our next class meeting!

The Weekly Blog Post: a How-To Guide

Weekly Blog Assignment

What makes a good blog post? For our purposes, a good blog post is one in which you use this form (public, social, informal writing) to come to new insights and understanding of the course material and how you might apply it. All of us come to knowledge through writing in different ways; over the course of the semester you’ll begin to develop your own style.  Below are some approaches I’d like to see you try throughout the semester: they’re the moves you see smart bloggers making all the time.

• Focus on direct quotations from the text and explicate them.  What is it about it that’s confusing?  clear?  helpful?  what is it’s relationship to the essay/article as a whole?
• Outline major points of the argument
• Locate an outside source (website, picture, video, etc.) and link to it or embed it; explain how it helps you to understand the essay
• Apply one text to another text—literary/cultural/experiential
• Link to other students’ blogs and describe how those posts help you to understand a text
• write in a different voice: how might someone else (the author, an alien, your grandma, etc.) describe the reading?

Blog posts should be at least 300 words long (about 1 typed page).  The first post of the week is due before noon on Wednesday; comments (see below) are due before 11 a.m. on Friday (please comment on the previous week’s posts, not the upcoming week’s posts).  No late posts or comments will be counted toward your grade. You might think about the Wednesday blog post as one that expresses your specific ideas about the reading we’re about to discuss  in class. Consider these questions: What sticks with you?  What did you think when you first read a quote, and how have your ideas changed?  How would you compare the readings?

Remember that although blogging is more informal and personal than academic writing, you are still expected to follow the conventions of standard, academic English. 

What about comments? Once a week, you’ll post comments to two of your classmates’ blogs. A good comment is one that engages with the author’s ideas and gives him/her something else to think about. You may be able to do this in a short paragraph, or it may take you a bit longer. 

Again, here are two guidelines: comment at least once on each author’s blog over the course of the semester *and* this is important!! Keep a list of the blogs and dates where you’ve posted comments. [a couple of ways to do this—when you comment, post the locations of those comments to your own page (e.g., “I commented on Cara W. and Sherri’s blogs today) or write one post titled “Comments” and edit it weekly (e.g., “1/25—commented at Cara W.’s and Sherri’s. 1/31—commented at Ryan’s and John’s,” etc.).  At midterm and at the end of the semester, I’ll ask you to turn in a “Check-In” that documents all of your posts and comments.

It may be helpful to view My Year of Star Trek and Critics In College to observe different ways of engaging with course material. 

Remember to check the class blog for weekly prompts. 

Recommended Viewing

There are likely more suggestions to come, but here's a start to the recommended viewing list. Remember to check our class library page to see where you can access these shows.

Movies

Science Fiction                                                          Horror
2001: A Space Odyssey                                       Ghostbusters
Metropolis                                                            Dracula (1931)
 E.T.                                                                      The Fly
 Avatar                                                                  The Haunting (1963)
  RoboCop                                                             Dawn of the Dead (1978)
The Day the Earth Stood Still                               The Thing
Forbidden Planet                                                   An American Werewolf in London
Planet of the Apes (1968)                                      Night of the Living Dead
Mad Max                                                               The Shining
Dr. Strangelove                                                      Pyscho
Brazil (1985)                                                         The Babadook
Men In Black                                                         Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Ghost In the Shell
Terminator 
Interstellar

Fantasy 
Lord of the Rings
The Neverending Story 
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Ever After
Princess Bride 
The Hobbit  

TV: First Seasons
 Science Fiction                                                        Horror
Star Gate SG1                                                          Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Firefly                                                                       American Horror Story
Extant                                                       
Battlestar Galactica                                 
Roswell 
Star Trek (any of them)
Farscape
Dr. Who

Fantasy 
Once Upon A Time 
Grimm  
The Librarians

Welcome to Literature of the Supernatural: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror

Literature of the Supernatural: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror is a Broward College Lit 2310 class. LIT2310 provides a basic introduction to the related fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, which can all be categorized with their related branches under the general rubric of the fantastic. We will look at representative fiction, films, shows, and scholarly work for each of these categories to investigate the basic characteristics, issues, and forms that characterize them.

The course is organized around three essential questions:

•  In what ways do science fiction, fantasy, and horror reflect humanity back on itself?    
• How does the work conform to genre expectations? Does it bring anything new to the genre?
• How does adaptation impact the story?

 Students on this literary journal are encouraged to blog about their experiences and thoughts as they work through the reading and viewing assignments. Check back weekly to see what's new!