John V.

Nance
The English Department, Florida State University
Office: Williams 327
Office hours: MW 11:00-1:00pm or by appointment
Email: johnvnance@gmail.com


Summer 2013
LIT 2020: Science Fiction and the Possibilities of Emerging Technology
MTWR 2:003:30pm
Bellamy 003


Blade Runner (1982)

Course Description
Welcome to an introductory literature class concerned with robots, cyborgs, cerebral computers,
virtual reality, cyberspace, spaceships, and other objects situated on the periphery of what is
possible. Here we will come to a deeper understanding of science fiction short stories how they
are written, what they worry about and how they solve or postpone their concerns. Essential to
this type of analysis is a focused approach to the development of science fiction as a literary genre,
its exceptional adaptive power, and its current cultural manifestations. This course will particularly
emphasize the formal and ideological effects of technology in the imaginings of storytellers and
theorists as we confront the question: how can emerging technologies reprogram notions of
meaning, communication, embodiment, and humanity itself? The primary objective of this class
is to analyze these implications. We will draw upon literary texts and criticism, postmodern theory,
film, and psychoanalytical critiques of the visual to theorize the genre. We will look at science
fiction as both a specific literary movement and as a general way of looking at the increasingly
technologized socio-political world we inhabit. The other objective of this course is to instruct
students in the technique of close reading, which is the careful, meticulous analysis of how texts
produce meaning, by what devices, and using what representational tools.


Course Requirements
Come to class having thoroughly read the texts for the day and be prepared to discuss them. Some
of the short theoretical texts will be densetry to read these at least twice, to give yourself time to
work through the concepts and prose. Also please avail yourself of my office hours if you find
these theoretical texts difficult to work through.


Required Texts
1) Ortolano and Newcomer eds., Perspectives on the Short Story, 2
nd
edition
(Available at FSU Bookstore)

2) Sigmund Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle
(Broadview edition, 2011, available on amazon)

All other class readings are posted under Course Library on our Blackboard site (Bb).


Films
At certain points throughout the semester, we will be viewing films in place of reading printed
media. We will have an in-class screening of David Cronenbergs Videodrome (1983), but I
suggest watching (or re-watching) these films in their entirety before we review selections of them in
class:

Metropolis
2001: A Space Odyssey
Total Recall
Blade Runner

Grading
Grades will be based on attendance, the quality of your class participation, weekly responses,
weekly quizzes, 3 short papers, and a final exam. The grade distribution is as follows:

20% - Attendance and participation
20% - Final Exam
15% - Short Paper #1
15% - Short Paper #2
15% - Weekly Quizzes
15% - Weekly Responses

Short Papers
You will be responsible for two short research papers. Your first paper is due on 7/8/13, and the
second is due on 7/22/13. Each paper must be 3-4 pages double-spaced; 12 pt. font, and 1 inch
margins, with citations using MLA format. Your papers should assemble evidence from a text, and
generate and sustain an argument based on an analysis of this evidence.

As this is a research paper, you are required to consult a minimum of 2 additional secondary
sources from peer-reviewed scholarly journals and cite them properly in your papers.

Each paper must pose a main argument (thesis) at the outset of the essay, which should be
coherently developed and supported throughout. These papers must address, through close
reading, one of the assigned stories, but they may be on any topic of your choosing. With the
exception of dire emergencies or unless you have previously arranged an extension with me, no
extensions will be granted. You must upload a copy of your paper to Turnitin.com AND submit a
hard copy of your paper to me on the due date.


Participation and Attendance
The success of a Literature class depends on active, enthusiastic, informed participation and the
regular attendance of all its members. Every student should come to class prepared to discuss one
or two scenes and/or themes. Since I may make last minute adjustments to the reading schedule,
which I will announce the week before (or post on our message board on Blackboard), consistent
class attendance is imperative. If you miss more than 3 classes, you will be in danger of failing the
course.


Weekly Responses
Each week, you are responsible for a short response (150-200 words). This means you will have a
total of 6 due over the course of the semester. Please post these responses in the Discussion Board
on our Blackboard site every Wednesday by 5pm. These responses will provide you with an
opportunity discuss a scene in the text youve found appealing. They will also help you engage
critically with the texts and allow you to practice the art of close reading. In your responses, you
may want to explain why you liked or didn't like the text, compare and contrast stories, discuss how
the story connects to current scientific debates / discoveries, or compare our readings to an outside
text. You may choose to write on any text we cover in class.


Conduct and Civility
It is your responsibility to remain respectful to all members of the class at all times. Disruptive
language (such as belligerent or insulting remarks including sexist, racist, homophobic or anti-
ethnic slurs) and/or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. I reserve the right to dismiss any
student from the class.


Electronics
The use of hand held electronic devices such as IPods, IPads, eReaders and (especially) cellular
telephones is prohibited in the classroom. You are not permitted to bring a laptop computer into
the classroom.


Plagiarism and the Academic Honor Policy
Plagiarism is the unapproved use of someone elses work as your own without citing the source or
the use of that work. Plagiarism is grounds for suspension from the university as well as for failure
in this course. Any instance of plagiarism will result in an automatic failure for that assignment and
it will be reported to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students are responsible for reading
the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to strive for personal and
institutional integrity at Florida State University. (Florida State University Academic Honor
Policy, found here: http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.).


Students with Disabilities
I am happy to accommodate students with disabilities. Students with disabilities needing academic
accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability
Resource Center, and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation
and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. For more information about
services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact:
Student Disability Resource Center
97 Woodward Avenue, South
108 Student Services Building
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306-4167
(850) 644-9566 (voice)
(850) 644-8504 (TDD)
sdrc@admin.fsu.edu
http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/

Disturbing Subject Matter
Several texts in this course contain disturbing or emotionally charged subject matter. Examples of
such subjects may include violence, gore, spirituality, sexual content, atheism, prejudice, nihilism,
and immorality. If you think that this might be too offensive for you, you should not enroll in this
course. I am happy to direct you to other classes that might be better for you.
Summer 2013 Course Schedule
(Subject to change)
Week One: Foundations
6/24/13 Class Introduction

6/25/13 Pratt, The Short Story (Bb)
Friedman, Recent Short Story Theories: Problems in Definition (Bb)

6/26/13 Cervantes, The Glass Graduate (378-393)

6/27/13 Hoffman, The Sand-Man (1014-1034)


Week Two: 19
th
Century Foundations

7/1/13 Irving, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (230-248)

7/2/13 Hawthorne, The Ministers Black Veil (1035-1043)

7/3/13 Poe, The Murders in the Rue Morgue (664-684)

7/4/13 INDEPENDENCE DAY NO CLASS


Week Three: 19
TH
Century Foundations and Early Science Fiction

7/8/13 Poe, Hans Pfaal (Bb)
PAPER ONE DUE TODAY

7/9/13 Stevenson, The Body Snatcher (1100-1110)

7/10/13 Wells, The New Accelerator (931-393)
Wells, The Star (Bb)

7/11/13 Campbell, Elimination (940-951)
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle (selections)




Week Four: Hard Science Fiction and Psychoanalysis

7/15/13 Asimov, Nightfall (952-974)
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle (selections)

7/16/13 Heinlein, Long-Watch (Bb)
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle (selections)

7/17/13 Clarke, Technical Error (Bb)
Freud, Beyond the Pleasure Principle (selections)

7/18/13 Vonnegut, Welcome to the Monkey House (1523-1534)


Week Five: New Wave Science Fiction and Postmodernism

7/22/13 Ellison, The Beast that Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (Bb)
Ellison, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Bb)
PAPER TWO DUE TODAY

7/23/13 P.K. Dick, We Can Remember it for You Wholesale (Bb)
P.K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (Bb)
2001: A Space Odyssey (clips)
Total Recall (1990, clips)

7/24/13 Ballard, The Concentration City (Bb)
Metropolis (clips)

7/25/13 Triptree, Jr. The Girl Who was Plugged In (975-998)


Week Six: Cyberpunk

7/29/13 Videodrome

7/30/13 Gibson, Fragments of a Hologram Rose (Bb)
Gibson, Johnny Nmemonic (Bb)

7/31/13 Butler, Bloodchild (999-1012)

8/1/13 FINAL EXAM