SCIENCE FICTION - Course Summary
SCHEDULE | SYLLABUS | SCORES | SCIFI FORUM

Roy Saves Deckard

  • BLADE RUNNER

    • Blade Runner is one of two Ridley Scott films we use to open our discussion of science fiction.. It is one of the most highly regarded science fiction films ever made. Initially the film received very little critical attention, but fans immediately began discussing the film using a new media, the internet to answer FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) about this movie. There is also aBlade Runner Online Magazine full of pictures from the movie. All of these sites give you some idea of fans' high regard for Scott's film. To prepare for our discussion visit the Off-World Blade Runner Page an informative web source containing quotes, pictures, and short essays, and partcipate in one of the discussion forums you can reach under the SPECIAL: discussions, overviews, FAQ menu on that site. Use one of the discussion groups. Ask a question that interests you and /or helps you understand the film. Send me an email teling me what you found and what discussion you joined, so I can see what you asked and/or said. You also might want to look at the Blade Runner Discussion Guide.

  • ALIEN

    • Our second film Alien is another of Ridley Scott's explorations of the realm of science fiction. It is the first film in a seeries of four. You will find it useful to visit the Xenomorph: The Alien Movies Site or Alien Homepage where you can check out music, pictures, FAQs, scripts, quotes and other Alien Trilogy materials. The Alien Legacy web site provides a way of quickly exploring all these films and their relationships to each other. It is also connected to the Aliens Ring, a group of connnected web sites that all deal with the Alien series. To prepare for our discussion, each of visit some of these connected sites, find a discussion group, and partcipate in a discussion. Send me an email telling me what you found and what discussion you joined, so I can see what you asked and/or said. You can also look at the Alien Discussion Guide.

  • MARTIAN CHRONICLES

    • MARS Our first novel,Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles is one of the classics of "Golden Age" science fiction. Written shortly after the end of the second world war, in a time more aware of the nuclear sword of Damocles than our own, Bradbury's collection of interrelated short stories, originally published in science fiction pulp magazines, is extraordinarily well written and curiously contemporary. Again prepare for our discussion by visiting the Ray Bradbury Links web site which has a list of links to Bradbury materials on the world wide web and find some information that you think might give us all insights about Martian Chronicles. Send me an email telling me what you found and look at the Martian Chronicles Discussion Guide as well.

  • CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ

    • Walter Miller's Canticle for Leibowitz also emerges from pulp magazine science fiction, but cleary is one of the most important departures from that tradition as well. Craig Engler's review of Miller's novel concludes: Miller's novel in three parts about a post nuclear holocaust repetition of the cycle of dark ages, renaissance, and age of science explores everything from luddites to existentialists in terms of the faith/knowledge paradox. It touches issues as various as the immaculate conception, genetic mutation and euthanasia. For twenty years science fiction fans, writers and critics voted Canticle for Leibowitz the best science fiction novel ever written. Its explorations of monastic life are especially interesting and anticipate the ways in which relationships between religion and science are changing in our own time. Prepare for our discussion by reading Craig Engler's review. Send me an email telling me what you think of it. Look at the Canticle for Leibowitz Discussion Guide as well.

  • MAN IN A HIGH CASTLE

    • Philip K. Dick has become one of the most highly regarded science fiction writers during last twenty years. He wrote the novel that was the basis for Blade Runner, a story that became the script for Total Recall, and the story on which Screamers is based. In Man in a High Castle Dick plays with the interfaces between fact and fiction, illusion and reality, past, present, and future, to help us examine the relationships between free indiviuals and fate. He draws heavily on Taoism and the I-Ching. Prepare for our discussion by visiting the I Ching site, asking the oracle a question about the novel, and sending me an email letting me know what your question was and what you make of the answer you got. Look at the Man in a High Castle Discussion Guide as well.

  • BOY AND HIS DOG

    • Harlan Ellison is another of the "new wave" writers of the sixties and seventies and the most important editor critic of science fiction in the second half of this century. His short stories set new standards for craftsmanship and wit, and in editing two collections of short stories written by his peers, Dangerous Visions and Dangerous Visions Again, freed science fiction writers to experiment with the themes and techniques that have produced the new science fiction. He also wrote for the original Star Trek series and did the script, based on his short story, for this film. Ellison wrote the script for this film, based on his own short story. Prepare for our discussion by visiting the Ellison Webderland site and going to the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file there and find an interesting question and answer, and email me a copy. Look at theA Boy And His Dog Discussion Guide as well.

  • LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS

    • Ursula K. Le Guin is arguably the best science fiction writer writing and may very well be simply one of the best writers of the twentieth century. She has written children's stories, fantasy, utopian novels and science fiction. She draws heavily form the social sciences, particulary, anthropology (her mother and father were both anthropolgists) in building her stories; it is precisely this shift away from the "hard" sciences that identifies her with the "new wave" science fiction writers of the late sixties. In a feild that had been dominated by males, she set new standars for science fiction. She and other women writers have been deeply involved in developing a feminist perspective on what an ideal society, a utopia, might be. She also has been an outstanding critic of science fiction. Prepare for our discussion by visiting the Feminist Utopias web site, reading the Whys and Wherefores essay, and sending me an email with your reaction. Look at the Left Hand of Darkness Discussion Guide as well.

  • ENDER'S GAME

    • Orson Scott Card's novel, Ender's Game is the first novel in a series of four which includes Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide and Children of the Mind and represents the most serious exploration of contact with aliens to emerge in contemporary science fiction. The series raises fundamental questions about human nature, cultural imperialism and our attitudes towards other life forms. It has produced intense interest amongst fans and critics. Prepare for our discussion by visiting Card's official web site and enter the Hatrack River Forums there. Make a statement about your reaction to Ender's Game and see what kind of response you get. send me an email explaining what happened. Look at the Ender's Game Discussion Guide as well.

  • OTHER PLACES TO LOOK

    • The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota. This web page (http://www.d.umn.edu/~tbacig/scifi/) is maintained by Tom Bacig, and was last updated Sunday, 26-Nov-2000 20:26:24 CST. Send comments to tbacig@d.umn.edu.

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