Summer 2013
Intensive Institute on Science Fiction:
The Science Fiction Short Story

 Available as English 506 or 790 (3 credits),
or as not-for-credit (for teacher professionalization)

Meets daily (M T W Th F Sa Su) 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Room: Rieger Scholarship Hall 1st Floor Lounge

Science Fiction Grand Master James Gunn originally designed this course and will join us for lunch at Mrs. E's - and he might drop in occasionally as guest speaker.
Gunn's office: 3039 Wescoe. Gunn's email: jgunn@ku.edu

Meeting Space

Class discussion begins at 1:00pm on Monday, June 17, in the Rieger Scholarship Hall's 1st floor lounge at 1303 Ohio Street. Several of us will meet for lunch from noon - 12:50 across the street at Lewis Hall's Mrs. E's cafeteria, where you also have the opportunity to chat with James Gunn. We'll have someone at the front doors to let in those not staying in the Hall, so be sure to arrive between 12:45pm and 12:55pm - no later! - so we can get you through the doors. Please do not be tardy, as this interrupts the discussion.

The Campbell Conference meets in the Oread Hotel, just a couple of blocks from our meeting space in Rieger Scholarship Hall.

Table of Contents

Course Goals
Disabilities
Daily Reading and Discussion Schedule
Readings
Required Books
   Recommended Books
Course Requirements
Class Periods
   Discussants
   Attendance and Class Participation
   Attendance and Class Participation Scoring
Papers
   Daily Response Papers
      Daily Paper Scoring
   Final Project
      Option A: Traditional Research Paper
      Option B: Course Outline, Lesson Plan, or Study Guide
      Option C: Creative Work
      Final Project Deadline
Final Grading

Course Goals

To provide an understanding of contemporary and future science fiction through studying the history of the genre and many of its seminal works. After reading a diversity of short SF and excerpts from longer pieces, we discuss how the genre got to be what it is today by comparing stories and their place in the evolution of SF, from the earliest prototypical examples through more recent work. Students demonstrate their understanding of the genre by writing daily reading responses and creating a substantial final project.

Disabilities

The Academic Achievement and Access Center (AAAC) coordinates accommodations and services for all eligible KU students. If you have a disability for which you wish to request accommodations and have not contacted the AAAC, please do so as soon as possible. Their office is located in 22 Strong Hall; their phone number is (785)864-4064 (V/TTY). Also please contact me privately about your needs in this course.

 Daily Reading and Discussion Schedule

Syllabus version 0.2: last updated April 8, 2013.

You will find this handy Readings Guide very useful in finding the stories in our various volumes (for reference only - see the syllabus, below, for which stories we read, when). Always read the short essays that introduce each story, as well as the book introductions whenever we start a new volume.

Each day, one or two students will lead the discussions, bringing enough good questions to keep a lively discussion going for the class period; aim for at least three questions and discussion prompts per story. Discussants should also seek relevant information about the authors, how the stories influenced the science fiction that was to follow. You must lead the daily discussion at least once alone or twice with a partner, but may serve more often. This is a major part of your grade and an important learning opportunity!

Have you accepted the invitation to join our class Google Group? If not, or if you're using a different email than what you registered with KU, please request to join the Google Group called, "2013 Science Fiction Institute." 

Thursday, June 13 - Sunday, June 17 (not required - extra credit)

Participants are strongly encouraged to register for and attend the Campbell Conference, June 13-16. There you can meet many authors and editors (including the winners of the Campbell Award, Sturgeon Award, and Lifeboat to the Stars Award), get books signed, and participate in a unique scholarly event in the field. Attendees of the Conference get 10 bonus points for attending and writing up a thoughtful response to the event. Register now if you'd like to be a part of this year's event! Institute participants may register for the Conference at no cost - note that you are an Institute student in your registration form (if you want dinner during the Awards ceremony on Friday night, you must still pay for your meal).

Monday, June 17

Tuesday, June 18

Wednesday June 19

Thursday, June 20

Friday, June 21

Saturday, June 22

Sunday, June 23

Monday, June 24

Tuesday June 25

Wednesday, June 26

Thursday, June 27

Friday, June 28

 Readings

The readings all come from James Gunn's wonderful The Road to Science Fiction series of anthologies. The students assigned as discussants for the day lead (not monopolize) the discussion. Everyone is required to act as discussant at least twice during the courses. Discussants perform additional research prior to class (further readings, identifying possible multimedia content, and so forth) and come prepared with three or more questions to stimulate discussion about the day's topics and authors beyond the readings and share what you learn with the rest of the class, as well. We expect all students to participate in discussions, but we also request that you avoid talking too much or talking over others. Be civil: These are discussions about ideas, not arguments or lectures!

Graduate students and teachers: I expect you to demonstrate solid pedagogical theory! Pretend you're teaching this course for a day. 

 Required Books

We will read most of the stories in the first four volumes of The Road to Science Fiction, edited by James Gunn. The titles below contain links to online booksellers like Amazon and Powell's; click these links to find the books for sale online:

• The Road to Science Fiction; From Gilgamesh to Wells (editor), 2002 (Scarecrow)
• The Road to Science Fiction #2: From Wells to Heinlein (editor), 2002 (Scarecrow)
• The Road to Science Fiction #3: From Heinlein to Here, 2002 (Scarecrow)
• The Road to Science Fiction #4: From Here to Forever, 2003 (Scarecrow)

Full details about which stories we'll be reading and discussing on each day is available in the syllabus here.

Some of these volumes might be difficult to find, so I urge you seek copies early and, when books are out of print, search used bookstores and online services (we provide links to two major online booksellers after each title, above). The University of Kansas Oread Book Store tries to always have copies of these books on hand. Address:

Kansas Union, Lawrence KS 66045
Phone: 1-800-458-1111
Email: jayhawks@ku.edu
Web: http://www.kubookstore.com/

You can also order the revised editions of the first four volumes directly from Scarecrow Press: http://www.scarecrowpress.com/. Use the Quick Search keywords "James Gunn."

 Recommended Books

For further reading, Gunn has also edited two more volumes (not required reading):

• The Road to Science Fiction #5: The British Way, 1998 (White Wolf)
• The Road to Science Fiction #6: Around the World, 1998 (White Wolf)

Want more great SF stories? Check out the finalists for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for best short SF of the year. Here's a good list of SF magazines. Want lots of free SF ebooks and e-zines? Check out Project Gutenberg's growing SF collection.

Want to read books, instead? See the finalists for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best SF novel of the year. Most years, the majority of those works could have won the award if the jury had just a few different members. You can find tons more great SF novels in the Basic Science Fiction Library. Also recommended are the complete works from which we read a number of excerpts.

The Center holds a few copies of many of these books, so if you are local to Lawrence or are in town for our other summer programs, check with me to see if we can lend you a copy. These are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and our library is supplied by previous students donating copies after completing their course.

More to come! Check back later....

 Course Requirements

To successfully complete the course and get out of it all you can, you are required to:

• Attend every day's discussion.
• Participate in class. This means being involved in every discussion, each day.
• Lead at least one daily session alone or at least two with a partner.
• Read the required stories. Don't just skim them - I'm looking for in-depth discussions about each story's characters, plot, ideas, and so forth, how each story helped shape the genre.
• Read the essays and introductions to the required stories.
• Read outside materials about these stories and their authors, and their place in the genre.
• If you are taking the course for credit, write insightful daily response papers for all the stories, in advance of class. I strongly recommend writing these as soon as you finish reading the works at hand, so start now! (If taking for professionalization and not for credit, you are not required to write responses.)
• If you are taking the course for credit, create a final project, due by the end of the semester. (If taking for professionalization and not for credit, you are not required to write the paper.)

 Class Periods

Each day we gather in Rieger Scholarship Hall's 1st floor lounge at 1303 Ohio Street to discuss a variety of stories, their authors, the science fiction genre, and the historical context in which they appeared. Occasionally, we might have guest speakers.

Participants are also welcome to lunch from noon - 12:50pm with SF authors Chris McKitterick (your instructor and CSSF Director), James Gunn (SFWA Grant Master who first developed the course and CSSF Founding Director), and Kij Johnson (multiple award-winning author and CSSF Associate Director), as well as dine out in the evenings in lovely downtown Lawrence, attend movies in the theater or gather informally for movies in the scholarship hall, engage in discussions, and so forth.

Class periods revolve largely around discussion of the readings, with some lecture. We meet every day from June 17 through 28, including the Saturday and Sunday between those two weeks, and plan to be in Lawrence for the Campbell Conference before class begins to get a glimpse inside SF today.

Participants are strongly encouraged to register for and attend the Campbell Conference, June 13-16, where you can meet many authors and editors (including the winners of the Campbell Award, Sturgeon Award, and Lifeboat to the Stars Award), get books signed, and participate in a unique scholarly event in the field. Attendees of the Conference get 10 bonus points for attending and writing up a response to the event! Register now if you'd like to be a part of this year's event. Institute participants may register for the Conference at no cost - note that you are an Institute student in your registration form (if you want dinner during the Awards ceremony on Friday night, you must still pay for your meal).

Discussants

After an introduction to the topic by your instructor, 1-2 students assigned as discussants for each day lead (not monopolize) the discussions. Everyone is required to act as discussant at least once (alone) or twice (with a partner) during the 12 days we meet. If you have special needs and cannot perform this task, let me know early. I will assign discussants on this page (in the daily readings, above), on a first-requested, first-granted basis, so if you have favorite works whose discussions you want to lead, let me know ASAP! We'll have a "Discussants request" email via our Google Groups early in June.

Discussants perform additional research prior to class (further readings on the genre movements at hand, the day's authors, and so forth) and come prepared with questions and discussion prompts: aim for at least a dozen per day, or enough to stimulate 2-3 hours of discussion about the books and the day's topic.

I expect all students to participate in discussions, but I also request that you avoid talking too much or talking over others. Be civil: These are discussions about ideas, not arguments!

Your instructor will open each day with some background on science fiction, especially the topics and genre movements relevant to the day's discussions, and some information about the authors. After that, the day's student discussants take over. Bring at least a few questions per story to stimulate discussion among your peers. You can split up the tasks among your fellow discussants based on stories, topics, or however you see fit. I simply expect everyone to serve equally.

Graduate students and teachers: I expect you to demonstrate solid pedagogical theory! Pretend you're teaching this course for a day.

Attendance and Class Participation

This is a discussion course, so class participation is weighed heavily! Coming to class and getting involved in the discussions each day are necessary for getting a good grade, not to mention how much value you get from the course. The discussions aren't just explication of plot or concept, though we will discuss those; I expect you to exercise your critical-reading skills. That is, don't just read the fiction for pleasure, don't just accept everything in the introductory essays as canon, and don't feel the need to agree with your classmates' ideas - no one scholar can tell you the One True History of Science Fiction. By the end of this course you should possess expertise of your own in the topic. In the discussions, I want to witness your growing understanding of the genre based on the required readings, your outside readings, and your own experience with SF over the years. Of course, be polite and diplomatic if you disagree, but don't be shy either.

If you know you are going to miss a class for an academic event, illness, or other excusable reason, contact me as soon as possible to see if we can work out something so it does not negatively affect your overall grade too much. If appropriate, I can mitigate this loss so your attendance percentage remains unaffected. Otherwise, here is how I score attendance and participation:

Because we only meet for 12 consecutive days, each unexcused absence drops your final course grade by a third; that is, missing a day might mean your final grade drops from an A- to a B+, missing three drops it to a B, and so forth. Missing zero classes usually serves to bump most students up a fraction of a grade (for example, from a B to a B+ when points are close), so don't miss classes! The next table illustrates this relationship.

Graduate students and teachers: Demonstrate solid pedagogical theory! Pretend you're teaching this course for a day. I expect you to participate every day, providing insightful comments and questions while encouraging those less inclined to participate - but not to dominate the discussions. 

Attendance and Class Participation Scoring

For those taking the course for credit, here is how I grade attendance and participation:

During discussions, avoid distractions such as checking email, Facebook, and so forth. Obviously, turn off your phone ring/buzz and put it away. I know it's sometimes a challenge to focus during a long discussion, but many recent studies show that the human mind cannot pay attention to more than one thing at a time, and fracturing your attention means you're not getting everything possible out of each discussion. Monkeying around online also interrupts your neighbors' attention. Feel free to take notes on your computer or portable device if you choose, just stay away from distractions. It's difficult to remain engaged in discussions if your mind is elsewhere, and this also bumps down your overall grade. On the other hand, actively participating in class discussions bumps up your overall grade.

You have the opportunity to earn extra credit just for attending Campbell Conference, June 13-16.

I'm sure you have heard this before, but it is as true as ever: You get out of any activity only what you put into it. The more effort and creativity you apply to your projects and to class discussions, the more you will learn and the better the class will be for everyone else, as well. If you do not regularly attend class or do not participate in discussions, you will miss out on a lot of opportunities to learn and grow as a person. 

 Papers

For those taking the course for credit, much of your grade depends on the short response papers you write on each story covered in the daily discussions, plus the longer final project. If you use non-standard software to create your projects, be sure to save them in standard format (for example, most computers can read .doc, .html, .rtf, and .pdf formats). Turn in papers via Blackboard before class begins - and I welcome you to turn them in as soon as our Blackboard site goes live. They will be graded and returned via Blackboard in a reasonable time before class starts, or soon after the last class for papers turned in after we start meeting. (If taking for professionalization and not for credit, you are not required to write papers.)

 Daily Response Papers

Prior to each class session, write a short reading-response paper and turn it in via Blackboard via the Submission box (for simplified reading - please do not attach these). This short (300-500 words) paper is a brief but thoughtful response to all of the readings for that day. Insightfulness and clarity are important. Along with participation in the discussion, these papers are scored as an important measure of your engagement with the day's topics. Participants taking the course not-for-credit are not expected to turn in daily responses, though you may if you wish - let me know in advance so I can manually add you to Blackboard.

Tip: Include questions to pose to the other participants as well as some points to stimulate discussion, even if you are not leading the week's discussion. I suggest printing out your paper and especially your questions and bringing them to class to help formulate ideas during discussion. (Also be sure to turn them in via Blackboard in advance of class.)

Daily Paper Scoring

Here is how I score the daily papers, based on 0-4 points each:
    0 - no paper.
    1 - paper turned in, but does not convince me that you did all the reading.
    2 - paper convinces me that you did some of the reading.
    3 - paper either has interesting insights on most of the readings or convinces me that you did all the reading.
    4 - paper convinces me that you did all the reading and provides interesting insights.

Response papers are due before class discussion begins. Those turned in after we meet to discuss are considered late and will be marked and will be marked down -1 point if turned in on the evening of the discussion, -2 points (half off) if turned in later. The last day to turn in any paper is Thursday, July 18. Turn them in on time!

Graduate students and teachers: As you might imagine, I expect more from your papers. They should reflect your mastery of the paper form as well as provide insights worthy of your added experience and education.

 Final Project

The final project can be either a traditional essay, a set of teaching materials, or a creative work. Your project explores a topic in science fiction, preferably topics not listed in the syllabus or discussed in class - though you may pursue those if you select an angle we didn't already cover or discuss. Projects must be at least 2000 words for undergraduates, 3000 words for graduate students, with a preferred max of 7500 words (the top end for many magazines). Non-text-based projects must clearly demonstrate a similar level of effort.

You must include an alphabetized bibliography with a traditional paper or lesson plan, or an annotated bibliography (a list of references with brief notes) at the end of your document, especially if it is a creative work. An annotated bibliography is a set of references that provide a summary of your research. List your sources alphabetically and include a brief summary or annotation of each document that you quoted in the paper or that you list as a reference. Format your bibliography as appropriate for your field of study (MLA for Humanities, Chicago for most other fields, and so forth; here's a good list of style guides). Turn in this project via Blackboard.

References, bibliographies, and endnote pages do not count toward the minimum wordcount.

Participants taking the course not-for-credit are not expected to turn in a final project, though you may if you wish.

 Option A: Traditional Paper

Most participants choose this option. Formal papers are graded on the quality and diversity of research (both fictional and non-fictional), the writing (including grammar and spelling), and the strength of the topic and argument. What I most want is for you to demonstrate what you've learned from the class readings, your outside readings, and class discussions, and how you express this synthesis: Demonstrate your understanding of science fiction.

This is not something that you can successfully complete at the last minute. The research paper should represent a summer-long investigation of topics that interest you. If you wish to use stories from the assigned readings that we discussed in class, I expect you to have something new to say that we didn't already discuss. 

 Option B: Course Outline, Lesson Plan, or Study Guide

Many participants choose this option, especially teachers and those planning to be teachers. Choose from these three options or provide another option that fits your pedagogical approach:

• Course outline: Design a course in science fiction. This can cover any aspect of SF or serve as an introduction to the field. Successful course outlines I've seen before include "Feminist Science Fiction," "Utopian Science Fiction," and others targeted at college undergraduate students, and "Science Fiction: An Introduction" targeted at junior-high schoolers. You can pick any age group you wish, just be sure to specify that when you turn it in. I understand that a complete course plan is a major project, so this can be relatively high-level. Required elements include pedagogy (why teach these materials and how), reading list, and high-level syllabus. If you wish to write a formal, complete course plan, that's great! But it needn't exceed the required word-count. I encourage you to share this project with other teachers via AboutSF.com.
• Lesson plan: Design in detail a single lesson plan on a series of short pieces or a book. This includes the part that students see (from a larger syllabus), plus your teaching notes (lecture comments, questions for student discussion, and so on), and writing prompts.
• Study guide: This is a detailed examination of a single long work or group of short pieces on a single topic. It usually covers plot, character, ideas, themes, setting, and so forth, and often ends with self-study questions. The audience for this ranges from students working independently to teachers looking to develop a lesson plan.

All of these options make wonderful additions to AboutSF.com!

 Option C: Creative Work

A creative work (story, series of poems, play, short film, website, creative nonfiction, and so forth) must dramatize how the changes posed in your work could affect believable, interesting characters living in a convincing, fully realized world in addition to revealing substantial understanding of the science fiction genre. For the purposes of this course, your annotated bibliography (normally not included in creative work) is particularly important if you pursue this option, because I want to see the diversity of readings that helped you develop your work (both fictional and non-fictional). Show me your research with a good annotated bibliography, demonstrate your understanding of science fiction, and make your creative work stand on its own.

If your annotated bibliography is not crystal-clear in defining how your creative work displays your understanding of SF, its history, and your response to it, please also include an "artist's statement" with your work. Most students include these, and it very much helps me in evaluating creative work.

Be aware that this option is more challenging - especially if you haven't taken formal creative-writing courses - because I expect the same level of research as in the other options plus a good story or other creative expression. Click here for some useful creative-writing resources. 

 Final Project Deadline

Your final project is due TBA (the week before finals week). The completed project is due via Blackboard. If you've created a website, posted a short film to the internet, or otherwise cannot upload the project directly, just provide a link (website URL) to the project in the Submission section of the appropriate Blackboard assignment.

 Final Grading

Your course grade is based upon these factors:

• Class participation = 1/3 of grade. Includes attendance, participation in each day's discussion, and leading at least one discussion with partner(s). Missing three (3) days drops your final grade by one full letter grade; missing one (1) day drops a full grade to a minus grade.
• Daily response papers = 1/3 of grade
• Final research paper = 1/3 of grade

Graduate students and teachers: As you might imagine, I expect more from your papers. They should reflect your mastery of the paper form, provide insights worthy of your added experience and education, and reflect a broader understanding of the genre, critical approaches, and SF's place in literature and broader culture.

Participants are strongly encouraged to register for and attend the Campbell Conference, June 13-16. There you can meet many authors and editors (including the winners of the Campbell Award, Sturgeon Award, and Lifeboat to the Stars Award), get books signed, and participate in a unique scholarly event in the field. Attendees of the Conference earn up to 10 bonus points for attending and writing up a thoughtful response to the event. Register now if you'd like to be part of this year's event! Institute participants may register for the Conference at no cost - note that you are an Institute student in your registration form (if you want dinner during the Awards ceremony on Friday night, you must still pay for your meal).

updated 4/8/2013