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Old Schedule
How To Read This Schedule: All readings will be completed before class on the date on which they are assigned. Anything in bold is work to be completed before class and brought with you on the day listed. Paper due dates, also in bold, indicate that the completed manuscript of your paper must be in the correct dropbox on eCampus before class starts on the day indicated.
Week 1 Introduction
Mon 01/13
- Course Overview
Wed 01/15
- Joanna Russ, “When It Changed”
Fri 01/17
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1912), Ch. 1-7
Week 2 Planetary Romance
Mon 01/20
No Class
MLK Day
Wed 01/22
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1912), Ch. 8-14
Fri 01/24
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1912), Ch. 15-21
Week 3 The Engineer & The Unknown
Mon 01/27
- Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars (1912), Rest
Wed 01/29
- Hugo Gernsback, “The Magnetic Storm” (1918)
Fri 01/31
- Finish Gernsback
- H.P. Lovecraft, “The Colour Out of Space” (1927)
Week 4 The Golden Age Dawns
Mon 02/03
- Finish Lovecraft
Wed 02/05
- No Class
Fri 02/07
- C.L. Moore, “Shambleau” (1933)
Week 5 SF Matures
Mon 02/10
- Finish Moore
- A.E. van Vogt, “Black Destroyer”
Wed 02/12
- Finish van Vogt
Fri 02/14
- Judith Merril, “That Only a Mother” (1948)
- Paper #1 Due
Week 6 The New Wave
Mon 02/17
- Finish Merril
- Robert Heinlein, ”’—All You Zombies—’” (1958)
Wed 02/19
- Finish Heinlein
Fri 02/21
- Pamela Zoline, “The Heat Death of the Universe” (1967)
Week 7 Alienation
Mon 02/24
- Finish Zoline
- Samuel R. Delaney, “Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones” (1968)
Wed 02/26
- Finish Delaney
Fri 02/28
- James Tiptree, Jr., “The Women Men Don’t See”
Week 8 Novels Become Important
Mon 03/02
- Finish Tiptree
- Philip K. Dick, Ubik (1969), Ch. 1-5
Wed 03/04
- Philip K. Dick, Ubik (1969), Ch. 6-9
Fri 03/06
- Philip K. Dick, Ubik (1969), Ch. 10-12
Week 9 Spring Break
Mon 03/09
No Class
Spring Break
Wed 03/11
No Class
Spring Break
Fri 03/13
No Class
Spring Break
Week 10 More Novels
Mon 03/16
- No Class
Wed 03/18
- No Class
Fri 03/20
- No Class
Week 11 A More Nuanced Utopia
Mon 03/23
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Ch. 1-6
Wed 03/25
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Ch. 7-14
Fri 03/27
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Rest
Week 12 Cyberpunk
Mon 03/30
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Rest
Wed 04/01
- No Class
Fri 04/03
- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984), Ch. 1-7
Week 13 Dystopia?
Mon 04/06
- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984), Ch. 8-15
Wed 04/08
- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984), Rest
- Paper #2 due
Fri 04/10
No Class
Reading Day
Week 14 Histories of Alternate Pasts
Mon 04/13
- William Gibson, Neuromancer (1984), Rest
Wed 04/15
- Octavia Butler, “Speech Sounds” (1983)
Fri 04/17
- Finish Buttler
- P. Djèlí Clark, The Black God’s Drums (2018)
- Read to section that ends “She glares as if I’ve not made a bit of sense, but follows me into the building.” (p. 57)
Week 15 Sad Robots are the Future
Mon 04/20
- P. Djèlí Clark, The Black God’s Drums (2018), Rest
Wed 04/22
- P. Djèlí Clark, The Black God’s Drums (2018), Rest
Fri 04/24
- Martha Wells, All Systems Red (2018), Ch. 1-4
Week 16
Mon 04/27
- Martha Wells, All Systems Red (2018), Rest
Tue 04/28
- Martha Wells, All Systems Red (2018), Rest
- Paper #3 due 05/04