I'm currently studying SF and Fantasy Literature at CCRI here in Rhode
Island. Our main text is; 'The Prentice Hall Anthology of Science Fiction
and Fantasy' edited by Garyn G. Roberts. It has some good notes on the
beginnings of the genre and biographical notes on the various authors, and
what each genre consists of .

Marianne


www.marianneplumridge.com

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"Some men see things as they are and say 'Why?'
  I dream of things that never were and say, 'Why not?'"
                      George Bernard Shaw
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Brians" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 12:41 PM
Subject: [SF-LIT] Designing a grad course in SF for online delivery


> I'm designing an online SF course for distance-learning students
> earning an MA in English for teachers. Washington State requires all
> public-school teachers to earn an MA in their subject specialities by
> the fifth year of their employment, but it's hard for many of them to
> uproot and move to an area where such a degree is offered, so online
> seemed like a good alternative.
>
> I'm looking for ideas.
>
> My main plan is to adapt my undergrad course, which covers the books
> discussed at
> <http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/science_fiction/Science_Fiction_Guides.html>.
> There's also a syllabus there.
>
> I intend to have them write a serious seminar research paper, but
> with the emphasis on the pedagogical usefulness of their findings,
> drawing on the large collection of SF scholarship at WSU. Our
> distance learning service will photocopy and ship out to distance
> students articles in journals and send them monographs by mail. I'd
> have them begin by reading Veronica Hollinger's "Contemporary Trends
> in Science Fiction Criticism, 1980-1999"
> <http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/78/hollinger78art.htm>.  They
> will submit a first draft online, critique each others' work, then
> submit a revised version.
>
> I also want to have each student take a turn discussing some relevant
> scholarship on the fiction under discussion. For instance, when we do
> The Martian Chronicles, one student will be responsible for having
> read two or three articles and distilling useful ideas from them to
> be shared online with the group.
>
> I don't know of a really good in-print history of SF I'd recommend.
> Suggestions?
>
> Other ideas? I'd love to hear from anyone who's done a grad-level course.
>
> --
> Paul Brians, Department of English
> Washington State University
> Pullman, WA 99164-5020
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.wsu.edu/~brians
>