Alien Encounters: Examining the Other(ing) in Science Fiction
Instructor: Erin ErhartOffice Hours: MW 3:30-5:00
Email: Class Time: MW 5:00-6:20
Class Location: Olin-Sang 124
Course Description and Objectives
Two aliens approach each other on a foreign world. What do they look like? What do they say? What do they want from each other? Our dreams about the interaction of new species on a distant planet speaks not only to the power of the human imagination, but also to the way that we, as humans, see our own lives, concerns, fears, and hopes, reflected in the universe around us. Science Fiction (SF) presents us with strange worlds filled with exotic creatures and landscapes, but in doing so it asks us to reevaluate our own lives and own worlds—to understand the way that we interact with the world around us, and what kinds of expectations we carry forth into the universe. In this class, students will be presented with a selection of SF short stories, TV shows and podcasts, and asked to examine not only what is presented within the text, but also how these texts speak back to the world we inhabit.
To this end students will use critical theory and cultural texts to develop their own readings of these texts while developing their analytical writing skills within the university. This course will help them cultivate the necessary faculties for writing successful academic essays, which will serve you throughout your career at Brandeis. They will develop a critical vocabulary for thinking about the process of composition and revision, and cultivate crucial research skills that will help them make the most of the information resources available at Brandeis.
Overview of Assignments
In this course you will be required to write four short essays and submit both rough drafts and revised final drafts. You will also be required to post responses to in-class assignments on LATTE, and to complete a creative writing based project at the end of the semester.
Of the four papers, three of them will be utilizing close reading skills, and the final will be using a theoretical lens to approach a text.
Grades:
15%Attendance, Participation
60%Assignments
Essay 1:10%
Essay 2:15%
Essay 3:15%
Essay 4: 20%
15%LATTE posts (Music Video Monday, Pre-Draft assignments)
10% Final Project
Attendance and Participation
Attendance is required for this course. To note, attendance will require not only your physical, but also your mental presence in my class. Missing classes or failing to turn in papers on time will result in deductions of your attendance grade. This grade figures heavily into your final grade. After three absences for any reason, Erika will be notified. Any absence after three will result in a FULL letter reduction of your semester grade. More than six absences will result in a failing grade. Also, being tardy to class TWO TIMES will be equal to ONE ABSENCE. The same holds for the class as well as for scheduled and required meetings with the tutor.
Poor attendance includes coming to class late, coming to class without your assignments, sleeping in class or failing to bring the proper materials (including the text being discussed and writing utensils and paper), texting or talking on the phone in class or using a computer in any other way than to take notes or present a topic. You must also have completed the reading for this class in order to participate. Trust me, I know when you haven’t done your reading.
Participation in class, as a component of your attendance, will require you to speak in class and articulate your thoughts and readings of the class materials. As a future scholar, you must be ready to communicate with your peers your beliefs and knowledges and as such, verbal interaction with your classmates is expected. This is to be met with the understanding that you will respect the opinions of your classmates and allow them the room and opportunity to speak as they will.
Technology in the Classroom
You may not use technology in my class, this includes laptops, cellphones or tablets. A laptop may be used only if you have a documented disability with the university which requires the usage of a computer for the taking of notes in class, or if we have directly addressed the usage of laptops/technology as a learning strategy in the classroom and you have received the approval of the MKTYP or myself. For class presentations that require a laptop, the laptop may be used in the duration of the presentation but not outside of this time.
The purpose of this class is to train you as a reader and writer of literature; processes which, I maintain, requires the putting of pen to paper. You must then bring both paper and a writing utensil to class each day along with the assigned texts. Failure to do so will result in a deduction of your participation grade.
Turning in Papers
Papers are due at the beginning of class on the assigned day. Arriving late to class on a day when a paper is due will result not only in a deduction of your participation grade, but an automatic 10% deduction on your paper grade. If you have an emergency, or have encountered a serious problem with a paper that will require an extension, YOU MUST NOTIFY ME 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE AND RECEIVE CONFIRMATION OF YOUR EXTENSION IN ORDER TO AVOID A REDUCTION OF YOUR GRADE. Papers turned in late will receive an automatic 10% deduction for each 24 hour period after the paper was originally due. Please note that this means if a paper is due at 3 in the afternoon, at 3:00 the following day the paper will be marked down 20%. This is non-negotiable.
Also, papers must be printed on paper and turned in by hand at the beginning of class. Please plan accordingly before class in order to turn your paper in on time.
Late Work: Extensions will not be granted unless there are extreme, extenuating circumstances and are accompanied by proper documentation. Furthermore, requests for extensions will not be granted unless they come at least 48 hours before the beginning of class on the day the draft is due. Papers will lose 1/3 of a grade for every day they are late (i.e. a B paper will receive a B-). If you take advantage of the Writing Center, you may hand in a completed reward for in place of your final draft (and only the final draft) for a 24-hour extension. All other assignments, including pre-drafts and rough drafts should be completed on the scheduled due date.
Meeting with the Tutor
Weekly meetings with your tutor aremandatory as those meetings form a critical component of the class. YOU MUST MEET WITH YOUR TUTOR ONCE A WEEK, AT A TIME AGREED ON BY BOTH YOU AND THE TUTOR. Any missed meeting will count as an absence in my class. You should bring all relevant materials to your meeting, including drafts, comments, revisions, outlines, and key sources. It is your responsibility to come to these meetings with a set of concerns that you want to deal with. If you must reschedule a meeting with your tutor, you must give them a full 24 hours’ notice before you do so, or you will be penalized.
Writing Center
Here at Brandeis, you have an excellent (and totally free) resource available to you. The WritingCenter offers one-on-one writing tutorials with trained and experienced consultants, some of whom are teaching UWS themselves. Visit to get a better idea of what the writing center offers or to sign up for an appointment. When you visit the writing center, you may have your consultant fill out a Writing Center Reward Form, which will earn you a 24-hour extension on the final draft of any paper (only one extension per paper).
Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity at all times (see http: Failure to comply with these rules will be met with an automatic failure on the assignment, and a possible referral to the Office of Student Development and Conduct. This referral may result in sanction including but not limited to failure in the course, suspension and/or expulsion from the University and/or educational programs.
On a personal note, I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty in my classroom. When you sign your name to an assignment, you take responsibility for the content of that assignment and agree that all content is a result of your labor.
All papers are required to submitted with the proper MLA citation format. Online engines that input the “correct” citation for your papers are prohibited and easily identifiable.
Required Texts for the Class:
- Course pack (I strongly recommend using a 3-Ring binder for this class to keep track of course materials, writing assignments, and graded materials)
TENATIVE OUTLINE OF READINGS
ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE THE DAY THEY ARE LISTED
*Note Well: This syllabus is subject to change. Revisions will be posted on Latte and you will be notified of all changes. You are responsible for keeping track of a current syllabus.
Week 1
W Sept 3Welcome to class! Review syllabus/class materials
“Darkness”
Week 2
M Sept 8Read: “The Quiet World,” “Elements of the Academic Essay,” and the Norton Guide for Poetic Forms and Literary Terms.
Complete the study guide for the Norton readings
W Sept 10Read: “Eurema’s Dam”
Post on LATTE: Find and identify five literary terms (from the Norton) in the texts which we have read so far in class.
Week 3
M Sept 15ROUGH DRAFT ONE DUE IN CLASS—THREE PAGES (MIN.) DUE
BRING TWO COPIES TO CLASS. We will be doing a thesis workshop.
W Sept 17Read: “The Migration of Darkness,” “Concision”
Week 4
M Sept 22FINAL PAPER ONE DUE IN CLASS—MUST BE 3-5 PAGES IN LENGTH.
Music Video Monday (MVM)
W Sept 24Read: “The Road Not Taken”
Post on LATTE: Close reading of music video
Week 5
M Sept 29Read: “Robot Dreams,” close reading info
W Oct 1Read: “Active vs. Passive verbs,” “Clarity.”
Bring to class: Graded first paper AND your introduction and rough thesis for paper two
Week 6
M Oct 6ROUGH DRAFT TWO DUE IN CLASS—4 PAGE MIN.
BRING THREE COPIES TO CLASS FOR WORKSHOPPING
W Oct 8Read: “Dark They Were and Golden Eyed”
Week 7
M Oct 13FINAL DRAFT PAPER TWO DUE IN CLASS—FOUR TO SIX PAGES REQ.
Music Video Monday
W Oct 15Read: “A Saucer of Loneliness”
Post on LATTE: Close reading of music video
Week 8
M Oct 20Listen to: “Welcome to Nightvale: Pilot”
W Oct 22Read: “Punctuation”
Bring to Class: Thesis and introduction for essay three (for work-shopping)
Week 9
M Oct 27ROUGH DRAFT ESSAY THREE DUE IN CLASS—FOUR PAGE MIN
BRING THREE COPIES FOR PEER REVIEW
W Oct 29Read: TBD (Intro to science fiction), “Using Sources.”
Week 10
M Nov 3FINAL ESSAY DUE IN CLASS—FOUR TO SIX PAGES REQ.
Music Video Monday
W Nov 5Read: “Devolution,” Excerpts on Devolution from Oxford text
Post on LATTE: Close reading of music video
Week 11
M Nov 10Watching in class: Star Trek: The Original Series, “The City on the Edge of Forever”
W Nov 12Post on LATTE: Lens/focal text match up
Week 12
M Nov 17Read: Sample lens essays (posted on LATTE), “Quantum Lyrics”
W Nov 19ROUGH DRAFT FOUR DUE IN CLASS—FOUR PAGE MIN.
BRING THREE COPIES FOR PEER REVIEW
Week 13
M Nov 24Due in Class: Reverse Outline of Rough Draft Four
W Nov 26NO CLASS-- ENJOY
Week 14
M Dec 1FINAL ESSAY FOUR DUE IN CLASS—FOUR TO SIX PAGES REQ.
Assignment of final project pictures!
W Dec 3Peer editing and brainstorming for final project
Week 15
M Dec 8LAST DAY: Presentation of final projects and potluck.