1997-98 COURSE DESCRIPTION

(from class syllabus)

Science Fiction has only recently been admitted to academia as a genre worth occupying intellectual space and energies. Similarly, the fact that we negotiate our world in gender-specific ways has also only been acknowledged in the last couple of decades. In the following weeks, we shall investigate visual and literary texts, discussing why a particular text was created at a particular time, what relevance it may have to various historical contexts, and how it relates to us as men and women, and to the genre as a whole. We will be employing gender as one of our primary filters through which ideas of space and the future is sifted--both by us in the class room and by the creators of the movies and novels on our syllabus.

Space Matters differs from the 'usual university course' in that group discussion is at the heart of this class. Although the instructor may occasionally speak longer than the average student, this is not a lecture class. It is primarily the students who are responsible for the production of knowledge. It therefore follows, that the more each of you participate the better this class will be. This First Year Seminar relies on participation on all levels from its members. It is important that you come prepared and that you are willing to share your insights with the class. You have probably heard about critical thinking. This seminar stresses careful reading and thinking, in other words, we do intellectual work in class. Each of you have ideas and the class is a community where you should be comfortable finding your voice (however not so comfortable that you drown out other voices--we are talking quality not quantity here). Only if you speak up in class do I have an opportunity to know if and how you are processing the material.

There is no reward and no penalty for having a particular set of beliefs. It is only important that we be clear about what we believe and why.