TechnoBoY
02-08-2004, 01:15 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0207SciFiLit.html#
A serious study of sci-fi
Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
It could be any English literature class where students dissect intricate plots and analyze characters' motives.
Only the author isn't Shakespeare or Dostoyevsky and the classic under discussion, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, rarely makes it into mainstream literature courses. In fact, the main characters aren't even human.
Or are they?
"Can a robot that displays human emotion, such as patience, devotion and loyalty, be humanlike, especially when it's made in our own image?" Phoenix College English Professor Patricia Zaccardo asked her Literature of Science Fiction class. "Let's think about that."
It didn't take long for the class to jump into a spirited discussion on the central themes in science fiction writing, such as fabricating life, the ethics of using robots as indentured slaves and humans' fear of becoming obsolete to technology.
"Creating the robots made the humans feel godlike," said David Cady, a 20-year-old sophomore. "But then they made them human by giving them society-based ethics to live by and felt threatened by them as the robots evolved."
Most of the 10 students in Zaccardo's course are avid science fiction buffs who jumped at the opportunity to enroll in the three-credit elective. But the college hopes enrollment will increase next semester when the literature course debuts in the evening.
The 13,000-student college first offered the course in 1985 but retired it in the mid-'90s due to lack of interest. This semester it reintroduced an updated version of the course, which joins diverse offerings, such as Chicano Literature, Mythology and Rap Literature: The Oral Tradition, which debuted last year.
"There's interest again because science fiction films like Blade Runner and the Terminators have made science fiction part of pop culture," said Zaccardo, a sci-fi fanatic. "Keanu Reeves and The Matrix certainly didn't hurt."
The movies will be studied in class because the course also explores science fiction in film.
Those looking for an easy A when they signed up for the class were in for a rude awakening because Zaccardo requires students to complete a midterm, a final exam, a research paper, a creative project and submit reading and viewing logs.
"This is no walk in the park," Zaccardo said. "The same critical thinking skills they use to analyze Hamlet they need to use here. So it's fun, but challenging."
By the time the course is over, students will have dissected perennial favorites, such as Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Frank Herbert's Dune. But more contemporary readings, including Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (which became the movie Blade Runner), are also on the agenda. Cloning, test-tube babies and surrogate motherhood will be discussed.
"Science fiction fans are still considered geeks because we love this science stuff," Zaccardo said. "But I don't think 'geek' has the negative connotation it used to have. Bill Gates is a geek and he's very well respected."
OMG! Who thinks these people need to be introduced to Farscape? LOL!
A serious study of sci-fi
Mel Meléndez
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 7, 2004 12:00 AM
It could be any English literature class where students dissect intricate plots and analyze characters' motives.
Only the author isn't Shakespeare or Dostoyevsky and the classic under discussion, Isaac Asimov's I, Robot, rarely makes it into mainstream literature courses. In fact, the main characters aren't even human.
Or are they?
"Can a robot that displays human emotion, such as patience, devotion and loyalty, be humanlike, especially when it's made in our own image?" Phoenix College English Professor Patricia Zaccardo asked her Literature of Science Fiction class. "Let's think about that."
It didn't take long for the class to jump into a spirited discussion on the central themes in science fiction writing, such as fabricating life, the ethics of using robots as indentured slaves and humans' fear of becoming obsolete to technology.
"Creating the robots made the humans feel godlike," said David Cady, a 20-year-old sophomore. "But then they made them human by giving them society-based ethics to live by and felt threatened by them as the robots evolved."
Most of the 10 students in Zaccardo's course are avid science fiction buffs who jumped at the opportunity to enroll in the three-credit elective. But the college hopes enrollment will increase next semester when the literature course debuts in the evening.
The 13,000-student college first offered the course in 1985 but retired it in the mid-'90s due to lack of interest. This semester it reintroduced an updated version of the course, which joins diverse offerings, such as Chicano Literature, Mythology and Rap Literature: The Oral Tradition, which debuted last year.
"There's interest again because science fiction films like Blade Runner and the Terminators have made science fiction part of pop culture," said Zaccardo, a sci-fi fanatic. "Keanu Reeves and The Matrix certainly didn't hurt."
The movies will be studied in class because the course also explores science fiction in film.
Those looking for an easy A when they signed up for the class were in for a rude awakening because Zaccardo requires students to complete a midterm, a final exam, a research paper, a creative project and submit reading and viewing logs.
"This is no walk in the park," Zaccardo said. "The same critical thinking skills they use to analyze Hamlet they need to use here. So it's fun, but challenging."
By the time the course is over, students will have dissected perennial favorites, such as Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and Frank Herbert's Dune. But more contemporary readings, including Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (which became the movie Blade Runner), are also on the agenda. Cloning, test-tube babies and surrogate motherhood will be discussed.
"Science fiction fans are still considered geeks because we love this science stuff," Zaccardo said. "But I don't think 'geek' has the negative connotation it used to have. Bill Gates is a geek and he's very well respected."
OMG! Who thinks these people need to be introduced to Farscape? LOL!