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Essential reading for Science Fiction class

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19 Jan 2016 15:01 - 19 Jan 2016 15:08 #220231 by Cranberries
I'm teaching Science Fiction this summer at our college. We have seven weeks. I have to place my book order today.

How many books should I assign?
Which essential books should I assign?

I was totally flamed by one student for my book selection the last time i taught this. It was pretty standard stuff: Ender's Game, Snow Crash, Philip K. Dick.
Last edit: 19 Jan 2016 15:08 by Cranberries.

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19 Jan 2016 15:05 #220234 by Da Bid Dabid
What level of education?

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19 Jan 2016 15:08 #220236 by Cranberries

Da Bid Dabid wrote: What level of education?


College, introductory level course

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19 Jan 2016 15:29 #220244 by Columbob

craniac wrote:
I was totally flamed by one student for my book selection the last time i taught this. It was pretty standard stuff: Ender's Game, Snow Crash, Philip K. Dick.


Why, 'cause he'd read them all already?

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19 Jan 2016 15:37 #220246 by Ska_baron
Asimov - even I, Robot is pretty succinct as a set of short stories/vignettes for maybe the first assignment?

Hell, I read that one as a kid. So maybe too intro - but dude did a lot for Sci Fi.

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19 Jan 2016 15:37 #220247 by Cranberries

Columbob wrote:

craniac wrote:
I was totally flamed by one student for my book selection the last time i taught this. It was pretty standard stuff: Ender's Game, Snow Crash, Philip K. Dick.


Why, 'cause he'd read them all already?


It was some nerd rage thing. I couldn't remember his name so I dropped his picture into some online facial recognition thing, and it tagged him as "contemptful" and "insincere smile" which was kind of hilarious.

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19 Jan 2016 15:51 #220251 by metalface13
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water for one student. I guess you could throw in a lesser-known title by a well-known author? I have no background in curriculum development, so not sure how many books to assign. I guess shorter ones if the course is 7 weeks? What about throwing in a graphic novel? Anyway, here are some suggestions

Neuromancer by William Gibson
Dune by Frank Herbert
1984 by George Orwell
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick
Shadow and Claw (first half of the The Book of the New Sun series) by Gene Wolfe
Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Graphic Novels
V for Vendetta
Akira
Y: The Last Man
Heavy Liquid

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19 Jan 2016 15:54 #220252 by metalface13
Here's a pretty good list www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-pi...iction-fantasy-books

Also, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny.
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19 Jan 2016 15:56 #220253 by repoman
Intro to sci fi?

Some "Hard Science" fiction like Niven used to do.
Space Opera-ish like The Foundation by Asimov
Humor like Hitch Hikers Guide
And maybe something from the dawn of sci-fi like Journey to the Center of the Earth or The Time Machine

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19 Jan 2016 15:58 - 19 Jan 2016 16:01 #220254 by Sagrilarus
My college course in 1983 included Frankenstein, The Dispossessed, Brave New World, and essentially this entire book -- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 -- which is a series of short stories (from Astounding magazine and the like) from the who's who of 20th century SF writing. I still think about The Cold Equations now and again, one of the stories that hit me quite hard at the time. You'd need to be able to find out if it is still in print and available.

Science Fiction's history is really about the short story. There have been significant novels, but if you're looking at the industry from a historic perspective it's completely tied to periodicals.

The course was taught by Philip Klass by the way, the author William Tenn, not the UFO weirdo. He was neck deep in the genre in the fifties and had a thousand stories to tell. He tell us about "Bobby Heinlein" or "Phil Dick". Pretty remarkable class.

Edit -- This is it -- www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame...1K7C9XA08HHPGB4HZ7HR
Last edit: 19 Jan 2016 16:01 by Sagrilarus.
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19 Jan 2016 16:04 #220256 by Josh Look

Sagrilarus wrote: My college course in 1983 included Frankenstein, The Dispossessed, Brave New World, and essentially this entire book -- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 -- which is a series of short stories (from Astounding magazine and the like) from the who's who of 20th century SF writing. I still think about The Cold Equations now and again, one of the stories that hit me quite hard at the time. You'd need to be able to find out if it is still in print and available.

Science Fiction's history is really about the short story. There have been significant novels, but if you're looking at the industry from a historic perspective it's completely tied to periodicals.

The course was taught by Philip Klass by the way, the author William Tenn, not the UFO weirdo. He was neck deep in the genre in the fifties and had a thousand stories to tell. He tell us about "Bobby Heinlein" or "Phil Dick". Pretty remarkable class.

Edit -- This is it -- www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame...1K7C9XA08HHPGB4HZ7HR


I *LOVE* that book.

Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions is another great collection.

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19 Jan 2016 16:36 - 19 Jan 2016 16:49 #220267 by OldHippy
I just finished off Phillip K Dick's Ubik and it was awesome, I know you already mentioned him but it's worth bringing up because I was so impressed. I'm now reading Norman Spinard's The Iron Dream and it's fascinating. I don't know if you'd need a trigger warning for that one but it seems more relevant now that it probably was 40 years ago. It's worth a look for sure.

Asimov for sure, Foundation Trilogy is a very important, if pulpy, series. I guess you may as well consider all of the big three, Arthur C Clark and Heinlein as well.

Niven is a good choice, Ringworld was an interesting read back in the day.

Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is a good time.

Philip José Farmer has some good stuff, Riverworld obviously but there's others worth looking into.

Margret Atwood has been dabbling in this genre lately (although she calls it speculative fiction instead in a kind of pretentious manner) and her Oryx and Crake trilogy is worth looking into.

What about really early stuff like Gulliver's Travels or Frankenstein... some proto sci-fi?

Then there's the literary choices like 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange etc...

Some of these I haven't read in over 20 years so I'm not sure how well the all hold up.

Sag is right about the short story though... at least for 20th century sci-fi which is when the genre was really solidified, despite existing in various forms for maybe 2-3 hundred years before that.

There's a ton of potential stuff in comics too, I loved Transmetropolitan for example, but there is a lot to choose from there.
Last edit: 19 Jan 2016 16:49 by OldHippy.
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19 Jan 2016 16:44 #220270 by bfkiller
Some that popped to mind:

1984 (my favourite book)
2001
Neuromancer
Something by Jules Verne
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19 Jan 2016 16:45 #220271 by metalface13
Anybody have any recently published recommendations? I'm curious as I haven't read any new science fiction in quite a while.

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19 Jan 2016 16:48 - 19 Jan 2016 16:52 #220272 by OldHippy

metalface13 wrote: Anybody have any recently published recommendations? I'm curious as I haven't read any new science fiction in quite a while.


Those Margaret Atwood books I mentioned are new. She also has a new one coming out called 'The Heart Goes Last' that sounds really interesting. I also read a new humour sci-fi book a couple of years ago called 'The Sheriff of Yrnameer' and it was quite a bit of fun.
Last edit: 19 Jan 2016 16:52 by OldHippy.
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