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What Belongs In a High School Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit Class?
flogger writes "I have been asked to help develop a literature course for Science Fiction and Fantasy literature. What do you consider to be appropriate selections of short stories and novels in these genres for high school students of all ability levels? I'd also like to know why you choose certain selections. This class will be 'regular' class and not a class for 'flunkies' to earn a credit by sitting docile and listening to lectures. The following is a course description that I have been given as a guideline. This description can change. Any ideas? 'In this Junior/Senior level course, students will focus on the genres of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Students will survey the histories of these genres and recognize how world events have been reflected onto other worlds. From the early formation of the genre, with Verne, and the classics of Clarke, Tolkien, Bradbury, and LeGuin, to the contemporary works of Card, Jordan, and Vinge, the genres have been about portraying humanity in possible scenarios. These works have mirrored events throughout the troubled situations of our history and provided optimistic outcomes and horrifying predictions. Through this course, students will utilize analytical skills and reading strategies to evaluate our current situation and project into the literature of different worlds while sharing and learning of an author's insight. Possible areas of interest will be topics of the environment, energy conservation, war, social issues, and others. '"
You might consider that not only does the world around us inform the fiction that is written (consider Heinlein's social and political commentary in Starship Troopers) but that also Science Fiction informs our own world (see how innovation is sparked by what SciFi has given us. Also, the genres can be used to teach us about the past (Piers Anthony's Steppe) or give us a glimpse into the far future (Niven's Ringworld). There is quite a lot of SciFi in our daily lives, but our world is certainly present in our SciFi.
I want to know where this class was $Big_Num years ago. I would have jumped at the chance to participate in such a class.
it is better to light a flame thrower than curse the darkness. -Terry Pratchett Men at Arms
My reading is (obviously) slanted toward sci-fi over fantasy but here's some more names to consider (in no order): Stanislaw Lem, Assimov, Wells, Philip K. Dick, Orwell, Mary Shelley, H. P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, Charles Stross, Heinlein, Vonnegut, Lois Lowry, Madeleine L'Engle, Larry Niven, Sturgeon, Huxley, Herbert, Stephenson, Douglas Adams, Rand, Anthony Burgess, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Silverberg, Harry Harrison, Frederick Pohl, Harlan Ellison, Jack Williamson, E.E. Smith and Crichton. While you might feel some of them belong elsewhere (Shelley, Vonnegut, Rand, Orwell) they're still sci-fi/fantasy.
Um, what were you planning to have them do? What amount of reading per week are you aiming at? 20-30 pages? I realize a lot of the authors (Jordan especially) may be too much to ask.
My work here is dung.
Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 is a favorite classic. Science fiction, but easy to read for anyone.
I think the books really transcend into life in the 21st century. Plus there's a plethora of movie versions you could show your class.
Enders Game...great story, and will probably leave them thinking a little. Would be good discussion starter.
Think of the children! PLEASE!
No offense .. but it sounds like this course is going to be just like most English courses..
That is.. take an enjoyable experience (i.e. reading a good book) and turn it into a complete chore by over-analysing everything to the point that students shun reading forever.
Now.. maybe some high school students would enjoy comparing their favorite sci-fi series to the cold war.. or writing a 10 page essay on what the author _REALLY_ meant when he said "John walked briskly across the street".. but I suspect most won't.
That said.. if this is your intention though.. 1984 is a must. You can (and people have) turn just about any paragraph in that book into a masters thesis.
Cyberpunk (Gibson, Stross et al)
Classic old school sci-fi (Clarke, Heinlein etc)
Modern Space opera (Ian M Banks)
High Fantasy (Tolkein et al
Schlock Fantasy (Dragonlance, Drizzt)
Wow! Where do you work? Almost any district I've been to would have a small group of "outraged" parents preventing the establishment of a curriculum that "forces" students to read fantasy (read: witchcraft and Satan-worship).
Robert Heinlein!
Note: I'll write only about the books I've read, other folks might have other points of view.
Heinlein might have had a weird way of looking at things but he has great stories as an introduction to the scifi genre - light(ish) reading with plenty of topics to discuss.
Take two of his works that I recommend to folks, Starship Troopers and Farmer in the Sky. Both are "juvenile" books - sex and misogyny are themes in Heinlein's later works - but deal with life in space in a very realistic way. They're wildly speculative yet, just barely, they're plausible enough to make sense.
If you're looking for short stories, there's The Man Who Sold The Moon - short stories populated with really far-fetched ideas yet it's a really fun read.
I'm sure other people will suggest other things but I strongly suggest you take a look at Heinlein for the kids, after all he wrote a bunch of stories for them that are easy reads and are, as far as I can remember, kid-safe.
I'm resisting recommending more authors - as I'm sure this thread will be full of them - but Heinlein's earlier works, from what I recall, are nice examples of scifi aimed towards younger audiences.
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One thing that might generate extra interest is stuff that has been adapted into a movie. Daphne du Maurier's "The Birds" comes to mind, but I'm pretty antiquated.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Let the students decide. In most literature classes similar to this, you can pretty much bet that each student will have their favorite authors/genres, so why not take suggestions at the beginning of the year, order the books and use that as some material. Students will like it because they aren't being "forced" to read a book that isn't their style, they see that a teacher respects their opinions and chances are you would have better discussions. So pick a few "classic" books and a few contemporary novels, but let the students really direct what the class reads, the English classes that were like that in high school I really loved and participated much more actively in than "read pages 125-178 by tomorrow" classes.
Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
I'd add some H. G. Wells and John W. Campbell - classics before Asimov (although Campbell's personal views are somewhat controversial now). And of course Asimov was mentioned by some people above me already.
Also, there are genres that fall within sci-fi and fantasy, like alternate history. Some good sources for short stories, too, are the Asimov's, Analog and SF&F literary magazines, and also short story digests published on a regular basis that include some big names writing short stories for the more literary public.
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It would be interesting to emphasize how SF has evolved with society. From Vern and Wells in Victorian Europe, to Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" and "Stranger in a Strange Land", which demonstrate both sides of American culture in the 1960's. John Brunner's "Stand on Zanzibar" is a terrific period piece, and Zelazny's "Lord of Light" is also a blast.
In my view, SF took a serious downward turn from the early 1980's, but there are exceptions, to be sure. With the entire range of SF at your disposal, there's no reason to select junk when there are so many gifted authors to study.
"Man is nothing without the works of man" -- Helvetius
The Dune series is a personal favorite of mine and it's doubtful you'd progress far enough into the series during a single semester to see it begin to crumble towards the end. That's my vote.
But please disregard those mentioning the likes of Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. A class like this needs to address works that won't appear in every English II course in the country already.
Robert Heinlein
Clifford Simak
Stanislaw Lem
Edwin Abbott Abbott's Flatland
My 14-year-old daughter liked Asimov's "I, Robot" a lot. Easy to read but also very imaginative and thought-provoking.
...one of the best sci-fi novels i ever had the pleasure of reading. Also as others mentioned Douglas Adams, and Orson Scott Card the guy who wrote the "Enders Game" series.
1984
Got to have at least one short story from Arthur C. Clarke. "Superiority" is my favorite, but "The Nine Billion Names of God" is great too.
...already mentioned, how about "Little Brother" by Cory Doctorow?
I recommend doing short stories instead of full books, especially for some of the heavier authors (Tolkein). "The Coldest Place" is a great story. Larry Niven has written many short stories, especially about Gil Hamilton and the stories about the origin of humans. Asimov has lots of short Robot stories, and I'm sure you won't have trouble finding plenty of others. What I'm getting at is that quantity is sometimes ... not necessary. There is plenty to learn comparing short stories by classic authors.
my 2c.
There's only so many books you can fit into a course. I'd suggest getting subscriptions to Analog (thereby adding to the circulation of a favorite magazine of mine) or getting some short story anthologies.
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is Philip K. Dick's Radio Free Albemuth
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I took a a Sci/Fi lit class in highschool quite some time ago, and the only book I can recall was "A Brave New World" by Huxley. I think it was a good choice for the course.
In any list of notable science fiction books, Stanislaw Lem cannot be excluded. The Cyberiad would be the obvious starting point.
I know my school had its own Sci-fi lit class. I feel like there's enough sci-fi lit out there to fill a whole semester's worth of material. I'm also not exactly sure where the themes and techniques specific to sci-fi and fantasy literature intersect. Some of the readership is the same, but what else? If you must include both, why not just call the class "Nerd Lit?"
Philip K Dick
All joking aside, I can't see why this class is necessary. Science Fiction and Fantasy are meant to be enjoyed. If you force children who aren't interested, they still won't like it. If it's an elective, then you'll get kids who have probably already read all of the books that might be offered, so they won't fully enjoy it either. Unless it worked around not that well known literature and focused more on discussions and less on bulk reading/essays, it might have some merit.
For that matter, a good 1/3 of my books read in plain ol' Lit were sci-fi/fantasy. Would that class be changed to general lit? Will there be no other specialized lit classes? Will they cut general lit and change it into specialized lit, so that no one has to leave the genre they like? I prefer the generalized approached to reading, otherwise you are in danger of never leaving your comfort zone.
"Ender's Game." "Lord of the Rings." Hell, "Chronicles of Narnia." "Starship Troopers." "The Demolished Man." "Ringworld." No reason not to sprinkle some legitimately entertaining reads into the mix, and since the above-mentioned books all have fairly rich themes to discuss, you won't compromise academic value to get something that might hook them.
Anathem
We spanned HG Wells (Time Machine) through Larry Niven (Ring World). A lot of it depends on how the material is presented. My prof at the time was a repressed poet, and went into the deep meaningful relationships in Heinlein's "Double Star" and swore that the author was seeing a shrink while writing the book. We also went through the original Foundation trilogy where the prof kept pointing out how the administrators of the planet were going through a feminization and had an oral fixation. During the discussion of "Dune" (and again later in "Ring World") there was pointing out of the male fear of falling into a hole - especially a hole with teeth.
Personally, I would look at the older scifi (golden age, 30s-50s) for technology that they proposed and see how long it took to actually implement. Then look at technology mentioned in contemporary scifi and see how close we are to getting there.
jerry
"Software is the difference between hardware and reality"
One of the best first Sifi books is The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury.
The stories are short and insightful and will make for great discussions in this age group. Although it was written in the early 50's the stories are (from what I remember) still very relevant with great social commentary.
I'd add in a short novel from the Culture universe, there's a few around. If you want a full length book, a good one for a geek is Excession. Or if you really hate your students, Feersum Endjinn (I am kidding, love them both).
Well, obviously Harry Potter. And vampires. Definitely focus on books with teenage vampires.
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I actually had a High School lit course that covered some SciFi/Fantasy. The three books they used were:
Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes"
Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War"
John Brunner's "Stand on Zanzibar"
Consider Manga which can offer something easier to get into than a full-blown novel.
Just off the top of my head:
Ender's Game and/or Ender's Shadow
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Any Phillip K Dick (since most have been made to movies)
[J]
Both his Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever series (fantasy) and his Gap series (Sci Fi) were excellent writing and stories. I read them growing up and thought they were great. He's one of the few authors I've read that can do both genres really well. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_R._Donaldson
Also, I think a fun class project would be to compile a concept or theme-based wiki and find/cite examples of major themes in fantasy and sci-fi literature. I use "wiki" loosely here because in my experience wiki tools offer too much freedom to express and with groups it usually makes a mess. But simply put, answer this: what are major and interesting repeated themes in sci fi and fantasy literature, which books do those themes appear in, and for each, a brief description of how the story uses or modifies the basic theme for that story, which stories show best examples of the theme, which places did the theme first appear, etc.
but while you're teaching high school students science fiction, kids in other high schools are learning actual science
In other high schools, kids are learning about mutual exclusivity.
0 = 1 + e^(Alt something)
Charles Stross: Accelerado (Possibly just Lobsters).
Tolkien: Lord of the Rings
Asimov: I Robot
John W. Campbell: Who goes there? (Or "The Cloak of Aesir" or "The Moon is Hell")
E.E.Smith: Skylark of Space
Balmer & Wylie: When Worlds Collide
I tried to get one per decade, but my memory isn't that organized. Reading the list I notice that there are few short stories. And I left out a bunch to shorten the list. But one noteworthy factor is how the themes change over the decades.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant belong on any list of serious fantasy literature. Apart from the brutal act in the beginning it is absolutely perfect. Nothing compares in terms of esoteric vocabulary. Sometimes I think Tolkien's Elvish is easier to understand than Donaldson's English. But it does challenge you as a reader and as a thinking person.
And a tremendous story as well...
Consider a mixture not just between the genres, but between the time periods. Do a piece from H. G. Wells, maybe something by Tolkien (maybe The Hobbit), and then something fairly modern and gimmicky, something that'll be fun to read. John Zakour does a lot of small paperbacks that are fairly punny and set slightly in the future. Or even somethings from Anthony Piers. They are always fun, and a great way to point out reader comprehension. Avoid doing a lot of the heavier Sci Fi, as it is just going to turn people off to it. Mix in some of the fun stuff, especially early, and let them enjoy it a bit.
I stumbled across this great book just recently and was ashamed to learn that it was written in 1974. The big thing missing from this list is any books by women.
The gun is good. The penis is evil. The penis shoots seeds, and makes new life to poison the Earth with a plague of men, as once it was, but the gun shoots death, and purifies the Earth of the filth of brutals. Go forth . . . and kill!
I would recommend selections of those short stories that were collected in Asimov's Mysteries. Asimov is a given for the class, but most people tend to forget he did things other than his robot series (which, are also terribly important). Asimov can be seen as early-on having given thought to the societal implications of technology that would later take over the genre with cyberpunk and post-cyberpunk. While his robot series defines the "Three Laws of Robotics", Asimov's Mysteries deal with what-ifs such as: being far-removed from humanity and alone (or with a small group of people) for a long time (Marooned Off Vesta -- leads well to a discussion about a possible expedition to Mars); the mental pressures of a reputation (Billiard Ball is wonderful for this).
Sadly, it is long out of print, but many of its stories are in other collections. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asimov's_Mysteries
No Fantasy
They are already dumbed down enough. No need to add to that.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
The Princess Bride. Many students will have seen the movie, but they have no idea that it is a book and that the book is completely hilarious (and you can fool them into thinking it's an abridgment).
Ender's Game. This is one of the best sci-fi stories I've ever read. The ending really surprised me.
Starship Troopers. The book is much better than the movie and has lots of interesting political ramifications to discuss.
Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke. Great novel the perfectly fits the classic sci-fi genre and deals with the "what if" of alien contact and how it could possibly come about. It has ties to biblical stories (eg: Noah's ark) and packs quite a bit of detail (physics, biology, computers, etc.) into a fairly easy read. Rama II was a decent followup and goes more into social issues, but the subsequent novels go progressively downhill and are only worth reading just to find out what happens.
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Ender's Game (social / war aspects)
Starship Troopers (great social accountability)
I just re-read the original H.G. Wells "War of the Worlds" a few months back, and I was surprised at how much of it is applicable to modern society. While the story itself is somewhat dated because technology has passed it by so completely, the human issues in it are just as modern and prevalent today as they were when it was published.
In a way, I think that's what any SciFi/Fantasy literature course should get across -- that the stories are not just about whiz-bang special effects -- a lot of the time they are far more pointed descriptions and explorations of the human condition than are written in any of the "serious" literature.
War of the Worlds, for example, is a very strong commentary/criticism of English Imperialism and Colonialism and the horrendous toll it took on the peoples of Africa. Even the ending (Spoiler: It's microorganisms) is a comment that the myriad diseases of Africa were eventually the only thing that "saved" Africa from the utter dominance of European occupation.
At the time, had Wells written a non-fantasy book about the same subject, he would have been looking at prison time for sedition against the crown, instead, he sold a best-seller about Martians attacking the Earth.
Life, the Universe, and Everything... in my image.
Also, the following should be included as well:
Drakon, by S.M. Stirling
Watermind, by M.M. Buckner
Improbable, by Adam Fawer (not listed as sci-fi, but definitely in the modern genre)
and, of course, A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
I'm guessing that you have summer reading to start the course like we did when I was in High School. For that you would want one Sci-Fi title and one Fantasy. More importantly you want these books to be ones that the students will actually enjoy quite a bit. I would go with The Hobbit and Ender's Game for your summer reading. Ender's game, in my mind, is the title most likely to get the attention of high school students.
The problem inherent with the entire Fantasy genre is that almost every good book is a part of a series, which requires you to read through the series in order to find out what happens. The Sci-Fi genre does this to a lesser extent, usually making the first book a self-contained story which also works into a part of a larger story. I think that the best choice is to exclude those series which do not have a conclusive ending to their first book.
Ursula K. Le Guin
for both sci-fi AND fantasy... which is awesome
and one of her best sci-fi books, The Left Hand of Darkness, which won the Hugo and Nebula awards in 1970 (Dune did the same things), is bound to get the PTA's panties in a bunch due to it's discussions on sexuality (which, as an English teacher... is your JOB)
I can tell you that you should explore the roots of speculative fiction and what it means. For example, here are the novels that we read in my class(which was admittedly a college-level course).
Pilgrim's Progress (John Bunyan)
The Invisible Man (Wells)
The Hobbit (Tolkien) - Whatever you do, don't try to do so thoroughly. The Hobbit alone is a lot of material.
The Neverending Story (Michael Ende) - HIGHLY recommend this one.
Divine Right's Trip (Gurney Norman) - This was an excellent book that I still reference today, but is probably the first one on this list that I'd drop.
Neuromancer (Gibson)
We also covered numerous short stories. A few of the more memorable ones:
The Cold Equations (Tom Godwin) - Excellent, if dated. there's a film of it, as well, but it added a lot of side material.
The Celestial Railroad (Hawthorne) - Highly recommended after Pilgrim's Progress.
The Last Question (Asimov) - Required reading.
Heinlein is also an excellent choice, though we didn't cover it in my class.
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is this a semester course or a full year?
Focus mainly on short stories that the kids can read in a couple hours. chose a few (3 max for a full year, 1 max for semester) medium length novels to dive deep in.
stay away from Tolkien, except maybe some excerpts.
great short stories are plentiful in Asimov's "complete short stories" vols 1 and 2. in particular, "the Ugly Little Boy"
Clark's "nine billion names of god" is a tasty little bite that will make them think.
"The Sleeper Awakes" by H. G. Wells is remarkable in terms both of what it got right and what it got wrong.
cover a wide variety of genres (cyberpunk, space opera, hard, soft, fantasy/sci-fi blend)
but remember to focus on what makes great sci fi great. great sci fi is great literature wrapped in a (usually) futuristic/alternate universe. all the things that make
The difference between Theory and Practice is greater in Practice than in Theory.
Asimov. You must include Asimov as in his works we find the genesis of sciency science fiction joined with accessible social commentary ideal for introductory courses. The genres are overly broad for a single course so you should concentrate on shorter but apocryphal works without deep analysis of each but concentrate on the use of imagination and the power that science fiction and fantasy have to deeply explore the human condition(writ large) by distancing the reader from the contemporary milieu.
I would highly recommend, if you can find it, "Microcosmic Tales: 100 SF short stories". It's a collection of short (some very short) that do a great job of presenting an idea for evaluation and discussion without a ton of superfluous dialogue.
Ummm, and Starship Troopers, of course.
Fahrenheit 451 is another one. Considering some of the ways that folks on the right and left are trying to ban certain types of literature and speech, that one is necessary.
Those two books had more of a profound impact on me than any science fiction book ever.
Starship Troopers is another one that will put into perspective the relationship of the military, the politicians, and the electorate. It'll put the idea in the kid's head that going to war is always a little more than "fighting for freedom" - especially when it's to go and liberate a country from a dictator in order to put back in the hands of a monarchy (Kuwait).
Friday - no real literary value but it'll keep the little hornballs interested.
It's NOT me! It's the meds! I'm on 1000mg of Fukitol.
In a good school there will be plenty of both English and Science courses. Both are usually required for graduation, so there is no loss in taking a SF/Fantasy English class along with Chemistry/Biology/etc. In fact, the SF English class should get the creative brain thinking about how to take what you've learned in the sciences and apply it to something that hasn't been done before. I was fortunate enough to have a SF/Fantasy class offered at my High School (along with Humor and several other focused English courses). I took them alongside of my Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science classes and really enjoyed them all. I'm been a EE for years and haven't looked back!
You can get more people reading if you give them books that will catch there interest. Throwing Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land might scare off some newer readers...so it's always good to get some sort of a tie-in that they can relate to...and a good example of that would be Robert J. Sawyer's Flashfoward , which has the tie-in of the TV series based upon it. This leads to all sorts of great discussion topics for students about how Media interacts with Art.
Another to consider is Cory Doctorow's Little Brother . In this book, the main chracactors are high school students dealing with both mundane questions of teenage life, and fairly deep questions about freedom, authority and technology. And the technology is current, so that it will appeal greatly to today's high school i/n/m/a/t/e/s/ students.
CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
Julian May's Pliocene Exile series is absolutely brilliant as well (and entertaining). Near LOTR in its own way.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
Accelerando - Charlie Stross
simply superb! :)
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson (although perhaps a tad long for such a course)
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, by multiple authors
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, by Max Brooks
The Island Of Doctor Moreau, by H.G. Wells
The Invisible Man, by HG Wells
Avoid Heinlein. He's only got like 3 good books anyway (Starship Troopers, Moon is a Harsh Mistress [best sci fi book ever], and half each of Stranger and Cat), and subjecting anyone to that convoluted, Oedipus-driven Lazarus Long shit at an early age is either going to turn them off the genre, or make them try to mount their mothers.
An excellent choice for this course is "War of the Worlds," by H.G. Wells. Not only is the original great, but using that tale you can explore how science-fiction is perceived and used throughout history.
For example, the Original, as written by Wells, is a fantastical tale; the 1950's version incorporated 50's paranoia, and the Tom Cruise one was merely FX crap.
The manner of story-telling varied with the versions, as have other popular book-to-movie titles: The invisible man, for example, became the lamentable "The hollow man" with bacon.
Heinlein is seen as a fictional father for more libertarian/liberal concepts, glossing over some science facts for character and story development, while many authors currently strive for scientific accuracy within their tales.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard
Both pioneered a genre.
I've lost all my marbles except one & It's fun to test angular & centripetal acceleration in my skull
Heinlein, _Friday_. Because the parents are going to complain anyway, so you might as well give them a reason. Bonus points for the 1983 cover.
I took an excellent Science Fiction literature class at the University of Nottingham (England) several years ago. I don't remember everything that we read, but I know that there were some truly mind-bending Phillip K. Dick short stories regarding time paradoxes. If you contact their English department, I'm sure the prof who taught the course could provide some good reading suggestions.
I am concerned about any program, any piece of hardware, any treaty, any law that treats me as a consumer, not a citizen
"The Cold Equations" a short story by Tom Godwin (wiki'd the author). It's been 40 years and I still remember the story, that says something. I remember hating the story, because unlike most pulp SF at the time, it didn't have a happy ending; in fact I cried.
I hated it, and I recommend it. You'll hate it too.
It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.
Arthur C. Clarke has some awesome short stories.
"Nectar of the Gods"
"The Last Command"
"Reunion"
"The Light of Darkness"
"Neutron Tide"
"Transit of Earth"
None of these stories are that long. Maybe 5 pages at the most I think. Easily read, not all of them SciFi in the "future" sense, but in the "fiction based in science" sense.
William Gibson's Neuromancer is a must. As is probably something by Jack Womack (Random Acts of Senseless Violence perhaps), Bruce Sterling (A Good Old Fashioned Future) and definitely Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash. Easy!
... to talk about, I'd choose "A Boy and His Dog" by Harlan Ellison.
Of course, if you're trying to keep your job...
That is all.
Luckily I was able to take a course like this in my junior year in high school (admittedly this was back in 1998/99). While I can't remember every project we did, the teacher was really into it and the class was very enjoyable. The three biggest things we did that I remember were watching (and/or reading if a film and book were both made, to compare the versions) Blade Runner, Ender's Game and 1984. Those three have stuck with me and made a very big impression, so I'd wager they're a good starting point. Most of the students really enjoyed them and class discussion was always a lot of fun when so much genuine interest was present.
Seriously? Were you homeschooled or something? Students in American high schools, or at least in all the states I'm familiar with, are required to take 4 years of english/literature classes. This science fiction course fits into that, rather than replacing any science courses.
Slashdot, you disappoint me! I fully expected to see Dune by Frank Hebert in the first comment! Dune is an epic science fiction story thick, rich, and fully immersed in philosophy, sociology, politics, general sci-fi-ness, with a dose of awesome!
Also, Iain M. Banks' works on The Culture novel series is absolutely epic as well.
I think if Iain M. Banks and Frank Hebert were ever to collaborate (too bad it's not possible now) on a science fiction novel, I think my head would explode in a brain orgasm of epic proportions.
I'm sure there are plenty of people here who are going to mention the same few authors, so I'm going to go out on a limb and recommend a couple of obscure ones:
If you're aiming for a scifi-as-it-parallels-history motif, I think the best you can do is Level 7 by Mordecai Roshwald. It's a short, gripping story about a soldier whose is to live in a bunker and press the big red button during a nuclear war.
Two others that are personal favorites of mine are:
(1) "Casca" by Barry Sadler. It's about a roman soldier who is cursed by Jesus to be immortal.
(2) Startide Rising by David Brin. Not terribly obscure, but this one is my favorite Scifi novel of all time.
To make laws that man cannot, and will not obey, serves to bring all law into contempt.
--E.C. Stanton
You might as well have asked people to name their favorite fantasy or sci-fi authors; you're going to get zillions of lists of recommendations without much guidance on what to pick and why.
IMHO, you need to look at that course description and ask questions like "Can you suggest some high quality fantasy or sci-fi works that have as their core theme "the relationship of humans with their environment" or "the nature of intelligence" or whatever.
Two recommendations I'd make:
1. Don't be afraid to go old (H.G. Wells _The Time Machine_, for instance, attempts to make some provocative claims about what happens to an increasingly technological society -- remarkable given when it was written).
2. Steer away from huge works. LOTR is my favorite fantasy book; but books like that are too big. They prevent you from reading too much other stuff because of time constraints.
For my money, David Brinn and Bruce Sterling have both changed the way I view the world.
Brinn focuses on the environment and the possible consequences of ignoring the world's current challenges. His book Earth is a good example. The lesser perils of population, pollution and economics are overshadowed by the threat of an updated Frankenstein's monster, and the presentation is not very sophisticated, but the current set of environmental challenges is laid out rather succinctly.
Bruce Sterling brings a more biting social commentary to his opus. Snow Crash, The Diamond Age and Holy Fire all challenged me to view my own experience of the world in a new light. Reading Holy Fire, in particular, caused me look at healthcare in a completely different light, that of the "medical industrial complex," where Show Crash contained an indictment of nanotechnologies all-but-unresearched potential health consequences, and The Diamond Age presented a very cool virtual educational technology along with an explanation of why you'll never see it in public education. (It's the economics, stupid!)
Both these authors weave a compelling storyline around characters that are sympathetic enough to encourage any reader with an imagination to use it. I didn't realize why their writing was effective until an acquaintance pointed out that what is presented as fiction has to be grounded in reality in order to be believable.
Go forth and imagine...
...see above title, that is all.
A lot of the recommendations I see here are ones I would make - except for just about any classics which I have recently read.
A lot of the authors don't hold up well.
Now, I know I'll catch some guff here - but have you re-read any Heinlein lately?
The guy had very little original to begin with, and then later in his career he recycled his body of work a bit too vigorously for my taste.
Essentially, you could read a bad Junior College term paper touting the joys of Libertarianism and skip his last 8 or 10 books.
Asimov holds up well, as does some Clarke.
Farmer was never a great writer - though I do like that he stole his story ideas from L. Ron Hubbard - that takes enormous chutzpah.
Bottom line is this:
If you know literature - pick good literature that is also sci fi - which specific work doesn't matter.
If you don't know literature - and sci fi - this project will fall on it's ass.
Stick to short stories, exclusively or almost exclusively. Short stories have always been the medium which best captures SF, gets to the point the, "here's an idea, let's explore it some" nature of SF, while when things expand out to novel size it loses some of that (in spite of many great SF novels).
Plus, doing short stories makes it easier to keep people's attention, and less likely to lose people who've fallen a few chapters behind in the reading. Either you've read the story or you haven't. Changing stories day by day / week by week / whatever means you can get different styles in that appeal to different kids and break any monotony. It also gives you more flexibility to change your mind about course direction in the middle-if it seems like a good time to change direction, you don't have to finish slogging through the current novel first.
Also, you're not going to be able to cover the span of what you'd like to cover in one class, you'll have to leave things out. If you go with novels, you'll have to leave more things out.
Nerds belong in a sci-fi/fantasy lit class. but on a more serious note, The Last Question by Isaac Asimov should definitely be on the list.
Shouldn't a literature teacher already know this list? It's foundational stuff any literature teacher ought to know, so I hope this is not representative. If this was my kid's literature teacher, I'd be nervous. It's like an automotive teacher taking a poll on what make of autos he should teach.
Camping on quad since 1996.
What do we actually gain by forcing people to read something? I'd rather see a class where high school students learn about different methods of writing, worldbuilding, character development, etc., through the course of the semester, and apply that toward a short story that they write.
You could provide suggested reading and encourage students to read it by saying, "This is how award-winning authors have used these tools." But don't make it mandatory, because that's just going to turn people off to it.
!#@%*)anks for hanging up the phone, dear.
Mikhail Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" is a crazy dark Fantasy which makes incredible social commentary about early Soviet Society. Oh yeah, it also features Satan in an almost positive light (well... he kills and maims, but he only kills and maims people who had it coming in the first place, mostly the greedy hypocritical high class members of the communist party)
To really get a good feel over the books, I think you should spend around 2 to 3 weeks on the short ones, and up to 4 weeks on the longer/more dense reads. You should have frequent in class discussions, probably 3 per week (a discussion a day is even better! with the exclusion of some days for writing practice). so, 1.5 books a month should give a reading list of 4-5 books a semester. 10 books total in the year (maybe 12 if you are fast, but no more or you start to lose depth).
in no particular order.
and that's 12... hmm... you need more for backup :D. Frankenstein is a good book, as well as 1984, Ender's Game, Brave New World, and probably alot more that I can't think of right now.
:(
I wish I had a class like this in high school
I second other comments above: Lem is a genius. I don't get Solaris, but "The Cyberiad" is excellent political satire, and "Perfect Vacuum" might even be too hard for them. BTW, if "fantasy" is taken in the broad sense, then what about Borges?
You've already got Asimov and Clarke and all the big classics. Of these, I personally recommend The Edge of Tomorrow, a collection of Asimov essays and short stories, before you get them started on the full-length novels. It was my first Asimov book, back in middle school, and it has all of the best short stories that you'll want to include. "The Last Question" in particular can spawn a number of discussions, on religion, on human nature, and even on Asimov's projection of the development of technology.
Because this class is suppose to be educational, Harry Turtledove's alternate histories are a great option- they require the students to learn the details of our own history before they can understand what makes the alternate realities in these books tick. It also challenges them to view actual history as something more than a series of names and dates; a concept my teachers in high school never bothered with.
Get a class subscription to "Analog" and relate both the editorials and the shorter stories (ie not the big serialized ones) to world events occurring in the previous year. Obviously the editorial in each issue will be relating to more recent events than the stories...
I had a
A classic SF writer that is often forgotten is Fredric Brown. Although his SF stories are often short (usually less that 1000 words) they are totally amazing and stand the test of time very well. One of his more famous short stories, "Arena" was used as the basis of a Star Trek episode by the same name.
I personally liked his several short stories that dealt with time travel and the many ways that people tried to deal with them. My favorite story, "The End", deals with what would really happen if someone could make time run backwards.
The real brilliance of his writing is that he could make you think without delving into political commentary and do it in just a few words. His stories were descriptive enough that you could picture the worlds he described, but not so descriptive that they limited the story to a particular time or place. Stories written in 1954 could have easily been written in 1994. In other words, truly timeless science fiction, something that is very, very difficult to do.
I will get off my soap box now, with a quote from Fredric Brown.
"The last man on earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door..."
Great civilizations have lived and died on false theories. Don't mess up mine with a few facts.
With the 3000 others here.
Some early things like H.G. Wells. A bit of 1930s space opera. Heinlein, possibly starship troopers but the cat who walked trough walls is also an option. A bit of fantasy, Tolkien is tempting but not necessarily the best option, Vance has some nice short stories.
I'd do some early cyberpunk as well, short stories or possibly neuromancer or even Swanwick's vacuum flowers.
Also try to find some russian scifi, they had some good authors in the 1970s.
Current work.. hmm... what comes to mind is "the years of rice and salt" but that's probably too difficult. Kiln people perhaps?
Eschew the old masters. Its a seperate subject. Eschew most fantasy (sorry, I love Orcs as much as the next guy, but its a lighter subject).
Here's a modern list of classic authors:
Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons, Consider Phelpas, Feerdsum Enjun (super power societies,nano, planetary/space)
Neal Stephenson: Anathem (weird society)
William Gibson: Neuromancer (cyber, near future earth)
Alistair Reynolds: The Prefect (nano tech society)
Ken MacLeod: The Star Faction (politics)
C j Cherryh: Cyteen (bio engineering, lighter imo, a little older than I'd like to put in here, but its better than say the Foreigner series)
Mary Gentle: Ash (alternate histories, Ash and the sequel is a work of art).
I know that if when I was in HS this would have been a great course to have.
Asimov
Crichton
Orson Scott-Card
Books that come to mind:
Next
Prey
Andromeda Strain
Enders Game and series
Watchmen (Graphic Novel)
Original Superman Comics
Good scifi is not just about the laser beemz and the death rayz. It is and always has been about the PEOPLE. given that you have all this new technology, how does it impact humanity as a society and the individual's morality. the point of science fiction is to project oursevles beyond the limitations of our current everydayness and examine where we stand on a much deeper level. i wish i had understood this much when i took my scifi lit class in high school. hehe
Start with some of the classics: Asimov (I Robot), Bradbury (The Illustrated Man, Martian Chronicles), Clarke (A Fall of Moondust) These stories are both good examples of sci-fi but also good examples of storytelling. In I Robot the Three Laws are a wonderful premise for stories that have spawned a wide following. In A Fall of Moondust a simple physical fact and its implications for human survival become captivating suspense. The early works of Heinline like The Past Through Tomorrow what technology does to our humanity. I'd suggest that you begin with shorter works and work towards one longer work, however Dune, or Stranger in a Strange Land are not good first semester works, nor would hard scifi like Forward. Nourse's The Universe Between, L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time are great for younger kids but probably too simplistic for High School. Explore where technology puts us into unusual situations and how those situations impact our humanity. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep - where do we draw the line of what is and isn't human?. Maybe throw a changeup with a book that really explores what it means to be alien like Brin's Uplift series (Startide Rising) or Cherryh's Chanur series (Chanur's Venture). Or some Gibson. Let the stories awaken their minds to new possibilities, after all that's what its all about.
"Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
I support your idea of using short stories. SF is a genre that has an abundance of very good short fiction. For example, The Nine Billion Names of Gos by Arthur C. Clarke is a classic and on 2,586 words. You can probably find it in a relatively cheap paperback edition combined with several other really good pieces by Clarke or others.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
Timothy Zahn has some fascinating short series: his novel/series 'Cobra' is an interesting twist on a major cold war issue (super-soldiers as a stand-in for nuclear proliferation), while his Conqueror's Trilogy presents a fascinating look at cultural clashes in the guise of a first contact story. Also, Eric Flint's 163x series is a fascinating exploration of the technological, societal, and ideological changes which would come about were a modern-era town to be dropped into the middle seventeenth century Germany. Plus, at least a couple of books from that series can be read for free online/downloaded from the Baen library (http://baen.com/library).
The course is a literary analysis course, not a writing course, and that's why the reading is "mandatory". Your second paragraph is correct, though, and answers the question you posed in your first: "What do we actually gain by forcing people to read something?" Answer: Writers learn to write by reading.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The best free sci-fi on podcast I've come across is from Escape Pod.
Currently at about 200 short stories narrated often by the original authors, includes original and award winning works. Kudos to the guy who does it. I've stopped listening now I dont drive 2 hours a day to work and back.
http://escapepod.org/
Each is between 30 mins and an hour or so, reading, mostly non-dramaticized.
String theory.... and other theories that come from the scientists under 'shrooms influence?
With this it might be a good idea to do a brief survey of some of the subgenre's that exist in the field, although in doing this it would probably be better to use some short stories. One thing to consider is talking to people in the field. Paul Grimstad, http://www.yale.edu/english/profiles/grimstad.html , a Professor in the Yale English department is teaching a class on Science and Fiction, and contacting him should provide some useful advice, especially with less common stories.
Picking things out of the Hugo winners and runners up is also a good plan since the 1950s. As far as war and humanity goes, the Forever War by Joe Haldeman should be good. For my part on what it means to be human I like a variety of stuff by C.J. Cherryh.
In the current climate, Bug Jack Barron sadly still seems to fit.
Early Heinlein
Starship Troopers, Starman Jones, Podkyn of Mars. Avoid Stranger in a Strangeland, Friday, etc.
Asimov
I Robot, some of the other short stories. Only do the Foundation Trilogy in an Honors version.
Tolkien - a no brainer really.
Chronicles of Narnia - focus on how it compares to Tolkien, how the author's christianity molds the themes in the story.
William H Gibson
Neuromancer
"Analog" Is a great periodical to get short stories from.
Given time:
Tad Williams
Focusing on Women depictions in SciFi -
Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time for a negative.
Elizabeth Moon: Vatta Wars or Familias Series for a positive.
Even though I really hate both of them::
Anne McAffrey and the Dragon Riders of Pern series are classics.
Mercedes Lackey
1984 and Farenheit 451 are already part of most regular english teachings.
What about some of the work of William Gibson such as Neuromancer. I haven't read any of his stuffy myself, yet, but it is certainly on my list. As I understand it, Gibson pioneered some of the more common concepts of what an 'information age' would entail as well as having some interesting commentary on the 'cyberspace counter culture' that such an age could/would develop. Also, I think some of his stuff addressed the rise of entertainment forms like reality T.V. Considering that these are pretty popular and common concepts these days, adding one of his novels might have some poignant significance for some of the students.
Also, as mentioned by others above, I think 2984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World all should be studied thoroughly if they are not taught in common Lit classes at your school. I know we were never required to read 1984 in my school and, though I sought that book out myself, many students I graduated with still don't understand what I mean when I discuss some recent government policies with them and then make a reference to 1984. Naivete of the masses is a powerful tool for those in power and as a teacher you can take an active role in combating that naivete.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
I would replace Jordan with Martin (maybe). The quality of work is so much better IMO. I think he is really cutting edge, not the typical "farm boy saves the world", his writing seems to incorporate more realistic depictions of human relationships and uncertainty of life. Characters are deeper, some who you might detest at one point you later sympathize with and "almost" consider to be good, deep down. The material of Martin's books is pretty mature. Incest, rape (and rape of what we would consider children), some other pretty violent stuff...so from that aspect it may not be appropriate for high school...
A modern day witchhunt.
1. Some of the ancient stuff that people call classics and pretend are not Fantasy: Gilgamesh/Beowulf/Dante's Divine Comedy/Iliad/1001 Arabian Nights
2. Jules Verne
3. HG Wells
4. Asimov
5. Tolkien
6. Heinlein
7. Philip K Dick
8. CS Lewis
9. Niven
10. Theodore Sturgeon
11. George Orwell / Aldous Huxley
12. Arthur C Clarke That is enough. Quite a lot to read. If you haven't read SOMETHING by each of these authors/sets, then you don't really everything that Sci-Fi/Fantasy can be.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
I think 2984, Fahrenheit 451...
Epic preview fail....that was supposed to be 1984....
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
If you cannot answer this question for yourself, you are in no way qualified to help develop this course. Bow out.
A dozen or so books, tops, should supply more than enough material for a full-year, high school level course. If you can't come up with 10-20 suitable titles, you don't know enough about sci-fi as literature, adolescents or both.
...were "Fahrenheit 451" and "Flowers for Algernon". I think those fall under your social issues category.
ON DELETE CASCADE
Regardless of what you go with, however, were I you I would fix the damn grammar in the course description. "From the early formation of the genre, the genres have been about" indeed. Don't capitalize the names of genres; there's no need to capitalize "junior" or "senior", either, nor do you need a slash between them when the English language provides a perfectly good conjunction. Possible areas of interest include others? Really?
What books are used in the course will be very dependent on the theme you want to explore. Dealing with both Science Fiction and Fantasy in a high school course leaves very little time to examine many books (especially if you have a semester system). Additionally, you'll want to co-ordinate with the rest of the English department to avoid overlap. Some good places to start:
Classic Science Fiction:
War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (Chemical weapons, spaceflight, lasers, and planes appear in this book long before we learned how to actually make them work)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Classic but possibly overused)
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Modern Science Fiction:
Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Dune by Frank Herbert
Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh
Classic Fantasy:
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (because you don't have time for the Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
Modern Fantasy:
Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone by J. K. Rowling (I actually don't recommend this, most of the students will likely have read it)
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gamon
Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind (Be careful, Goodkind's a bit of a crazy libertarian but this tends to come a lot more in the later books)
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Fanatically anti-fanatical
If the point is literary analysis and discussion, this book is perfect. It has 100 short stories that will provoke thought and not spend a lot of time on dialog. Now, I like long reads as much as the next person, but in a class, I would imagine you have a bit more compressed schedule, you want rapid fire ideas more than long story arcs.
I also agree early Heinlein is great for High School, especially "The moon is a harsh mistress", and "Have spacesuit will travel", an "Rocketship Galileo". If you want a political discussion, one of the greatest stories of all time "Starship troopers" (which will blow away the kids who have only seen the movie - screw you Paul Verhoven).
You might also want to take a look at the works of h. Beam Piper. For social commentary, Uller Uprising, Graveyard of Dreams come to mind. As a side benefit, both of these books, and many others, are available free via the Gutenberg Project website.
On the fantasy side, a lot that is written is unoriginal fluff. Howard's original Conan stories are good, honest, and colourful. Jack Vance's "When the Magic goes away". Certainly Leiber with Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser. If they can resist "Lean Times in Lankhmar", give it up. Asprin's "Myth" books are nice and not as obvious as Pratchett (whom I never got). If you want Tolkien, "The Hobbit" is neither too long nor too boring.
Stephan
Stories that are a genuine joy to read will go over easier than dryer "significant" works. I suggest emphasizing short stories to keep students attention, then offer a suggested reading list of novels or other works, for those who want to dive in on their own time. Some suggested short stories: The Widget, the Wadget and Boff, by Theodore Sturgeon. Solitude, by Ursula K. Le Guin. Faith of our Fathers, by Philip K. Dick. Suggested reading list: Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. The Earthsea 'Trilogy' (5 novels and one short story collection), by U.K. Le Guin. The Dispossessed, by U.K. Le Guin. The Man in the High Castle, by P.K. Dick. The Sandman (graphic series), by Neal Gaiman. Childhood's End, by A.C. Clarke
Start with the Book of the New Sun. Like most classics, it rewards multiple readings. Plenty of philosophy thrown in as a bonus, and it's a good introduction to the unreliable narrator.
If that's too difficult, I'd recommend Steven Brust's Vlad books. They're a good way to break stereotypes of SF/fantasy. The first few are told in almost a film noir, hard-boiled style. That's become a genre unto itself these days, but he was among the first (Zelazny's Amber books did it as well). They read fast, but they're surprisingly thoughtful.
Iain M Banks' Culture books are great, particularly Use of Weapons and Player of Games. Blindsight, by Peter Watts, is probably the best SF book I've read since Cryptonomicon. But Watts may be a little depressing for high school. I'm not sure today's tender young treasures, raised on foam playgrounds, not allowed to walk two blocks to school, could stand up to him... you'd probably end up getting sued.
Oh, and it's hard to go wrong with Stross (except for the Family Trade books, I can't get into them).
We had a Creative Writing program + regular English class with one teacher, tied in with a Biology class. In addition to the regular English class curriculum, we also delved into a few Sci Fi books. We read Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. We went beyond simply reading it, the English teacher Charles DiPuccio teamed up with our Biology teacher and reading through the book and working on it, coincided with us studying about genetics. It really piqued my interest and that of others in the class. It was such an immersive experience, we learned something about science, genetics & DNA sequencing. We even wrote letters "home" as survivors talking about what our experiences on the island may have been like. We of course also watched the movie.
It gave me a very different perspective on writing, science, and movie watching :)
It may be something to consider. I added as much info as I could in case perhaps you try to get ahold of the teacher involved :)
.... ... }
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Cryptonomicon, not necessarily sci-fi/fantasy, but excellent in a historical (with fictionalized accounts) and computer science. Not a lot of sex other than a short homosexual scene.
Having been a big SF fan years ago and having read most the golden age books, I'd have to disagree with most of the recommendations here. Heinlein and Asimov were thought provoking but not very good writers. The language of Dune is almost hilariously stilted and most of the others just good nerd reads but don't break out into good literature. As far as authors go, I could only recommend Dick as worth study. The three or four books I thought well enough to pass on to my children are:
A Canticle For Leibowitz - Walter Miller Neuromancer - William Gibson Snow Crash - Neal Stephanson The Martian Chronicles - Bradbury Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
I love a lot of the others people have mentioned but I recognize my own ability to suspend any sort of requirement for character development and well-written prose for the quick fix of a good "what if".
First of all, your state likely already has a printed list of accepted works of Sci-fi and Fantasy based on 11-12th grade reading levels. YOU SHOULD STICK TO THIS! The material they read is to be used on state standardized or national tests, and potentially college acceptance essays, and the use on non-standard or non-approved material will mean likely the people administering and grading the essay portions of high school state/national exams will not be prepared for that material should your student leverage the reading in an answer, meaning that any grading could potentially be skewed.
Next, Tolkein is generally considdered an advanced college level read, with possibly the hobbit as the 1 exception. An AP high school class may tacle it on occasion, but not a general class.
Jordan? You mentioned "short" works... i think you're confused :)
I'd reccomend taking a look at some of the short stories presented in Volume 1 and 2 of "Legends" for any of the 2nd and 3rd generation fantasy, though you'll need to come up with classroom exceptable versions of them as you can't reccomend parents to buy the book as a whole, and the school won't provide it (several of the stories in there are definetly NOT acceptable high school material). Most of the authors listed in Legends do have numerous short (400 page and less) novels available, but most o fthem are parts of series.
For older fantasy, Verne's not bad, and anything from the Narnia series is a short simple read on high school or at least late middle school levels (I'd suggest one that wasn't yet a movie). For Sci-Fi, Asimoff is your core resource. For Modern Sci-fi, Neil Stephenson's Diamond Age (I'd stay away from Snow Crash due to the content).
I'd probably also not assign entire books. I'd assign sections or select chapters... Asking kids to read more than 100-150 pages a week is going to be a tall order (our local district bans assignments exceeding 2 hours per night more than 2 nights poer week to prevent kids from being overwhelmed, and to allow them time for sports and other after school programs, it;s hard to read more than 100 pages in 4 hours). They can easily get a solid taste of an author's styles, and how the genre changed over time, by reading a small subset, say 50-75 pages, of a book. Completing the entire story is unnecessary. Short novels under 70 pages are common to a lot of authors, especially George Martin and Asimoff. most of the content from "legends" are nice as they're short stories that hold on their own, but they're bridges into major series, and might hook a lot of the kids to read a lot more from most of those authors.
DEFINETLY, for ANYTHING you plan to include in a class, ensure your local and/or district administrators have expliocity read every page of everything you propose for your kids to read. Do NOT let them have any opportunity to hear something like this from them: "ScuttleMonkey suggested this book for his class to us, so we assumed it was clean reading and followed school policies on his word, we're sorry you're child is traumatized by the attack upon god, or the gratuitous scene, or the (fill in horrible thing parent could easily use in a lawsuit against school for smahing beliefs of innocense here) included in this novel, we were not aware of this content and we will suspend/fire him immediately."
Also, even an AP exploration of the evolution of a genre over time is a big thing to take on. I'd not try doing 2 at once, but make 1 class for sci-fi and another class for Fantasy.
Sci-fi sort of starts with Nueromancer, Blade Runner, and Metropolis. From there you;re looking at Asimoff, then niven Pournelle, then the new guys neil Stephenson and Tad willaims. Fantasy naturally was born pre-tolkein and that should be discussed, though he reinvented it and started the real movement. Since I reccomend against having them outright read tolkein, i'd simply study him and his works as a whole and the idea of "tolkeinesque" fantasy and have them read simpler exam
There is no contest in life for which the unprepared have the advantage.
Sounds like what you need is to bust up the reading material into some kind of sets. Then offer some books of the books that defined the genre.
So here are like three suggestions at least for scifi that I can name off the top of my head. (I have read all these works. And there are probable so many more that I don't name.)
Cyberpunk = The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner, (1975 book, introduced the concept of a computer worm.) Neuromancer by William Gibson. (1984, defines many concepts that are used on the internet today.) Or Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (1999, Just a damn good read, will let others define this one.)
Modern SciFi (Defined as post WWII) = Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961, gives us the wonderful word... grok.) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. (1985, a very definitive work.) The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969, can't leave out a work by a very well known female writer.)
Classic Scifi = These ones everyone knows. 20 Thousands Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870, Fun book... bonus points if you can find what parts are copies of that one nature book.) War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898, Alian invastion! 19th century style) The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft. (1928, short story that gives us Cthulhu.)
Best I can do at the time. Feel free to add more.
... _The Machine Stops_ or anything by Bradbury.
SF and mainstream fiction have distinct central messages.
Mainstream fiction is art for the ruled classes. It says "It may be bad but anything you do to try to fix it will will make it worse. Listen to the authorities and those with the right certifications - no matter how badly they're performing they're the only ones who know how to handle this stuff. Be a nice sheep. Do what your leaders tell you. Shearing you in the spring makes the hot summer more comfortable and they'll keep you healthy until you're ready for the table." Literature teachers generally deride any literature that doesn't carry this message as "escapist" (as if there's something horribly wrong with reading a mood-uplifting story rather than being depressed ALL the time and such stories are thus automatically low quality).
SF's is the art of engineers - the people who MUST strive for excellence and improvement to make the infrastructure run. Its central message is "Applying thought and effort to improve things works and can bring enormous benefits. Letting things slide makes them worse. YOU are responsible for your life and the quality of life of those around you." Even SF dystopias are generally of the form: "If you let THIS break it can get SO bad that it's no longer possible to fix it."
But there are a few authors and a few stories that use the SF form but carry mainstream fiction's central message. And my experience in the past has been that those teachers who attempt to "bring Science Fiction into the classroom" gravitate to these authors and stories with their familiar components, hold them up as some of the best work in the field, and thus miss the entire POINT of SF.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
For variety, and to show an author that understands language as well as technology, have them try Cordwainer Smith. "Norstralia" if they have the time for a novel, "Dead Lady of Clown Town" or "A Planet Named Shayol" for short stories.
My instructor in a class called "Literature of Fantasy and Imagination" in junior college introduced me to this author. I seldom re-read a book just for pleasure -- Smith's are the exception.
I'm here to criticize. The purpose of Fantasy, and to a lesser extent Science Fiction, is not primarily escapism. Rather, it is to create an understanding of the human condition by using speculation or other plot devices. The first thing that comes to mind are those black white / white black dudes on Star Trek - which you should probably show your class as an example of what science fiction is actually about. I think you also need to define for your class what is speculative fiction, what is hard science fiction, and what is fantasy with spaceships and fantasy with unicorns.
Hoist Number One and Number Six.
Robert Jordan in a high school literature class? Makes me want to home school. And, yes, I've read most of the WoT books.
Georgia Tech has been offering a ridiculously popular Science Fiction literature class since the 70s. You might use it's curriculum as a guide. http://lcc.gatech.edu/~brobertson3/texts/sf.pdf
Credit to the latest episode to Califonication.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
The Hobbit - great foundation for young minds budding with imaginaition.
Ok, so I'm not your typical fantasy reader. I have read some sci fi/fantasy before but have definitely not delved to the depths of many of my friends. If you are going to teach about fantasy, though, I have to say that you must limit your selections. I would say avoid series, unless you are going to sample specific books from them. Also, make sure to check other English Lit classes and avoid books that they already cover. Nobody wants to analyze 1984 in different manners for two different classes.
You would probably want to briefly sample mythology, Greek and Norse especially, because most fantasy has many roots in these mythologies. I would definitely hit The Hobbit, as the Tolkien universe was (ab)used to a very large degree in future books, and it can be read separately from the LotR series. Also, Frankenstein or one of Vern's works would be great since these are generally considered to be the origins of SciFi. Again, if other classes teach Frankenstein, you would probably want to leave it out.
After these basic works, you would probably want to decide whether you want to focus on literature that was popular, had a large impact on society, or had insightful social commentary. I would try to focus on just one of those trees, but try to include literature that crosses the boundaries between them.
But remember, make sure not to pick out too many pieces, these are high school students and you don't want to completely stifle their interest in the genre(s). Limit your selections and make sure you have a cohesive and clear plan to get them through the semester.
But then I realized the cable was blue, so I only gave it one star. I hate blue.
It began with the Lucky Starr series, juveniles written by Isaac Assimov. At 12 I read Heinlien's "Stranger In a Strange Land" (hot off the book club press) and Huxley's "Brave New World". During High School ('62-'66) I picked up Analog and got a subscription. How do you try to package all that in a class? For instance, what do you consider the main themes of Science Fiction? Is the Lensmen series by EE Doc Smith a Space Opera? How about Dune? Is Dune about the technology or the characters. Is it about Christianity vs. the Muslim religions? In my junior year of high school I essentially took January and February off to read the LOTR trilogy. Didn't get much homework done. I think I was 14 when I read Assimov's Foundation. Good luck shaping this course and I hope you reply to the thread with your reading list. hmmm. Philip K Dick, Andre Norton, Al Bester, Zelazny, Poul Anderson, etc. etc.
"the Zany Time Travels of Warble McGorkle" should top the list.
Covers a lot of different styles, etc.
Also, SciFi works great in short story form. Distills the stories down to their core components, without getting lost in larger storylines and stuff.
For example:
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Greatest/dp/0765305364
I totally laughed out loud at your reply, swanzilla. Nothing like smashing a false dichotomy to spruce up the day.
ZERO ZERO ONE ZERO ONE ZERO ONE ONE! Just brushing up for my next big invention: Ethernet over Voice (EoV)
Oh, and I, Robot.
Populus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur...
"Force shits upon Reason's back." - Poor Richard's Almanac
I want to jump in to agree here: for a class, you want to do short stories. That's not as bad a hit as you might think; a lot of the real classic SF has been in short form-- sure, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is classic, but Heinlein also was one of the greatest short-story writers of SF, as well.
Consider the The SFWA Grand Masters volumes, as a start, but you definitely want to do some modern stuff too, by which I mean things written in the last 20 years or so-- in fact, I'd suggest assigning as a textbook the most recent edition of the Gardner Dozois Year's Best.
You might do a few short novels, but make sure that they realy are short-- The Time Machine, sure (it's actually a novella), for example, or maybe The Stars my Destination (that's "Tyger Tyger," for you Brits.)
Do NOT assign Dune, or The Mote in God's Eye, or anything even approaching those in length, unless you want to make your students hate science fiction. These are books you want your students to read on their own, when they want to, for fun; not cram in in a day of skimming for an exam. These are way huge for a book to force them to read.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
I would say make them read either Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (which is a phenomenal book), or if you want to be the cool teacher make the read the first Halo book Fall of Reach. It was actually a pretty good book, but it drew a lot of inspiration from Enders Game
Like other people mentioned, I would like to see some Asimov in a course like this but I would actually put "The End of Eternity" at the top of the list. No other book explores the paradoxes of time travel as well as this one and time travel is an important branch of SF. Having said that, I Robot or one of the other Robot books would also be a good choice. It was, in fact, Isaac Asimov who first coined the term "robotics."
I know you asked for recommendations, but I figured bring these up because any oversight on these will make the class boring regardless of the quality of lit you choose.
Popular titles will possibly have been read by a portion of the class. This could create a lot of boredom. If you could take a good compiled list and survey potential students on whether they've read them or not, that would be very beneficial. You could even survey on the first day of class if you build a few good lesson plan templates beforehand. That would definitely make them feel more engaged.
Doing a book that was turned into a movie or two might be good. In some of my classes we watched the movie after reading the book, and it was a nice break in routine and helped outline differences in media. Sphere comes to mind.
In my opinion, lit classes can be either incredibly engaging or incrediby boring. If you follow a formula for each work its going to be boring. As an elective, its something students choose because they want to. If its treated like a core subject, it may turn that interest off.
...Eric Frank Russell.
Why? Why not. I reread all of his books over and over.
Seriously, though, what does Terra Uber Alles mean, anyway?
Farnham's Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein.
Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, James H. Schmitz (just Karres, no Telzey or Trigger), J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, D. J. McHale, to name just a few of the modern heavy hitters.
Isaac Asimov should be proactively expunged from libraries, not for being controversial, but for being a pompous ass who actually expected The Three Laws of Robotics (*gag* *retch*) to be implemented on the battlefield, indicating a serious misfire of imagination. Most of the Dirty Dozen or so potboiling hacks from the sixties through the nineties can ignored -- all of Heinlein, all of Sturgeon, all of LeGuin, all of Haldeman or Norton, Zelazney or Foster, Cherryh or McAffrey, nearly all of Bradbury, and absolutely none of Rottenberry and his running dogs, certainly nothing written by politicians or "serious" writers. I'd make an exception for Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn (the team), some of their titles were outstanding, such as Star Bridge.
I'd wait a bit on Twilight and Eragon, in the fantasy genre; they may not weather the times. C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, the Pooh books of our generation, are like Barney something of a purple monstrosity -- the overt Christian symbology (especially in Dawn Treader) strikes most modern readers as downright twee, if not medieval -- except for those benighted souls who are living in the Middle Ages anyway.
But the genre should be expanded to include manga and anime, in particular Hayao Miyazaki, Yumi Hotta and Mamoru Oishii, and it would not be remiss to include a few unexpected serial thrillers from the dim and distant past -- Charles Dickens (Christmas Carol and Pickwick Papers), Edmond Rostand (Cyrano's flight to the Moon), and one William Shakespeare (the obvious). Casting a wider net, fantasy has been rich and rife in China and Japan for centuries -- I'd mention "Dream of the Red Chamber" and some ghost stories in "Genji Monogatari".
A few items from magico-realism, maybe: Carlos Castaneda in moderation, or Laura Esquivel.
``Tension, apprehension & dissension have begun!'' - Duffy Wyg&, in Alfred Bester's _The Demolished Man_
Although I read and enjoyed much of the early WoT and find the mythos of the world interesting, in the end the lack of good editing and plot resolution leaves it out of the running for great fantasy. GRR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice is a much, much better literary series than Jordan's, although it may cross a boundary of what's "acceptable" to be taught in many school settings.
But series may not be what you want to use if you are going for breadth. Instead, I'd strongly recommend GG Kay's Tigana and Lions of Al-Rassan as excellent, single-novel works that are probably better being self-contained for a class. For a change of pace, Pratchett's Discworld series is perfect for introducing a bit of comedic parody to the otherwise dominantly dramatic genre. The books are self-contained and many parallel other literature, which may be fun to explore. His co-authored Good Omens is another great option for a class being self contained, which reminds me that Gaiman's American Gods is probably another good suggestion...
I'll add TH White ("Once and Future King") and Peake's Gormenghast for fantasy; and Harry Harrison (any "Bill, the Galactic Hero" or "Stainless Steel Rat" - who says it has to be serious doleful scifi?).
I attended a college with a wonderful Sci-Fi lit course. As others have indicated forcing students to see Lit through the eyes of the teacher is going to kill any interest in the course. Instead the class was focused on discussion of the topics, background into the reason why various facets of the material were generated, i.e. Parallelism to time and events, etc.
Also focusing a Lit class specifically on reading books is IMHO a mistake often made in course like this. Doing things like bringing in movies such as "When the Earth Stood Still" (the original not the WHOA! version).. Even reading books like Jurassic Park (which I hated), and then paralleling it to the movie (which was worse then the books) and what trade-offs had to be done. It was very informative and a good way to introduce people who are not into Sci-Fi (and Fantasy) into the genre, and give additional background to people who may have been reading it for years.
Start with short stories, and move toward more mainstream novels and authors. During half a year you should be able to go through at least 5 books and numerous short stories and at least 2 or 3 movies adaptations.
For variety, consider some Soviet science fiction.
The author with the most neutral and universal appeal, especially to young people, is probably Kir Bulychev.
The brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are more brainy. They are immensely popular among Russian-speaking geeks and hackers. You may have heard about the film "Stalker" and "The Inhabited Island", which are based on their novels.
The more communist authors are Alexander Belyayev and Ivan Yefremov. Despite the political angle of many of their works they were translated into English and other languages and well-regarded outside of the USSR. They honestly imagined that the future would be communist - this is an important point that you should consider telling your students.
Short stories:
Unfortunately, you'll find it is hard to get many short stories together that you want to use without picking a random anthology. Otherwise you'll be hunting all over for books. Instead I would really suggest that you get "The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One" a short story collection used by many SF classes. It actually includes several of the stories and authors I've already listed. See it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame_Volume_One,_1929-1964
Classic Novels:
- Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination : IMHO the best book ever. I reread it every year or so. Read the wikipedia page about it.
- Walter Miller, A Canticle for Leibowitz : an excellent example nuclear apocalypse leading into cyclical history. (also refer to The Mote in God's Eye for the same theme and it's impact on an alien race after hundreds of repeats of nuclear war)
- A.E. Van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher : a large conglomeration of gun rights supporters vs an empire. One quote was "The right to own weapons is the right to be free". Interestingly Van Vogt's writings later led to what became scientology. [note, I've just looked at the sf hall of fame book I mentioned and the short story version of this is included]
- Pohl / Kornbluth, The Space Merchants : an excellent treatment of the possibilities of capitalism + advertising taken to their extreme in an overpopulated world.
- Asimov, The Caves of Steel : A detective story featuring an overpopulated Earth, fear of robots replacing human jobs, and agoraphobia on the new planets that are minimally settled.
- The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two : this includes several other still applicable novellas such as "The Marching Morons" (surely used as the basis for the movie "Idiocracy" where advertising is used to direct the now moronic populace).
I'd pick more, but you only have one semester. I'm trying to think of some good environmental destruction stories, but nothing excellent is coming to mind that isn't a multi-book set. Anyone want to cover that topic?
What's the bet this is an all male class, and joining it is tantamount to social and sexual suicide. Poor bastards are Darwining themselves. What belongs is the stereotype be banished.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
deserves a mention.
The Chrysalids and Day of the Triffids are two of my all time favorites.
Very similar in style to Wells, with an emphasis on people who forced to adapt to changing society.
I'm sure one could teach an entire class about all the ideas involved with the Dune series. As a philosophy major I'd love to teach a class such as that in the future. I first read the series in High School and I think that the themes of the first book (not so much any succeeding books in the series) are definitely palatable with that age group. It really is Sci-Fi's magnum opus and I couldn't imagine any class about Science Fiction that does not talk extensively about Dune, much as any Fantasy class shouldn't neglect the Lord of the Rings.
If there MUST be a wider variety of books, however, the big names of sci-fi to me are always:
H.G. Wells
Isaac Asimov
Arthur C. Clarke
Heinlein
Orwell
Pick a few books from each - Foundation, the Time Machine, War of the Worlds, Rendezvous with Rama, etc. I think the main focus of any such class ought to be Dune, though. Hell, the main focus of every class ought to be Dune. It is applicable everywhere and anywhere.
I would suggest Brandon Sanderson's work as easy to read Fantasy. I have read them, and I really don't like to read. The work flows well and does not get lost in flowery description that authoers liek Robert Jordan tend to get lost in.
In addition, I know he has at least one stand alone book instaed of being part of a volume of 3+ books.
Spelling and Grammar errors have been added to this post for your enjoyment
mmm perhaps some Anne Mccaffery perfect mix of sci fi and fantasy !!
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I'm surprised I didn't see John Wyndham mentioned anywhere. 'The Chrysalids' is classic post apocalyptic Science Fiction.
The Forever War, Joe Haldeman. Written by a Nam vet when the topic of the real war was too hot to approach directly, one of the best sci fi novels I've ever read.
Especially "Voyage From Yesteryear":
http://www.jamesphogan.com/books/info.php?titleID=29&cmd=summary
"In the meantime, Earth went through a dodgy period, but managed in the end to muddle through. The fun begins when a generation ship housing a population of thousands arrives to "reclaim" the colony on behalf of the repressive, authoritarian regime that emerged following the crisis period. The Mayflower II brings with it all the tried and tested apparatus for bringing a recalcitrant population to heel: authority, with its power structure and symbolism, to impress; commercial institutions with the promise of wealth and possessions, to tempt and ensnare; a religious presence, to awe and instill duty and obedience; and if all else fails, armed military force to compel. But what happens when these methods encounter a population that has never been conditioned to respond?"
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
What is Sci-Fi and Fantasy? I thought I knew until I started listening to Escape Pod and Pod Castle, both short-fiction pod casts.
I always considered myself "not all that into sci-fi or fantasy". Both of these shows exposed me to such a wide array of stories that I don't even know what Sci-Fi or Fantasy is anymore. The line between those are blurred. As sometimes is the line between those and "traditional" fiction as well.
Steve Eley (host of Escape Pod) referred to both genres as "Speculative Fiction". That's something I can get behind. The world can be flashy, and the gimmick can be amusing, but a good story is a good story. Short fiction is good because the reader can survey a large variety without investing too much in the duds.
Sci-Fi certainly has its duds. Lots of them for sure. But the Gems. Wow.
I liked Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. it went thru ages on Mars, which you could almost equate to societal changes here. Starship Troopers is a great exposition on society. I think it would be interesting to take an old Asimov short story and have them rewrite it in modern language and idioms...
Re: What Belongs In a High School Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit Class?
Microsoft total cost of ownership studies. ;)
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Short stories are good!
The Last Question
The Babyeating Aliens
They're made out of Meat
For some short(er) novels try:
Slaughterhouse Five and/or The Sirens of Titan and/or Cat's Cradle
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz(for a well known fairy tale)
Then you can follow it up with the longer Wicked or The Ugly Stepsister or some other modern retelling so you can discuss the clash of a mundane world with a fantasy world.
For longer books I would recommend:
Ender's Game
Stranger in a Strange Land
and maybe The Dragon Never Sleeps
This was my favorite out of the Hitchiker's series. It has the normal quirkiness and whit of a Douglas Adams book, but is overall a great love story. This book can stand alone from the others in the series and still make sense. A lot of it happens on Earth to "normal" people and, in my opinion, really highlights Adams' versatility as a story teller.
At first glance, mixing science fiction and fantasy seems like a good thing. After all, they both tend to occupy the same shelves at the Barnes & Noble or your fill-in-the-name-of-your-local-book-superstore.
Now I'm not going to say that there's such a thing as "true" science fiction, or "hard" science fiction. Clearly, there are elements of fantasy in science fiction and vice versa. But I will say that there is a type of science fiction and a type of fantasy that I do enjoy. IMHO, good science fiction presents issues, whether social or technological or whatever, and bends the story to highlight that issue. The issue is sometimes couched in metaphor, but more often, the issue is laid out bare.
For example, in the recent District 9, there is a clear social commentary about immigration. The commentary is not hidden beneath facades of poetry and metaphor, but quite obvious. Zelazny's "Damnation Alley" is about what happens when we mess with nature. In that story, the environment almost literally hits back. Under a fantasy author's treatment, maybe nature is instead a pissed-off woodland naiad that washes away someone's water mill. I'm not saying that either is better, but they are different approaches.
For example, think of T.H. White's _The Once and Future King_. There was this notion running throughout the story that the fate of the land was tied to the fate of the king. As the king suffered, so did the land. It was mystical in many ways. Contrast this to a SF story where perhaps a character is tied intimately into a spaceship's control systems and his/her fate is directly tied into the ship's (there are at least four similar stories that come to mind :) ).
I enjoy science fiction immensely (and some fantasy too). I would hate to lend credence to this notion that science fiction and fantasy are just stories about alternate worlds.
A great book for numerous short stories by a large variety of authors is Masterpieces edited by Orson Scott Card. It is the best thing Ive read.
Im a troll because I disagree with you.
"Logan's Run" by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson would be a recommendation, but some of the content might be controversial even though it's quite tame by today's standards. Set in the early 22nd century, a hundred or so years after a youth-led world revolution, people are limited to a life-span of 21 years. When they turn 21, they report to a government euthanasia facility, or they run and are hunted down.
I have a omnibus edition of this novel combined with the two sequels that William F. Nolan published. In the forward, Nolan talks about one of the inspirations of the story: he heard the phrase "life begins at 40" used during a talk radio broadcast. Disclaimer: I'm paraphrasing from what I remember. Nolan says that he then thought about turning the phrase around to "life ends at 21", and then built up a picture of what society would look like if this was the case. The result: a society with little or no forward thinking, hedonistic, self-serving, very much live-fast and die-young. And a society where individuals don't really question the status quo until they start to reach to reach the end of their allotted time.
One of the unique aspects of Science Fiction or "speculative fiction" is that it provides stories that can't be told in modern settings, or even historical settings. Star Wars is a great story, but very little of the story relies on the Science Fiction aspect of it.
Serve up the entire LOTR and Dune written works. That ought to keep the little critters occupied.
Side-bonus: Scifi/fantasy-class also counts as PE, just tell them bring all the books along.
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
The best and hardest lit class I took in high school was a sci-fi class. The reading was presented chronologically by publication to track the progress of the genre. Our midterms and finals were writing assignments where we had to write short stories in the genre. This is what I remember reading:
The Martian Chronicles
Rendezvous with Rama
Assorted Dick short stories
Burning Chrome (the short story, not the whole anthology)
The last 2 days of class (and high school for me) were spent watching Blade Runner directors cut.
Not a complete list. This was a semester course. We did a lot of reports and we had lots of vocabulary quizzes from the reading.
Well, duh, if you're really going to do that, you should focus on short stories, because no sane high school student will read several novels for class.
Also, you should try to get a representative collection of what SciFi (etc.) authors have to say: Allegories on specific social issues, to general reflections on human nature, to pure fun stories without content.
Examples:
Allegory on social issues: Planet of the Apes == allegory on racism, which forces the reader's point of view to be with the victim group (humans), while with historic novels readers often take the side of their respective country/group/culture.
General reflections: Brave New World == If we could create the perfect society, would living in it be worthwhile?
Fun story without content: Star Wars. Certainly fun, but if it has an underlying message, I for one have not been able to figure out what it might be.
And yes, I know that none of my examples are actually short stories...
Ursula K. Le Guin writes about balance in life; everything is great:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursula_K._Le_Guin
She writes a lot of things that might appeal to a less techy audience, but still have deep meanings.
The Earthsea Trilogy is more fantasy than sci-fi, but is great as it covers one person through growing up and retirement. (There are more books as well.)
"Four ways to forgiveness" is more sci-fi-ish as an example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Ways_to_Forgiveness
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
Doc Smith - Triplanetary - The Lensman novels are where it all began. The stuff they are familiar with all goes back to here.
Burroughs - A Princess of Mars. Easy read. Burroughs style and pacing set the standard for the genre, for good or bad, for quite a while. He was perhaps the first real "Pulp" sci-fi writer, and no, I do not put Smith in that category. When he did it, it was original.
Lester Dent/Kenneth Robeson - Yes, I count Doc Savage as science fiction. He and his gang are very much the basis for much of Spiderman, Superman, the Fantastic Four and most definitely Batman. If you pick the right one, you can even get a good discussion going on women's rights and or racism.
Asimov - I, Robot - These stories have formed the foundation (pardon the pun) of how we think of machines and their relationship to humans
Huxley - Brave New World - as some stated earlier, this should be required reading.
Clarke - 2001. The movie is great, perhaps one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. If you can watch the movie in class, even better as you can watch it in 2-3 classes instead of reading it over the course of a week.
If you can do a TV episode, do Star Trek's "City On The Edge Of Forever". While Ellison is credited with the screenplay, many, many people had their hands in it, and I think Ellison even denies its his, except when the royalty check comes in.
Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, alternately you can introduce blade runner. Fantastic lit, fantastic movie, either one makes great sci-fi. Here you can possibly read it faster than watching (assuming it would take 3 classes to watch). Allows you to discuss what is it to be human and alive, a question that may become less easily answered in the near future. I would personally go for the reading, but like I said, you can't really go wrong either way.
Andrew Niccol - Gattaca - if you can go with one that was purely a movie. I watch this movie every few years, and each time I find something new to be frightened of because each year I hear something else in the news that points in this direction. Wonderful movie to spur discussion of the morality of eugenics. great tie in to the Bene Gesserit of Dune if you want to go there, but I am not sure I would for this class.
David Weber - On Basilisk Station. Military sci-fi, and good military sci-fi at that. Reminiscent of Horation Hornblower. Nice example of taking tried and true sci-fi themes and attempting a fresh new take on them while attempting to remain internally consistent (which Weber does through almost 20 Honor Harrington novels now, so its an introduction to a great series should they want to read more)
I'm so glad I'm not in school. This is the worthless crap they make you choose from to use as an excuse for babysitting. School these days is all about babysitting. Keeping kids occupied so they aren't on the street causing trouble.
The SciFi that has resonated most with me is stuff that examines the human condition from some extreme distance or perspective, and therefore gives some special insight into it. There is no real reason fantasy couldn't do this more than it does, but I haven't read a whole lot that gets beyond simple adventure.
So my quick bibliography of mostly concise works that fit that criteria:
The time machine, H.G. Wells
Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
The Disposessed, Ursula LeGuin
The Dosadi Experiment, Frank Herbert
Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson
Accelerando, Charles Stross
Last Call, Tim Powers
I haven't read much modern Sci-fi/fantasy, but I've read a lot of the old school stuff.
Sci-Fi
I'd recommend Foundation and pretty much anything from the Robot series for Asimov. If for no other reason, the fact that he was one of the most prolific writers in sci-fi (that is, he wrote a lot of books, sci-fi and otherwise) and an expert in more fields than 99% of the population, makes him worth reading. I suspect a lot of Heinlen's stuff is probably a little too sexual for HS students, but Stranger in a Strange Land is a classic that shouldn't be missed. Pretty much everyone has said Ring World. Can't really go wrong there. Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows brings back some memories as does Ender's Game.
Fantasy
I didn't read nearly as much fantasy and Tolkein might be a bit heavy, but definitely classic. In high school, I was a fan of Piers Anthony's Adept series. Though not classic or groundbreaking, it did have a lot of clever notions that I enjoyed. Anne McCaffrey's Pern stuff was huge when I was a kid. Though I never really cared for her writing, I imagine there's something of value there.
For the love of god, split your posts into paragraphs. I took one look at the OP and said "I'm not reading that."
Ecotopia: The Notebooks and Reports of William Weston by Ernest Callenbach. Ecotopia was one of the first Environmental Utopian books and is an alternate future occuring in 1999 when the book was written in 1974. It deals with topics ranging from ecology to feminism, and discusses technologies such as videoconferencing and printing on demand books, and social phenomenon like reality television 20 years before they were developed. It is considered required reading by many in the modern green movement and helped push the boundaries in of environmental laws and the environmental movement in the 1970's.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Unless you're reading at least something by Philip K. Dick, I think your class is not much of a class on the subject.
Philip defines not just science fiction in the modern age, but modern writing. The key to good science fiction is that the science is not important -- it's the science's impact on the society and the individual that is important. Phil knew nothing about science, which freed him to actually write.
Other writers, before him, came up with a tech idea and showed what it would do to society, but Phil came up with non-science nonsense and explored what that would do to society. He freed science fiction to move freely, instead of being anchored to ponderous rigor.
And then there's HG Wells. Why write SF? HG Wells looked at what the wars of his time did to people and society and came up with worlds where the tech around us destroyed the things we held sacred and pulled us into more and worse wars. Now we look back and think "Duh" because we are a much, much more cynical age -- thanks hugely to him. He showed us (as in The Food of The Gods) that all tech will be used for wars, no matter how non-military it might seem.
If this is really a serious course in SF/F lit, what texts are you using from the analysis side? They'll give you a good guide to what stories/novels you should be looking at.
It's been a long time since I took such a course, so I don't know if Hartwell's 1984 Age of Wonders ("a penetrating exploration of the realities behind the history, development and current popularity of science fiction") or Ketterer's New Worlds for Old: The Apocalyptic Imagination, Science Fiction, and American Literature (1974) are still in print. They're authors worth looking for, anyway. There are also more popular studies such as Brian Aldiss's Billion Year Spree or James Gunn's various works on the history of science fiction. Speaking of the latter, you might also check with the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas, seems like an excellent resource for what you want.
(Personally I'd argue that unless you're doing a compare-and-contrast, the science fiction and fantasy genres are so different (excluding space fantasy like Star Wars, here) that they probably ought not be studied together. It's almost like a course on "Romances and Thrillers" - yeah there are some common elements, but....)
-- Alastair
Something from Terry Pratchett's (AMAZING) Discworld series should absolutely be included.
In my High School (-equivalent) days we did Slaughterhouse 5 and it was a great success. Now I'm not saying you should do Vonnegut, except perhaps The Sirens of Titan might still be readable.
Some "fantasy" suggestions:
- Harry Potter, these are absolutely great books & also deals with the pain of being an adolescent
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, for the emos & the feminists and btw truly a masterpiece.
SF:
"Snow Crash" by Stephenson is on the TIME 100 Best Novels list and one of the two main characters is a teenage female skateboarder who is about the only smart person in it. This is a funny book and has cyberpunk as well.
Brin's Kiln People.
Or you could do a 3000-page Science/Fantasy/Horror work, the "Night's Dawn" trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.
Or "His Dark Materials" by P. Pullman.
Be warned some of these books deal with stuff like sex, emotions, evolution, religion, magic and corporate ethics so may be risky to teach if you're in the US so perhaps you should ask yourself WWFSMD?
May I suggest you stay away from Jordan? That is not literature! I *did* read about the first 2½ volume of his series before I realised this was Barbara-Cartland-In-A-Fantasy-Setting.
Yandelvayasna grldenwi stravenka
My college sf class at Texas A&M included these novels: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; The Mote in God's Eye; Blade Runner; The Sirens of Titan; I, Robot; and Childhood's End. I do remember an anthology of short stories, but I can't remember the title. But I do remember reading "Repent Harlequin, said the Tick-tock man."
Other works to consider: Nine Princes in Amber; The Guns of Avalon; A Princess of Mars; Gods of Mars; Warlord of Mars. Have Spacesuit, Will Travel; Anubis Gates; Ender's Game; and Footfall.
Get your class to read this, then use the oppurtunity discuss freedom of information, piracy, DRM.
What? I can't hear any grinding axe..?
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
Assuming this is junior of senior grade:
Excerpts from Fahrenheit 451; Well at the World's End; Lord of the Rings; Out of the Silent Planet Lewis; Piers Anthony fun book
Books/stories Time Machine [War of the World's overdone IMHO]; One of Doyle's Mars books, [they're pretty quick reads] then give them a choice of something like:
Dune
Tunnel in the Sky
one of the first Pern books
Wrinkle in Time
The Hobbit
Harrison's West of Eden
or 20 Piers Anthony books [that's to make up for the depth of the others and besides they're funny]
I've never met anyone who's read a Discworld novel who doesn't love it. I absolutely recommend something from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series as a prime example of less serious fantasy. Reaper Man, Interesting Times and The Hogfather are a few of my favorites.
"Welcome to the Monkey House" by Kurt Vonnegut counts as sci-fi, and is excellent literature to boot! Many short stories easily read by highschoolers.
I took a world lit course in college, and the one book that we were recommended was Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. Great stuff about the Hero monomyth. really puts long book cycles into perspective.
Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Your book list would be different depending on what the class is. Is it a history of SciFi? or is it a survey of SciFi. I think you should ignore fantasy altogether. You will find it nearly impossible to adequately cover even the most basic selection of sci-fi in a high school class. Since the OP asked for specific suggestions here are a few. This is actually fairly hard since scifi is often long. For instance I would want to suggest Stranger in a Strange Land, the Robot trilogy, the Foundation trilogy, The Invisible Man, Fahrenheit 451, 1984, Brave New World, and that would just be from the early and classic periods. I could keep going but the reading list would be way beyond what a high schooler could digest in such a short time. More recent works which are also great: Neuromancer, Robinson's Mars Trilogy, Snow Crash. When going through this list a good idea occurred to me. For a final project make each student pick a different Hugo award winner, write a paper and do a presentation to the class. The Hugo awards for best short story is also a good starting place.
-- QED
Anathem would take up an entire college semester, let alone a high school one.
Besides, the students wouldn't have the appreciation for it. You need years of scientific and philosophical study to really grasp the entirety of Anathem. I just can't imagine many high schoolers have the knowledge of classical philosophy, as well as some of the advanced mathematics, to avoid having intricate details go right over their head.
by David Marusek. Brilliant, insightful look at the near future.
In my high school lit class we read Ender's Game, which to my surprise, everyone in the class pretty much loved it. If you want to expose kids to the genre, I say go with this book. Chances are they'll enjoy it so much they'll begin looking for other Sci-Fi novels on their own.
I know most don't know this one, but Roger Zelazny - Nine Princes in Amber would be a fantastic selection. Perfect blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy. Doubt it will ever happen though.
I haven't seen one of my sci-fi favorites on here, a book that I believe to be on par with "1984" or "Fahrenheit 451", and that's "The Children of Men" by P.D. James. Particularly the opening description of a future world without posterity and therefore without out hope is truly striking. (It should be noted that the film, while quite good, has almost nothing to do with the book). Another thing to consider would be to incorporate some Graphic Novels into the mix. "V for Vendetta" would be a good choice here.
If anyone can get through Xenocide.
Isac Asimov: The Complete Stories is a great volume of short stories that cover many 'what-if' situations and would be a great way to get the kids going on 'hard' sf (ie. not simple 'action in space' but questions and where they lead).
For how to actually structure the teaching, personally I would have one of the short stories as an 'assigned reading' for the next class (most are only a few dozen pages, easy reading). At the next class I would have open discussion with the class discussing the story:
Probably for major tests, I would go away from 'write essay about story' and instead go with something like 'of the stories in this book, find a question that the story is pursuing, and write a different answer to that question', basically look at the path that the author took and see what other paths they could take with the question.
Other collections of short stories could be used for this purpose, but you should know the stories fairly well beforehand to make sure there aren't any that would really be wrong for kids. I've been through Azimov's collection and all of them are more-or-less 'teenager friendly'.
In fact, I think this subject would be very interesting to teach... I may have to look into it... :)
DEMETRIUS: Villain, what hast thou done?
AARON: Villain, I have done thy mother.
Shakespeare invents 'your mom'
I reread "A Canticle for Leibowitz" not long ago and it still holds up well.
But the Pauli Exclusion Principle is actual science.
-- Alastair
I was fortunate enough to have taken a science fiction class in high school. I'd recommend nearly all of the books we covered:
Starship Troopers (Heinlein)
Childhood's End (Clarke)
Dune (Herbert)
A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller)
Space Merchants (Pohl/Kornbluth)
Ender's Game (Card)
Those are the ones I remember that I would recommend. The only other novel I recall from the class was Earth Abides by George Stewart, but I detested it.
I'm sure there are any number of books you could add (I think there must have been something from Asimov that we read, but I don't recall what), but that was a pretty good crop with decent variety, and didn't include some of the other classics that the students have read/will read in other classes (like Fahrenheit 451 and 1984). We also did a couple movies (Star Wars as a framework for the traditional hero's journey, Independence Day because it was new and big [a friend and I wrote a tongue-in-cheek paper claiming that Independence Day was actually about the spread of the evil that was AOL, spread by those pesky disks]). We also did a few short stories: A Sound of Thunder, Prospector's Special, and some story where an architect builds a crazy multidimensional house that collapses in on itself stick in my mind.
I'm not sure what I'd go to for the fantasy portion of such a class. Tolkien of course, but after that it becomes much more difficult - there are a lot of science fiction books that are stand-alone, but with fantasy a lot of the better ones I've read are part of a series, and it becomes difficult to identify one book from a series that really encompasses everything you want to include. Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea books are great (and the first three are quite short, so you might even be able to fit them all in), maybe The Riddlemaster of Hed by Patricia McKillip (sp?).
Too much information for one class. It would be important to cover the era the author lived in. That usually gives huge insight to their writing and I don't see how to do that without eating up a lot of time Maybe focus on a sub genre or a specific time period for the stories. Short Stories would be more realistic, but you lose the benefit of some of those really interesting works that everyone else likes to mention. Also assume that they will take this course because they have an interest in the subject so they might have already read them. Pick obscure and international pieces. The writing styles would be worth the exposure. A course like this will be no easy task to design if you don't want it to be a bird course. Good Luck.
I found that, in recent years, Brandon Sanderson has been able to write the most compelling fantasy fiction that I've ever read. "Elantris", the "Mistborn Trilogy" have all been excellent reads that deal with, more than anything, interpersonal relationships (Though Mistborn deals a lot with the magic system in place).
For Science Fiction, "Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow", by Orson Card, are also very good books, because they deal, again, with interpersonal relationships.
To be honest, I feel that I would have gained a lot of knowledge and insight had I read "Ender's Game" beforehand into human individual and group mentalities, as well as strategy and critical thinking, while in High School.
1984 is a great book. Comparing what was sci-fi and and is now sci-fact would be fun, bringing us the Verns and what not...
Some of Clarke's short story's would be a great place to start. Other good selections would be: The Nine Billion names of God The Sentential (Basis for 2001) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Short_stories_by_Arthur_C._Clarke
Okay, one work I'd recommend that would go along with some of the things that students in high school have already read (ie. mythology type works) is SNOW CRASH by Neil Gaiman.
Also, I would heartily _NOT_ recommend Robert Jordan, as his works are very poorly written and do not well-acquaint students with the fantasy genre. Instead, I would recommend starting them off with THE GAME OF THRONES, by George R.R. Martin. Martin's works also mirror events from human history, ie. the Wars of the Roses. (But, like Jordan, there is some fear that Martin will not finish the series before the end of his life. However, THE GAME OF THRONES, book one of the Song of Ice and Fire series, can stand alone fairly well, which will give students a taste of reading and entice them to continue.)
Another author to whom your students could really relate is Guy Gavriel Kay, particularly his LIONS OF AL-RASSAN. This entirely mirrors the Spanish epic, EL CID, and is about the Reconquista and the religious discourse surrounding that. (It's an amazing book, and I would recommend it to anyone, adult or high-school age.)
GEB.
(This is coming from the perspective of a rhetoric and literature graduate student) Your focus shouldn't be on the individual titles, but what you hope students will get out of those titles - and what those focuses demonstrate to the student about this form of literature. For example, a major theme in science fiction is paranoia and a fear of the government; a number of works exemplify this, although my personal preference is towards Philip K Dick novels. You might also consider a section of "utopic/dystopic" visions: Asimov's Foundation series, contrasted with, perhaps, Gibson's Neuromancer. These works are both rife with great conversational pieces - "Is there any symbolism in Molly's mirrored eyes? How come the Foundation had to be on the other end of the Universe?" Are the dystopic/utopic visions socially-based [in equality, evolution, etc.], or are they based on technology [the net, AI, etc]? Further, what do these authorial choices reflect about the author themselves? (Technology suggests man cannot attain salvation himself; social, that he can[in a Utopic setting]) You can even extend these into the realm of fantasy, with perhaps Tolkien's work being utopic and the Malazan series by Steven Erikson pulling in for dystopic (fantasy is not my strong suit). Some of those ideas might be a bit much for a high school-level course, but this type of discourse is more or less the standard at university - may as well prepare them early! I'd also really consider, towards the end of the semester, trying to break down genre lines. Plenty of works exist that are both contemporary fiction and science fiction, even while blending fantasy elements - Gibson's Pattern Recognition is great for this. This might also help fend off the literary genre elitist trolls that you are no doubt to stir up.
Gordon Dickson, Andre Norton, Fred Saberhagen, Fritz Leiber, Keith Laumer, Philip Jose Farmer, Katherine Maclean, Stanley G Weinbaum .
The really great SF novels incorporate just as much character development and moral dilema as any contemporary fiction. Orson Scott Card for example frequently gives his protagonists (and antagonists occasionally) moral issues to deal with in futuristic settings. One of the things i love most about the Ender series is the way he uses relativistic space travel to alter the relationships over decades long correspondence. See Ender in Exile -- in the last few chapters -- for an example of this.
Also since the parent mentioned 1984, it's worth noting how much Orwell focused on the dystopia's effect on Smith's psyche. Not to say the environment isn't significant, but you can't discount the human element in a good book, no matter the genre.
Other authors i would add to the list to cover, Niel Gaiman (Stardust is priceless, though there is an explicit scene), C.S. Lewis (Perelandra is difficult diction, but really creative), Marlowe (Faustus could be considered an early Fantasy), Dan Simmons (if adult language/graphic content are admissible), Bram Stoker, and if you want a fantasy piece that comments on the time period, Spenser's Faerie Queene is exactly that.
Other authors i haven't personally read but have been recommended are Feist, Salvator, Saberhagen, and maybe Thousand and One Nights, but that's a stretch.
Ecology and Politics: Kim Stanley Robinson "Forty Signs of Rain"
The role of autistic persons in society: Elizabeth Moon "The Speed of Dark"
How persons and societies cope with pandemics: Connie Willis "Doomsday Book"
Revolution: Robert Heinlein "Moon is a Harsh Mistress"
Feminist issues: Connie Willis "Even the Queen"
Responsibility of leaders to exercise justice: Lois Bujold "Mountains of Mourning"
Utopia and Materialism: Ursula K. LeGuin "The Dispossessed"
Off the top of my head, some stories that have *lifted* the top off my head. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few of equal merit.
Startide Rising by David Brin
Blood Music by Greg Bear
Way Station by Clifford Simak
Neuromancer by William Gibson
All The Colors of Darkness by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
The Year of the Quiet Sun (short story, can't remember author)
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Space Merchants by Frederick Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth
Any of the Nebula Award anthologies
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
The Demolished Man (short story) by Alfred Bester
The Moon Moth (short story) by Jack Vance
Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
A Planet Named Shayol (short story) by Cordwainer Smith
The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith
The Color Out of Space, and The Call of Cthulhu, by H. P. Lovecraft
Mars is Heaven (short story) by Ray Bradbury
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Best wishes!
Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others.
Like a music class, why not approach this from a (sub-)genre point of view. Claiming to cover the genre's fantasy and science-fiction, is like saying we teach music of all kinds. Classical AND modern music. How about you break it up into (and I'm no expert): ...) ...), No idea what this sub-genre's name would be ...), making this up as I go ...) ...) ..) ...)
- Classical sci-fi (Jules Verne,
- pre-hard sci-fi. (Isaac Asimov,
- Science-Fantasy (Douglas Adams,
- Cyber-punk (William Gibson,
- Space Opera (Vernor Vinge,
- Hard sci-fi (Kim Stanley Robbinson,
- Singularity visions (Corey Doctorow,
- etc.
Of course several writers crossed borders, but that is a good topic for discussion.
Knowing the above does a lot more good then discussion any particular "oh, oh...this book was so great" title that has been mentioned in this thread.
will auto-link a URL. Really, is it too much to ask?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Go to www.lasfs.org and look for the Young Adult Science Fiction reading list. There is also a children's reading list that may be helpful. I'd be a bit concerned that you don't want books that raise questions that you don't want to have to answer and that their parents don't want you to answer.
Why bother
If he's looking for the classic, best-known novels, then yeah, if he's planning on teaching a class on the subject, he should already be aware of most, if not all of them.
If he's looking for more obscure stuff - especially short stories - then there's simply no way he's read everything out there, and asking for suggestions he can read helps.
There's also the specific matter that this is a high school class - so if he can get insights from people who have run similar classes, parents of high schoolers into sci fi, and of course, students themselves as to what's likely to seriously engage people in that age group, that has obvious value. Merely being aware of a list of good books doesn't necessarily mean you know what's likely to work well in that age group.
Last but not least, there's the problem of time. High school is usually about ~7 classes at a time compared to the 5 in college, and college usually involves less time in class than work outside of class, whereas high school is the opposite. This means students can do a very, very, finite amount of reading for 1 course, and so the goal is be as thorough as possible with very limited time to work with - which again means that obscure short stories can be important here.
There are many very enjoyable and thought-provoking science fiction and fantasy books out there. But don't ignore the underlying theme they all share in common:
"WHAT IF...?"
I'd suggest taking just about any book and explaining the basic "what if" of the story to the class, and have them discuss what might come next. What if we had faster-than-light travel? What if we lived in a post-apocalyptic world? What if a human-looking alien child came to Earth with amazing abilities?
Science fiction and fantasy are all about getting from such "what if" questions to one possible answer, but there are many, many more answers to be written. Challenge the students with coming up with different answers. Have them come up with their own what ifs.
And try to use short stories as much as you can. They often condense the narrative down to the basics of the what if and the answer more so than a whole novel does. And not ever novel is to everyone's taste. You don't want to lose the students' interest with a overlong and over-boring reading assignment, even if you love the work so much you've read it a dozen or more times.
I had a similar class once called "Science Through Science Fiction" that also had guest speakers come in to talk about the actual science in works such as "Frankenstein" and how reality differs or reflects the fiction.
Either look at old SF (for historical reasons) or look very carefully at what you want to look at all. The thing is that basically most in-between SF is basically Fantasy. Everyone educated enough to do the numbers knows that the stars are just too far away. Most SF is lies and lies and lies. If you actually want to look into the future not only of science but of society you need to look very hard.
One thing I would advise to read is Iain M. Banks. Read The Player of Games or Exsession. There are others, but there are a lot of books that aren't well written or even in any way interesting.
Oh, and of course Lovecraft. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath is a must-read, as many others of him.
For a Novel, Cryptonomicon. For a short, or movie... Pirates of Silicon Valley.
The problem with this sort of thing, and being part of a class curriculum, is the truth of history of technology and in particular IT and telecommunications will be highly controversial to many top figures in other industries. For example:
Show a bunch of kids Pirates of Silicon Valley. They see that those guys (Steve is still running the show) had done some rather "hackery" things in the past. The Blue Boxes (stealing phone service), the stealing and deceiving to acquire a OS (software piracy). How are the kids going to handle the reality of the birth of Microsoft and Apple, along with the flyers in the hallway by the RIAA/MPAA telling them that downloading music is bad? I think the reason most people are sympathetic to the idea that a Blue Box is "stealing", is the fact that it's always been a for-pay service. Kids (And I personally) don't see the difference in turning on the radio or downloading a song. I have never paid for radio, and this fact is the only reason I refuse satellite radio or other like wise radio services.
The IT industry, is historically bound and entrenched with the fact that someone did something they weren't supposed to do. To get a business edge (as in Microsoft), or to get a new product off the ground (Apple).
Over the years, these very exploits served a real purpose to improve the quality of the services exploited (and they still do). From the earliest days of hackers making their own games on the mainframes in secret of management, to Blizzard and their massive market success. From bare copper telecommunications equipment and mechanical clickedy click switching to superfast OC-xxx backbones and wicked sick solid state switches. Exploits became "bugs" that needed to be fixed, while before they were "features" or "those nosey kids had no business doing that, it broke because they did something they weren't supposed to do..." *I remember Microsoft blaming end-users and hackers on their security woes, don't you?*
Companies don't want people to use Blue Boxes. They don't want their admins to create some kind of game on their computers. They don't want to fix their problems, and blame inherent faults on those who discover and exploit them. They don't want kids in school, taught, shown or realizing that these very things drove the Technology Industry to the heights it currently sits.
If your endeavor ever gains broad acceptance, I think it'll result in another thing similar to teaching evolution in schools.
It's an elective class, so the students involved are going to want to read some science fiction.
For most people, learning to read and understand sci-fi is going to be a more valuable skill than learning to write it. Not only could it lead to a lifelong hobby, but it will help the students learn to analyze other written works.
But more to the point, trying to teach things like worldbuilding and character development without reference to existing, well-implemented examples is like trying to teach a class on oil painting appreciation in the dark.
Last point: some people seem to be "turned off" to reading before they enter kindergarten. That doesn't mean that they won't need to develop the skill.
You want the truthiness? You can't handle the truthiness!
I can't imagine I'm seeing so few refereces to Vance's worlds. Planet of Adventure is just fantastic, and most of his other stories are sublime exercises in the exploration of men's capabilities and particularities. the daemon princes are another fantastic creation. Yet the amount of _science_ fiction is always accurately measured agains the amount of social fiction.
my 2cts
If you have time, you might also introduce them to Russian authors who wrote science fiction under the soviet regime to showcase the lunacy going on around them. A good example of a short story would be "Fatal Eggs", or "Heart of a Dog" by Bulgakov. Both are available online for free at lib.ru
http://www.lib.ru/BULGAKOW/dogheart_engl.txt
http://www.lib.ru/BULGAKOW/eggs_engl.txt
Heart of a Dog is much easier to read, get into and enjoy, and look at criticism of the soviet lifestyle. Fatal Eggs is a favorite of mine, but much harder for someone to slog through. It might open them up to reading other works like "Master and Margarita".
Good luck with the class, and I really hope you use Heart of a Dog.
Jack Vance
Ender's game is a must -- but I would add as supplemental reading Ender's Shadow. It's a super interesting example of parrallelism in story telling, and provides another view into things.
Of the available works of CS Lewis, I would of course recommend his Fantasy stuff, in particular the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. What I've only discovered very recently, though, is his Sci Fi works. While still as religiously driven as the Fantasy works, I think that it was a different take on it, and provided some good discussion points. Also, it's something that he's not associated with, so might be interesting to see the different angle.
Dune is another amazing book, and I think it's uncommon in the Sci Fi genre as a 'world building' book. The sort of stuff that I more regularly associate with Dragonlance, Tolkien or Anne McCaffrey. While I really enjoyed the book (I read this in Grade 9 Literature) I think that it might be too long for the average class.
I would definitely recommend a Harry Potter novel. It's most certainly fantasy, and has enough worth commenting on; although I might offer it as a suggestion for those who are intimidated by the larger books. As an alternative, the Tales of Beedle the Bard is something that is short, and has easy morals.
Other than that, I think you need a heinlen, and an aasimov, and possibly a sagan (go short stories for all three if you can).
It's required that you include tolkien, but I'd make it either the Hobbit, or just a smattering of selected readings. I think it can be assumed that people will be familiar with the world, if not from the books than from the movies.
I'd also consider something by Margaret Atwood, to demonstrate that Science Fiction can be Science Fiction even if the author refuses to admit it.
The Chrysalids is a commonly selected novel for lower grades, but be prepared for people to get really upset on a religious level. Also, the ending is brutal.
Finally, the first book in the hitchikers guide is a great example of comedic sci-fi.
As for the original post, I really don't think that Bradbury fits here. Sure, it will win you points with anyone who isn't a fan of the class, as it's considered classic lit. But, I don't think it's so remarkable that it would beat out the other stuff you mentioned. Orwell would be a good substitute though.
If you pick up the (unfortunately out of print) philosophy texbook Thought Probes, you'll find several excellent short stories, together with good commentary on their philosophical implications. It includes "The Cold Equations," "Cloak of Anarchy," "The Star," and numerous other excellent, substantial, reasonably short texts and the commentaries are thought provoking for the teacher as well as students.
I would recommend avoiding Tokien, at least the Hobbit/LoTR books. I'd imagine that this class is an elective. If a kid decides to take a Sci-Fi/Fantasy elective in school it is likely that they have at least a passing interest in those genres and LoTR seems to be the most common launch point for kids getting into Fantasy. Having the kids read and discuss books that they probably have already read, discussed, AND watched the movies probably isn't going to teach them much. Try to introduce them to some great pieces of Sci-Fi fantasy that the majority of them probably cannot quote line for line.
Heinlein!!!
Even if you just chose one of his Hugo winning books, at least they will get exposed. TMIAHM and SIASL are corner stones in any library. Starship Troopers is excellent - completely unlike the movie. "On the bounce!"
Kim Stanley Robinson - Red Mars is good and more current.
Action and social statements will keep kids attentive. Sex doesn't hurt either.
"The Gods Themselves" by Isaac Asimov
"Triplanetary" by E. E. "Doc" Smith
"9 Pinces In Amber" by Roger Zelazny
"The Martian Missile" by David Grinnell
"Slan" by A. E. van Vogt
"At The Mountains Of Madness" by H. P. Lovecraft and/or
"The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" by H. P. Lovecraft
"The Sheep Look Up" by John Brunner
Any of the Mars or Venus books by Edgar Rice Burroughs
"A Fire Upon The Deep" by Vernor Vinge
"Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut
"A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. LeGuin
Any of the Fafhrd and Gray Mouser books by Fritz Leiber
crap, my pencil broke..
If you do LeGuin, don't do Earthsea.
Do
Left Hand of Darkness
or
The Lathe of Heaven
Hienlein:
Moon is a Harsh Mistress. (Tie into a Robotics or AI discussion with Dick and Azimoz, or even Nueromancer)
Ian M. Banks: Consider Phlebas or Use of Weapons
Charles Stross: Singularity Sky or Iron Sunrise.
Stan Nicholas: Orcs
Stanislaw Lem: The Cyberiad
I would love to include Alastair Reynolds, but he is too confusing for most people.
Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
There are a lot of great stories, but if you are learning literature matters maybe more how it is written than what is there. There are some authors specially good on short tales (i.e. Brown and Dick), others that shine in big books (Stephenson), some stories that are great in the middle ground (Bicentennial Man?). Also there are the topics taken that could have interest per se (Babel 17 was great science fiction about language itself, or Mimsy were the Borogoves about learning).
I'd recommend some gibsonian cyberpunk theres a great collection of short stories called Burning chrome (be warned gibson is known to throw in drugs, sex and cursing as well as alcohol so if your school doesn't tolerate such things don't use them) then there is cory doctorow's work (same warning but waay less) little brother is more speculative fiction then real "sci-fi" but it appeals to high schoolers and its e-version is open source and he makes use of a free education copy program so you should be able to get hard copies free or cheap. it also raises privacy and ethics questions which make great class discussion and in general don't just do classics when i see schools do such classes they forget that there are perfectly good new sci-fi books that appeal to modern issues and immerse the reader in a more contemporary idea as to what the future may be like.
If you don't include Philip K. Dick, I'll have you retired. Man in the High Castle, please, and he's written a swath of worthy short stories.
Dune
Solaris
The Lathe of Heaven
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Difference Engine
I'm sure all of these pop up in someone else's comments somewhere in this thread; if so, just add my vote to them.
Good luck...
Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes (Short Story)
Blood Music - Greg Bear (Short Story).
Both of the above deal with potential ramifications of human enhancement through medical or mechanical means. Both show the promise of the technologies as well as the potential ramifications (transience or transformation).
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne
Journey To The Center of The Earth - Jules Verne
A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle (though now that I look back at it some of it's Religious themes might be considered inappropriate for school)
Stories of exploration and wonder.
Startide Rising - David Brin
Watchers - Dean Koontz
Stories of the challenges and rewards of working with familiar animals (dolphins, chimpanzees and dogs) who have been given intelligence on par with humans.
Omeganon
we read a few sci-fi titles along with the Shakespeare and the usual lit picks -- Flowers for Algernon, The Chrysalids, The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, Fahrenheit 451. It was in high school that I first fell in love with science fiction, and I owe it entirely to the enthusiasm of my grade 9 English teacher. Thanks, Mr. V.
One of the issues I've always had with literature studies (or any study of forms of art) is the over-analysis done by some people. People study literature and other works of art looking for references to historical events. While everything in the creator's past can certainly influence their work, whether consciously or subconsciously, trying to analyze this as being a relevant relationship is pointless.
If I was going to do something like this, one thing I'd do would be to look at Sci-Fi works over the last hundred years and look not at their exact thoughts on future technology but on future circumstances and problems. Did the trend of a global world war in the future become more common after WWII? More so than after WWI or Vietnam? How have views on alien hostility versus alien benevolence change over time? Futures run by corporations versus futures run by dictatorships/monarchies versus futures run by democratic governments? Obviously the homeland of the author would impact these as well.
(Personally I'd just as soon NOT analyze things like this. I don't feel these things are a particularly relevant course of study, but if you're going to study it anyway, they are some ideas.)
You simply have to include some Stephen R. Donaldson in there. There is no author writing today (in ANY genre) with a better command of the English language. His books may not be as popular as some others, but no one writes better (at least by his later works). His short stories are top notch, but the real gem is The Real Story. Not only is masterfully written, but his analysis of how and why he wrote it in the epilogue is invaluable. Of course, if this is public school I'm sure you'd be burned in a public fire for suggesting it as it's got a ton of mature content. If nothing else, go over the epilogue and give them something 'safer' of his to read.
If you haven't seen it get it.. Outstanding SF reference for the time period prior to when it was published and entertaining reading in its own right as well.
Possible areas of interest will be topics of the environment, energy conservation, war, social issues, and others.
When I was in high school, I couldn't grasp that kind of stuff. It took some years of autonomy, bureaucracy, voting, and workplace interaction before I could get a personal sense of these issues -- e.g., maintaining your household, waiting on hold to straighten out a billing error, workplace politics. Much good science fiction describes grand visions of the items at the scale you're referring to, but do your highschoolers have the autonomy and responsibility to extrapolate their own personal experience to social, industrial, political, military goings-on at the city, state, national, planetary, galactic scale?
In my uninformed opinion, I'd go with
I'd then try to gauge their reactions and opinions and whether/how they can understand or identify emotionally or intellectually with the stories and characters. You can always work your way up to the bigger issues should some subset of your students show interest or aptitude in understanding them.
One counterpoint to this is that science fiction explicitly provides a sense of scale for these things and lays out these larger issues for detailed examination. As such, it may serve your students if they (and you) are exposed to the concepts now and it can later inform their future experience when they're more directly confronted with these ideas.
Some less-known classics:
Most people have focused on full-length or somewhat shorter novels. The choices people have suggested are great, but you're going to have to be choosy with the time that you have (Tolkien is a nice thought, but The Lord of the Rings is pretty much out of the question unless you want to do nothing else!). Shorter is better in some ways because it would let you get more variety. I'm rather fond of LeGuin's Earthsea books and Clarke's Against the Fall of Night because they are short, to the point, and relatively simple.
But for truly short stories: The Machine Stops by Forster. It's antiquated in some ways, historically prescient in others (I think of the remote, multi-person conversations that enthrall one of the characters as rather like the chat rooms of today). Anyway, it's enough to start a good conversation either from the main point of the story or about the historical quirks contained in it. There are even some nifty tie-ins with a recent movie: WALL-E. It's almost like an updated version in some ways.
I think Forster's story is also out of copyright and therefore there is no issue copying it for the class for free.
You could also include some of Poe's works (didn't see him in your original list), as well as "True Story" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_History), which is perhaps the first sci-fi story ever (2nd AD).
I gotta suggest that the original I Robot is divided into several complete and easy to read stories, perfect for a 1 week unit. If you are going to connect the movie to the book, treat the movie as it's own work. I'm a huge Gibson fan, so I've gotta push Neuromancer to the top of the cyberpunk list. Also a great one for comparing the technology of today with the technology sci-fi authors like Gibson were dreaming of. For Tolkien, Lord of the Rings is a little long and heavy. It'd be easier to get them to read certain portions of The Hobbit. I'd use the first few chapters, then skip to the end right before the dragon. I'd also stress the history of The Hobbit: these were the bedtime stories of Tolkien's children. I wouldn't bother with Dragonlance. Your not introducing them to Dungeons and Dragons. Dragonlance is good easy reading, but it had a purpose: to sell a game. It was all based off the fantasies that Tolkien invented so teach Tolkien. And then I gotta throw in my support for Hitchhikers guide. It's a fun read, and a very 'outside the box' thinking. This is another one where you can use just one chapter and accomplish the goal. All of these are fun reads, which I think is important when your dealing with high school students. These kids know sci-fi in the form of video games, like Halo and World of Warcraft. Their ears are open, but they bore easily. Things like Dune and Foundation will be lost on them.
Lin Carter's Tolkien: A Look Behind the Lord of the Rings has an excellent couple of chapters tracing the history of Heroic Fantasy from Roland through LoTR.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
I Robot is thought provoking, and a great introduction to logic. Asking students to read the entire foundation trilogy may be asking too much. I recommend these titles because everyone should know the 3 rules robots are to follow, and because Hari Seldon's formula for predicting the future motivated me to become the economist I am today.
"Possible areas of interest will be topics of the environment, energy conservation, war, social issues, and others."
I don't think there's a better way to describe Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. Their science is accessable and their fiction is plausible within the context of the book. I don't remember any parts that required excessive suspension of disbelief. The only thing is that they might be a bit dry in parts, especially Blue Mars.
But just to make sure everyone understands it will be politicized the last sentence of the /. summary is the tell:
You and I may have strong feelings about politics, but high school students will be indifferent and oblivious. How much danger does one high school class represent? Exposing students to readings will be a very ineffective way of 'political indoctrination'. Get a grip. Effective 'indoctrination' requires a real life figure, such as Rush Limbaugh, or Glenn Beck.
If I were selecting a syllabus for the class, I'd go for variety and then compare and contrast the works. Understanding certain works of science fiction requires some understanding of the mood of the times.
I am personally fascinated with the post-WWII era and the existentialism that the GI's were bringing home from the war. Authoritarianism was a prevailing cultural theme from the war right on through to the 60's, contrasted by the counter-cultural existentialism and the 'beats'.
L. Ron Hubbard would be an example of the Authoritarian type, with his tendency to reinvent words to form a group-speak, bending meaning. Very 1984. 'Typewriter in the Sky' is typical of Hubbard's pseudo-psychological style.
Aldous Huxley's 1945 The Perennial Philosophy would be a good counterpoint.
Best regards.
The movies are awful, the book is beautiful.
.: Max Romantschuk
I think that if he were more well known, given today's political climate this book would be held up side be side with Orwell's 1984. Putting relativity aside isn't in the nature of humanity to always be at war. Do you think there will ever be peace between the Middle East and the West, will the War on terror ever end???? This book uses Einstein's theories to draw out a fundamental truth about humanity, plus it is very short so it might be a good intro book.
Back in 1982 or 1983, the reading list was:
Dune
Stand on Zanzibar
Stranger in a strange land
Siren's of Titan
Left hand of Darkness
Today I would swap out Stand on Zanzibar for something cyberpunk and probably Siren's of Titan for something more modern. Dune and Stranger in a strange land have aged better and are more classic IMO. I was never that great of a fan of Left hand of Darkness...
Asimov - Nightfall. One of his best short stories.
Harlan Ellison - Repent Harlequin said the tick tock man
Two classics with very different styles.
I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
For a specific title, I recommend Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".
I can't stress Isaac Asimov enough. He's got a broad range of material, from the depth of the Foundation Series, to his short stories ("I, Robot", not to be confused with the movie) which are approachable to a wide audience. I was introduced to Asimov in High School, and am still an avid (re)reader of his works.
"Better to be vulgar than non-existent" -Bev Henson
1) The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
2) Brainwave - Poul Anderson
I'd say many suggestions pale compared to the works of one of
the most prolific accomplished Sci-Fi writers around, Niven.
Besides the quality of the stories, especially short stories
(can't have a class entirely of giant novels), a few thoughts...
1. A lot of sociopolitical themes, like the morality of unrestricted
organ transplantation, where even repeat traffic offenders are
chopped up for spare parts. Or product liability laws producing aircars so
safe if they're eaten by giant monsters they don't include shaving kits
because rescued castaways should look like castaways months later when they're
rescued. Or multiple brands of pacifism, one that assumes all advanced aliens
will also be pacifists, and (bipolar?) one that only applies to itself
and assumes all aliens are a mortal danger.
And that's just 'known space' universe. The 'Motie' universe drew
criticism for making an imperial government, they even later wrote
that they weren't making a political statement against democracy.
Also interesting that the 30th century storyline could bear an
uncanny resemblance to imperial Britain and sailing ships of the 1500's.
2. Not only collaboration with multiple coauthors, but also allowing
others to write stories in the same 'universe' of known-space. Pretty
uncommon for books.
3. Goes to considerable lengths to think through the implications and
consequences of the technology. Not just the stuff from #1, but also
things like the problems with lightspeed delay between different
places, what if colonization ships arrive someplace that's not as habitable
as the people think, What if most life in the universe has a common genetic
origin, that means different forms of life would be more likely to be able to
eat each other, lastly the problems writing stories and avoiding pitfalls from
the various forms of technology introduced implying no longer any danger or
any plot to stories. (As opposed to startrek-esque where holodeck safety
protocols fail every time they needed a new story there)
4. Although interesting the way Niven makes earlier statements
turn out to be self-serving deceptions by the characters that made
them (in other words, what the reader learns is not necessarily true,
a very interesting adaptation) also interesting that when fanbase goes
so far as to rebut the science behind things in the story, he adds detail
to later story to resolve the problem, most notably the
'Ringworld is unstable' issue.
Svaha by Charles de Lint if you can find it. You can explore the environment and treatment of Native Americans with this one. Jordan, Eddings, and Tolkien may be a bit too lengthy for a course. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock might be science fiction and might upset some of the Christians. Some of Moorcock's eternal champion books are short and could be used to discuss balance between order and chaos as opposed to good versus evil. George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire is long, but I feel is better written than Eddings or Jordan.
"What Belongs In a High School Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit Class?" That's easy... Nerds and Geeks. :-P
---As my daddy used to tell me: "You gotta be smart before you can be a smartass."
forget the drek like jordan and all the other lotr knockoff writers spew. Your syllabus should include some one from among the earliest classics. i recommend 'frankenstein.' deals with social technological issues. heinlein's stranger in a strange land is a good classic too. of all his 1000 or so books he wrote that i read, this was the only 1 worth reading. maybe throw in kindred by octavia butler. 1 of the few african american feminist scifi authors. explores slavery, racism, etc. you will need a good cyberpunk title too. i suggest sting by gibson.
I just read this and its geared towards High School crowd. Its about how technology rules our lives and these people hook up via the "Feed" ala Matrix. Check it out.
Then you need a sampling of the classics: Niven (Ringworld), Simak (Time is the Simpest Thing), Harrison (The Stainless Steel Rat), Brunner (The Shockwave Rider), Stephenson (Snow Crash), Zelazny (Roadmarks) Bradbury (Farenhieght 451, Martian Cronicles)...
Okay, maybe that's getting to be too much for one class.
- "History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men" -- Blue Oyster Cult, 'Godzilla'
I think you're on to something about discussing the various genres. I would also add Turtledove and Altnerate History to the SciFi lexicon. I read an essay by Bradbury in which he talked about the defining component about SciFi being answering the question, "What if... ?" I think understanding SciFi's history is as important as discussing the stories.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
I'd say start with some of the Classic Fantasy. Iliad and the Odyssey, perhaps parts of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Depending on how it is meant to be taught, the history of fantasy and science fiction would also be interesting.
Where do the concepts of magic, werewolves, elves, and the like come from? How are they depicted and where do they develop? Relate it to the agricultural revolution where agriculture developed independently in different, remote locations. If there is a similar phenomenon in old fantasy literature, what does it suggest? There are a lot of ways you could take the class, perhaps even taking a look at different takes on classic stories like the Arthurian tales.
Charles Stross -- Check out his collections of short stories, there's some good ones in there. As for full novels, Halting State.
Neil Gaiman -- Yeah, he's known for certain things...but check the Hugo shortlist for the last few years. Just search for Hugo Award on Wikipedia.
Harlan Ellison -- Also gets short listed quite often, very good stories...may be easier for high school students to get into.
C M Kornbluth esp space merchants and syndic, and marching morons - that will give em food for thought
W Tenn
U K Leguin
Mack Reynolds (yeah, i know its cheesy - but fun)
Alexie Panshin
james blish (cities in flight)
there is a series of novels that started with "deathworld" (better then it sounds)
the novels about Retief
any list without S Delaney is absurd (einstein intersection, babel 17 - his earlyh work is SF)
walter millers a canticle for leibowitz
philip K dick (galactic pothealer)
first and last men , stapelton
i always thought heinlein was over rated, and his later stuff absurd;
bertram chandler
john brunner (stand on zanzibar, no blade of grass (can't resist - also the sheep look up)
jack vance
clifford simak
all of the above should be considered, although Kornbluth is areally sharp
Any of the "Year's Best" collections, edited by Gardner Dozois are really good. In my experience, the stories selected for that collection are not just good science fiction, but they reinforce lessons from a "regular" English class about good writing. One of the dangers of the genre is a tolerance for below-average writing. One story that I first read in one of those collections that I particularly enjoyed was "A Dry, Quiet War," by Tony Daniel.
Another poster recommended the saga of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May. It's really excellent, but you're committing to 4 or more books if you do that. I don't think, for example, that The Many Colored Land (first in the series) stands up on its own. Unfortunately, this is true of a lot of genre fiction. I'm always on the lookout for singleton volumes of science fiction and fantasy. Stranger in a Strange Land probably qualifies, but it's long and heavy enough to merit the study of an entire semester by itself.
If I had to throw down a quick and dirty list, I'd say go with two or three of these five novels: Ender's Game, A Wrinkle in Time, The Hobbit, The Time Machine, and Neverwhere; and then add a selection of short stories.
Virtue finds and chooses the mean.
Aristotle, Ethica Nichomachea
My introduction to science fiction was reading Zenna Henderson's "Ararat" in a 9th grade (I think - it's been a really long time since then) American literature class, and I think it stands up fairly well. I like the idea of one of E.E. Smith's novels, for contrast, and I would look for something by Ted Sturgeon. Hal Clement would be a good source of stories with engaging non-human characters, and it might be interesting to compare and contrast his aliens with those of James White in his Hospital Station stories and those of Niven and Pournelle.
I want to plug Neal Stephenson's Zodiac, Diamond Age and Snow Crash, Asimov's Foundation, Cory Doctrow's Little Brother and Anda's Game but I'll curb my pitch. I think rather than just titles you need to get them reading and keep them reading the rest will happen with just a few well timed questions. Choose a few core books from the list on this page and give them the rest of the list as choices for books to read unguided. Make sure they get a mix of novels and short stories (hint my senior level high school history class involved reading at least one short story a week multiple documents and about six novels in the course of the year). You also want to get them to compare science fiction to non fiction. Have them read Thomas Paine and then reread one of the libertarian authors. Finally remember to have fun with it. Science fiction is as much about enjoying what you read as it is politics, envisioning the future man's place in the universe etc.
But everyone who's interested will have already read him.....
I'd start with the Jules Verne type of stories; early hard science fantasy.
Then, in perhaps in response to the economic and political situation of the 30s and the 40s the pulps. The "Aliens came and abducted my daughter" stories. The monster bodice rippers.
And then tie it back to the post was tech boom, the cold reasoned (and boring) authors like Arthur C. Clarke. Then the heady 70s with its "do anything" culture that spawned the likes of Niven.
The womens lib movement that brought in lots of women. The subsequent change from male-centric fiction to female protagonists. Books from Janet Kagan or other female authors.
And now to the current flock of writers (none of whom I find particularly exciting).
Anyway, tie the development of the whoel genre to the real world.
Pulp fiction with heroic fantasy. Should be part of it. doc savage, conan, etc. All really popular back in the day and still just as good, by crom! And if you disagree, I'll start this eerie high pitched trilling sound then pluck your arms from their sockets!
John Wyndham's "Day of the Triffids" is rooted enough in reality not to alienate non-sci-fi readers, and is a very interesting take on the collapse of society after a catastrophe. I'd also suggest Pierre Boulle's original "Monkey Planet", different enough from the Apes movies to make it almost a completely different story. Good stuff.
This book is perfect for your course, especially given the way that it approaches politics and takes a view of humanity from the perspective of an outsider.
I'd also recommend Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card for the great way that it tackles socio-political issues.
Firstly, I read Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 in my English Lit class in my Sophomore year in High School. So its inclusion may well be unneeded, assuming the curriculum is fairly decent in your school district. Problem is, you are going to need a number of short stories if you plan to do anything in any depth.
I would love to suggest Ursula LeGuin's The Dispossessed, which uses a great artifice to tell the story, and that's done all throughout the book until the story lines collide wonderfully at the end. Dickens did that in A Tale of Two Cities, which also ought to be in your High School English Lit class. Might be a good thing to contrast the storytelling styles of Dickens and LeGuin.
If you do such a class, you need to start at the beginning and the first internationally recognized science fiction novel was Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, a story that your class will be familiar with but will not have read. Nobody remembers the beginning or the ending.
You should choose one or two "Space Opera" short stories of the Pulp era, because they're quick reads and they're great examples of that genre. You ought to do a story by HP Lovecraft because those are wonderfully crafted. You should include some fantasy and I would mention that many Sci Fi writers today say that they make more money with this part of the genre.
I did write a paper on a University level where my proposal was one where science fiction (at least the future world variety) placed today's man in "tomorrow's setting," as we were able to identify that at the time. So if the class starts to gripe about this futuristic pap, you should have them identify what the overall feelings of the characters are and how they reflect the actual time of publication. Certainly Asimov's Foundation series (not recommended for a class, as it's way too much reading) and the character's love for portable atomic energy devices and lack of fear of radiation is a pretty good indication of their 1950s and 1960s publication dates.
Were I tasked with this, I'd head to the beach and start up some really fun summertime reading. It was in a class that you plan to teach that I read (on purpose) everything Frank Herbert wrote, then sent a letter (through the publisher) to Mr. Herbert. He wrote me back about 3 months after the term ended. My questions were not about Dune but about a number of his other novels.
Gods don't kill people, people with gods kill people.
simple. choose books (past and current) that have won literary awards -- and also ensure that this cirriculum helps to teach concepts and ideas the student will see in their AP and SAT tests ...
By narrowing down the books to only those that have won awards you thin the rebuttal of parents that will say content is innapropriate and you'll also thin out the possabilities on all the sci-fi / fantasy books that are available on the shelf in any bookstore.
even if you yourself enjoy the more exotic or deeper meaning themes found in less popular or acclaimed authors -- you have a job to keep and also mandated skills to learn (assuming this is a public school setting) ...
As a trained teaching guy: If I were to design a course with the objectives to "survey the histories of these genres and recognize how world events have been reflected onto other worlds," I would focus on the science fiction that uses contemporary topics and extrapolates current technologies.
Azimov? Clarke? Awesome, yes. Iconic, surely. But rockets, FTL, time travel, aliens ... all over-worked tropes. Kids have seen it and done it, beat the boss, posted the walkthrough on youtube. It's not sci-fi. It's the future of the archaic past.
Focus more on the future of the present.
Here's a story I'd love to include for a younger audience: Boyfriend, by Madeline Ashby. Kids subscribe to virtual boy- and girl-friend AI apps on their portable computers, and the AIs begin to rethink the meaning of their service to humanity. Listen to it on Escape Pod. Now *that* is a rich topic for today's generation of cell-phone slinging, hyper-connected, emotionally stuntable youth.
I would recommend "The Book of The Ler".
"If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts." -Albert Einstein
Karma? There's a serial modder out there.
Listed somewhat chronologically: Beowulf, Shelley's "Frankenstein", Verne "20,000 Leagues Under the Seas", Wells "War of the Worlds", Bradbury "Fahrenheit 451", Asimov "I Robot", Ellison "I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream", Clarke "Childhood's End", and Card's "Ender's Game".
Get off my virtual lawn, you damned virtual kids!
Might be a little short and sweet for a high school crowd looking for deeper meaning - but Little Brother by Corey Doctrow is an awesome quick read on the impact of technology on personal freedoms. I think the audience is more of a Jr. High civics class versus your high school fantasy type demographic though.
LeGuin isn't just classics - or, rather, some of her classics are almost brand new.
When I bought Voices, which was my first one, I wasn't aware of the teen theme here. Voices is my absolute favorite of the three, which are all quite stunning feats of literature by an author who seems to be growing only stronger as she keeps writing.
Voices, especially, matters to me. It speaks of growing up in a city where books are banned, where the occupying forces worship fire and the spoken word. It speaks of growing up in a culture under occupation quite well, and it speaks of the gift of words possibly better than anything else I've read. All three books are highly recommended, but given the theme of the class, I'd definitively go with Voices, and let the interested ones pick up the other two on their own.
Oh, and if you're adult, read them anyhow. I expect half the people here are reading this thread looking for book recommendations ;-)
I'd also recommend some Dan Simmons - probably Hyperion. It's the first book of his best series, it has a clear ancestry with Cantebury Tales etc, and it has influenced a LOT of current SF.
And, of course, if you're not including a lot of Heinlein, you're missing half the history of modern SF right there. ;-)
Maybe watch Starship Troopers in class, and then read and contrast with the novel - should be a bit of an eye-opener
I'm a dreamer, the world is my playpen. But hey, I'm a serious person, I can't dream all the time.
Much as I love Niven, James Hogan, Roger McBride Allen etc. etc., if you want to attract *all* ability levels, try some stuff they are already reading, like Marvel comics. "Iron Man" and Batman are basically Sci-Fi. There's also the whole Japanese anime genre. Not really my thing, though the video "Howl's Moving Castle" was pretty cool (steampunk/anime, maybe). Some of the classics are a bit dated in style (Jules Verne, Asimov, even Heinlein) and are a bit hard to read for the modern generation. Stick to more recent works in the same style, even if they are acknowledged retreads. The Jupiter series by Hogan, Pournelle etc. is Heinlein's Space Cadet etc. rewritten for a new readership. http://www.webscription.net/p-956-the-jupiter-novels.aspx
I'll agree that Ender's Game and the subsequent books are great, but for the purpose of a class you should look at Card's "Maps in a Mirror." It is an anthology of short stories that cover most of his writing career. The biggest benefit for this particular edition is that includes forwards for each story about what he was thinking, going through, and aiming for when he wrote the stories. This offers an awesome insight into what the author intended, and can be a great introduction to the desired analytic skills.
Inherit the Stars, by James P. Hogan, is a _fantastic_ look at *science*-based science fiction. The novel tells the story of a bunch of scientists trying to unravel the mystery of a 50,000 year old human found on the moon.
Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Because, yes, it *is* a work of science fiction, but also a wonderful book with rich themes and an incredible philosophy behind it. And that we're basically living it these days doesn't hurt to make it seem more relevant.
Ed R.Zahurak
You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.
Ender's Game and a few other Orson Card books. This is in the works for a movie.
Old Man's War and other John Scalzi science fiction.
Dune by Frank Herbert is an all time favorite.
David Brin has some great speculative near future science fiction.
The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud was a good kids fantasy series. Similar target audience to Harry Potter, but more substance.
Gene Wolfe and Guy Gavrial Kay have some great historical fiction.
Ian Banks and George Martin are great, but the content may be too mature for what some parents think their kids should read.
My high school curriculum included Animal Farm, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and a few others. Brave New World is great.
This appears to be a pretty good list I found while checking the spelling on some of these:
http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/sflib.htm
Glad you mentioned those. They were both standards of literature class when I was in high school 30 years ago. Algernon is especially poignant to gifted students to help them understand their place in the world, and how they may find they have more in common with the intellectually handicapped than they do with normal people.
"Does an AI that passes such a test have any rights?"
Would religious fundamentalists claim the AI was the Devil incarnate if it didn't believe in a God? Would they try to "teach" it religion? Would that violate its rights? Would that be an assault on it? AI abuse?
Would the AI try to teach the religious fundamentalists logic and rational thought?
Get to the founding fathers
-Jules Vernes
-Cyrano de Bergerac
-Ray Bradburry
-Edgar Allan Poe
-Lovecraft
-Borges
-Celtic lore/Brother Grims
And from there, define the various genres of SciFi/Fantasy and how they have evolved to today
I think it is important to show how the original concepts and ideas have evolved and to be able to recognise in an author works what is fresh or only a remake of an old idea.
These books, contemporary to Tolkien, are pretty classic dark fantasy.
I know this response is probably buried in the hundreds before me and will never be read, but the biggest suggestion I can give you is to look at what the other teachers are teaching. If you class is populated with kids in an advanced History class, read 1984. If the kids have a huge workload in English, don't give them Williams of Tolkien.
When I was in high school all the advanced classes were pretty much the same group of kids. The teachers made an effort to know what was going on in each of the other classes to make a coordinated, comprehensive program. I know that without the luxury of a single group of kids going from class to class like I was that there's only so much you can do, but in as much as it is possible, I highly recommend it.
must have heinlein
There are some awesome fantasy authors out there:
Guy Gavriel Kay
George R R Martin
Steven Erikson
Gregory Keyes
R Scott Bakker (probably too rough for high school)
Scott Lynch (first book only)
David Gemmel
Star of the Guardians by Weis and Hickman
Get Grokking the Future for story choices and Get from the Great Courses on Tape, the course on science fiction, which give a nice historical overview. I start with the difference between science fiction and other writing styles. I use short stories because they quickly teach a theme, and if a kid does not like the story, it will be over quickly. I start with Thinking Machines with 3 themes, Robot as God, Robot disobey, Robot kills. with the Story Answer. I then have several short stories about how the robots do he wrong things without human intervention, and there is a discussion of free will vs. Robot control. I introduce the 3 laws and we discuss how the previous stories would change if the 3 laws were built into the machines. We discussu how the 3 laws are impossible to make, or for the Robots to use. Would a 3 laws Robot let your mother remove a splinter from your finger. She might cut you and you might get an infection. We have war and read Starship Troopers. I have the students put the chapters into order and the first chapter is out of order. They read Hero (a short story version of the Forever War) and a short story version of Ender's game. We compare the heroes and what makes a hero. We do social control with Soylant Green, and compare it to A Happy Day in the Year (I don't remember but there is a moderate Sex alert), and Golden Acres and others. We do first contact with the Drake equasion and Fermin's paradox, we read the Road not taken, a game of Meyhen, A TNG star trek first contact story. And we watch to Serve Man. and see 2001, which can be use in the Robot Section. We discuss the social changes of what will happen. If you can show 2001 on school's theater big screen it is AMAZING. Some movie have to be shown on the widest screen possible. Please e-mail me and I will share with you my detailed lesson plans, with more stories, and the questions that go with the stories. Do not read Stranger in a Strange Land. You will get fired. Telling the students this will cause them to read said story.
Ender's Game
sudo apt-get lost
Might as well try and teach them something, most of the highschools I know are nothing more than babysitting institutions for teenagers.
With that in mind
A Scanner Darkly
Small Gods
A Canticle for Leobowitz
Flow my Tears, the Policeman said
Guards Guards!
Brave New World
If you want to be tough on them don't give them homework, make them write a short book report there in class.
The Metamorphosis - Kafka. They should read something by him someday. This class is a good excuse. (short)
1984 - Orwell. This has one of the best first pages in English literature. It brings up the subject of torture that has been in the news lately. (long)
Nightfall - Asimov. This is shorter than I, Robot. (short)
A Scanner Darkly - Dick. This has a wonderful anti-drug message. The writing style is bracingly weird. (medium)
Flowers for Algernon - Keyes. This discusses themes of accomplishment, capacity, happiness and loss. (medium)
Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut. This is sexier, shorter and more fun than Slaughterhouse 5. (medium)
Brave New World - Huxley. (long)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Rowling. This has scholastic themes and is regarded as well written. (long)
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein. This is thought provoking. (long)
Neuromancer - Gibson. This is from the edgy part of the sci-fi genre. It has some racy scenes. (long)
The Sword of Shannara - Brooks. This is a straightforward fantasy novel. (long)
The Hobbit - Tolkien. More fantasy. (long)
Lord Foul's Bane - Donaldson. This is wacky but it does focus on solipsist and humanist themes. (long)
Battlefield Earth - Hubbard. It's a little long but reads fast. One presidential candidate said this was his favorite book. (really long)
Anthem - Rand. This is a short one. (short)
The Dispossessed - Le Guin. This examines socialism. (long)
Neon Genesis Evangelion - Anno. This is manga and may be too expensive or sexy for the classroom. It covertly covers teen issues. (really long if you read them all)
(The kids should've already read something by Bradbury. You don't need to read something else by him. I left out Dune because it strikes me as unoriginal and too long. I think Lovecraft's stuff is depressing. War of the Worlds by Wells is good but no longer relevant. Crichton, Ellison and Card are fun but I think you can live without them. I would only read one fantasy novel. I would pick Lord Foul's Bane because it would make for some hilarious classroom discussions. There is also http://fantasybedtimehour.com/ that analyzes Lord Foul's Bane in minute detail. Here's a list of the top sci-fi books: http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.html)
I never had much interest in science-fiction until I read Slaughterhouse Five. It grabbed me, shook me up, made me laugh, and wouldn't let me put it down. I went from cover to cover in one three-hour sitting. I'm hard pressed to think of any book I've read that comes close to how much it affected. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet (outside of a few references to Vonnegut in general).
This sig is false.
I had to read "Stranger in a Strange Land" in Psychology/Sociology class as a senior in High School (1977) and it has still stuck with me...Highly Recommended
As well, I agree "the Hobbit" should be on the list!
Isaac Asimovs Robots, Anne McAffreys Dragons, Andre Nortons Witches, all should find room here!
Spider Robinson, too...for a more modern version of Rob Heinlein, (try Callahans Chronicles! or StarDancer)
It's my favourite sci-fi story. It's short, so you could cover it in 1-2 classes, and it's very interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frost_and_Fire_%28short_story%29
The wikipedia summary doesn't really do it justice. It's only about 40 pages, so you can read it in an evening.
Night Watch, Day Watch, Twilight Watch, Last Watch.
A great, dark fantasy/scifi series that is very Russian and as such very different from most novels mentioned here.
Not that I don't like Heinlein, Clarke or Asimov, but there's more to scifi than that...
Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land is a good choice but I'd also consider either The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or Franham's Freehold instead.
I'd also include Niven's Ringworld, Herbert's Dune, and either 2001 or Rendezvous with Rama from Clarke.
- Its some of the first sci-fi (if not THE first)
- Fantastic social commentary on controversial topics relevant to high-schoolers (drugs, sex, social/political structures, religion, existence to name a few)
- Different: A lot of his books are not you're usual spaceships and aliens kind of sci-fi
- Intelligent: Characters ask questions instead of accepting fantastical ideals (Star Wars = Two Party Conformity?)
- Your students will respect you for respecting them. These books can definitely be classified as "adult," but we should all know by now that you cannot put age restrictions on art. And the book burners will definitely be at the next PTA meeting, pitchforks and torches in hand, but we should all know by now that they are a bunch of ignorant people hell-bent (heaven-bent?) on dooming our race to a perpetual Dark Age.
Just make sure that you do not underestimate your students. They are not morons, and are very capable of incredibly deep and powerful thought. The whole "coming of age" time in life is when creativity, intelligence, and drive spike and flourish... probably because we're all trying to get laid, and if you don't got brawn...
Have them read Beowulf.
In the Old English version of course!
Okay, I read Beowulf, translated, and frankly I dont know what the story is about. And frankly I only did it because I'm a geek...
This is for high school students, and I would think Beowulf would be the best way to scare everybody away. Its way too hard... unless we are talking about the movie script...
For a college level class, sure, but high school ? A mention about it sure (to show that fantasy is not a recent genra) but a mandatory read, no thank you.
Goodness Gracious! ... ignorant celeb-junkie bubble-headed matinee fodder watery-gruel ... list.
What a (generally) stunted, superficial, vacuous,
Start at least at Verne, and all the European (mainly German and Russian) boy's adventure stuff. Shunt off into the golden years of pulp - but don' forget Europe. Ditto for the "Campbell years". Then the counter-cultural "renaissance" or "awakening" of the 60's and 70's. Both "soft" and "hard". And Europe. And "behind-the-curtain" stuff. Show who reflects which concerns, views, ideals and 'ideologies'. Who are the workhorses, the iconoclasts, the outcasts, the status-quo flag-wavers? How did they deal with the 'new things' that came along? Which stories reflect or best voice these views? Where are the turning-points? At what point do we begin to live inside yesterday's sci-fi?
Forget LOTR. It is not Science Fiction. C.S. Lewis, on the other hand - "That Hideous Strength"... etc. And, for a few laughs, present them to the "Perry Rhodan" phenomenon. And then make them think hard about it.
Show them where real Sci-Fi is hiding nowadays. In how many languages...
Good luck!
If you want parents to complain about a Heinlein book include Farnham's Freehold in your curriculum. I'll be able to hear 'em scream from my house!
The more I get to know people the more I like my dogs.
There hasn't been one Phillip K Dick book that I have not totally enjoyed.
Ooh, good call. Solipsist comes to mind, a good way to kick off a discussion of the nature of reality. And of course Arena, I don't remember reading it but it's one of the great classic Star Trek episodes. Most of what I remember were the hard-drinking newsman stories but he did write some cool sci-fi and fantasy stuff. Always a good read though- I never could figure why so much of his stuff went out of print.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Because Science Fiction needs more gay sex, and you need to read about it.
Not many have read him, at least of the people I know and most people I know who read are big fans of fantasy and sci-fi. He was a very influential author, a favorite author of Neil Gaiman, David Eddings and H.P. Lovecraft, he had a paticular impact on Lovecraft. I would recommend his book The King of Elfland's Daughter. I would guess that most of the students wouldn't have read it before.
Haven't seen this suggested elsewhere, but Raymond E. Feist's Magician is a great starter's fantasy book. It's steeped in a Tolkien-esque world and a D&D universe, but is more accessible to the average reader. It's reasonably weighty for use in study materials, but keeps action moving and is fairly tame on the sex side, probably rating no more than a PG-13, so appropriate for even middle school without too many parental objections.
The material can be used to discuss reasons for war, racism, and even politics at a stretch. The latest edition has been published as two separate volumes in the US, meaning it can be split up and only the first studied if time does not permit, but the story is hardly complete in the first section and the thick of the action is in the second part. The writing isn't going to win Pulitzers (and given the first edition was in 1982, it's past time...), but as I said, it's extremely accessible.
Man who leaps off cliff jumps to conclusion.
People are spending time in a sci-fi lit class. Wait until college to waste your time.
Cat's_Cradle is a great, easy to read, endlessly discussable sci-fi book by a master.
Terry Goodkind is the best ever, and you can link it up with the objectivist movement with Rand, etc.
Adding to the excellent selections already offered:
Edited by Terry Carr (1966) Contains some of the best and most thought provoking short stories of the genre (IMHO) From the moral implications of scientific research (What kind of idiot would give a loaded gun to a retarded child?) to the dichotomy of God & Science. It is filled with truly inspired stories from some of the (then) best SciFi Authors ever. God I wish I still had my copy...
"It's an imperfect world,screws fall out..."
Asimov, particularly the Foundation and early Robot series -- these are some of the most important works of early modern SF
Harry Turtledove -- the master of alternate history. His works are very readable and very thought-provoking and may help students learn more about OTL as well.
Hi...
Most of the replies to this question seem to come down on the "literature" side of SciFi/Fantasy. Don't neglect the "Sci" part, since it's crucial to the genre. And I don't mean the "it's gotta have spaceships" sort of science but stories like Heinlein's "And he built a crooked house" where a "science-y" sort of reading and considering by the reader plays a central role.
Best of luck.
Tom
Several posts suggested David Brin's Startide Rising. That's a great book, but if you want to provoke discussion, I'd pick Glory Season.
Also good would be anything by John Varley.
Had to reply to this. I agree with your assessment that Heinlein's novels are not the greatest (Although I thought "Time Enough for Love" had some interesting ideas), and I was a hardcore Heinlein fanboi for a while. But his short stories are amazing. "By His Bootstraps" is one of the coolest time travel stories ever. "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is brilliant. And "Life-line" and "Let There Be Light," his first two published stories, are really good descriptions of the conflict between transformative technologies and entrenched interests, which have arguably more relevance today than when they were first written (c.f. the automobile or music industries). Because the OP asked for ideas of short stories as well as novels, and you can't include novels by everyone, by all means, feature one or two of Heinlein's short stories. Because any sci-fi/fantasy class that "avoid[s] Heinlein" is like a Classical Music class that omits Beethoven.
Sono koro, bokura wa, sore ga sekai no shinjitsu da to shinjite ita.
I graduated from U of Illinois (Urbana) in 1990 having satisfied some of my humanities electives with literature of science fiction and literature of fantasy. It appears these courses, English 119 and English 120, still exist. They're hundred-level courses, so the difficulty should be OK for college-bound high school students.
I found this reading list for English 119: http://www.amazon.com/ENGL-119-CWL-UIUC-Spring/lm/R2120TE9GGDDIM
These aren't the books I remember having read for that course, but it was almost 20 years ago. Things change.
I would recommend contacting the University of Illinois English department and getting their list, then reviewing it for suitability both in the context of high school in general and the nature of the community in which you live.
(For example, if a conservative community, "Stranger in a Strange Land" or "Handmaiden's Tale" might not work out well for you.)
There are probably similar courses at other universities, and most instructors would probably be willing to share their material.
The preferred solution is to not have a problem.
Harlan Ellison: Great stuff, all shorts, all with layers of meaning.
Larry Niven: Hard SF, Known Space series, Gil the ARM, etc., fun.
Ted Chiang: Interesting work, edgy, all over the map.
Try anthologies: Dangerous Visions, Again Dangerous Visions (sure, they're dated in many respects but seminal stuff from the times), Nebula Awards Showcase, The Hugo Winners, whatever, as the goal here is exposure. By choosing a story or two out of a book, it leaves the student free to explore the other, unassigned works, at their leisure.
Some days it's just not worth
chewing through my restraints.
Don't forget the naturalist. There is more to sci-fi literature than just ray guns and space ships. Authors like Jack London and perhaps Twain where the writers that built the framework for modern science fiction and they get little credit for it. They exploited the same sense of adventure in the unknown / fear of technology that fascinates us today, in a time when there was likly more to be concerned about.
I have taught some University courses using both. For instance, with London point out the dangers of life in Alaska against the dangers of life in Space. In the day, going to Alaska was as dangerous as going to the moon or mars. In many ways it was likly more dangerous. Same with all the ocean going books from say around 1900's and earlier. You could even go all the way back and punish the kids with Homer, if they get out of line.
Living in Chile
It may be fantasy, but it might not entertain the kids.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
Mr. Pratchett's work is brilliant, insightful, and often as funny as Monty Python. Racism, war, discrimination, child-raising, gangs, drug addiction, and all the ills of the modern age are covered in ways that both entertain and educate.
I wish the man would visit my neighborhood so I could buy him a hat.
That's a good quick read, don't remember what morals I learned from it, have some sympathy, maybe. Gulliver's Travels kind of poked fun at society, too, and was a bit more pointed about it.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
I realize this may not occur to anyone as a shoe in for such a course, but I took a class in my sophomore year of college in which we covered Max Brook's World War Z. Almost every other text used in the class was met with mixed enthusiasm (we covered Dune, Neuromancer, Caves of Steel, Electric Sheep, Starship Troopers, etc.) but everyone seemed to love Brooks' work and discussion went fantastically. Any student vaguely familiar with Bush-era political controversy will gain a huge appreciation of how effectively satire can be incorporated in works of science fiction. And everyone loves zombies right now, so it's win-win.
Where Le Guin is concerned... If you dare to subject high school kids to The Left Hand of Darkness, good luck reviving them afterward. I know little about Earthsea, but from what I've heard secondhand, that may be a more viable option for your purposes. If including a female author is what you're looking to do, then go for Mary Shelley, the woman who invented the science fiction novel.
Someone has probably already said it, but show people how wonderful the mind of Tolkien was by giving them The Hobbit, not the trilogy. The Hobbit is the book that made me love to read. As far as I'm concerned, it offers much more memorable people and places in a much tidier package than the drawn-out, song/poem-laden trilogy. One advantage to using LotR, however, would be if you were looking to get into the function of allegory.
For short stories, a nice place to start might be Neil Gaiman's collection Fragile Things.
Dune is awfully hard not to recommend. One of my favorite novels, it wasn't until I read it with others that I started to notice uncanny resemblances to certain modern-day desert conflicts.
And if you get a chance, be sure to fuck their minds up with some Phillip K. Dick and make them laugh with the first installment of Hitchhiker's Guide.
I think you are really mulling over two different questions here-- the first is which books you want to teach, and the second is *how* you want to teach them. The second question is probably the more important of the two.
What kind of analysis do you and your students want to engage in? What kind of questions do you want to ask about these books? You've suggested that you mostly want to focus on the socio-political messages within SF. Or, to quote from your course description:
"Through this course, students will utilize analytical skills and reading strategies to evaluate our current situation and project into the literature of different worlds while sharing and learning of an author's insight."
Now... I get the sense that this is an early draft, and that you aren't quite happy with what you wrote here. You seem to be saying something like this: "We want to see if we can draw analogies between world-historical events and the events depicted in these books". But that probably isn't quite what you meant to say, and at any rate, it's not a very good question to build a course around. You're going to get a lot of very boring term papers... comparing "Starship Troopers" to the Cold War or whatnot (as a previous poster suggested).
What I would do in your shoes is to think up some specific questions or topics that you *would* like to see your students write term papers about. Here are a few I can think of offhand.
* Both Asimov and Herbert wrote about secret groups of technocrat-heroes who manipulated human history without their subjects' knowledge or consent. Did the authors intend a political message? Or were they apolitical, and simply using technocrats as a storytelling device?
* How do you define "science fiction"? Is "1984" science fiction (some would say it isn't, despite taking place in a projected future)? What about "Gulliver's Travels"?
* What does the genre of science fiction owe to the Western?
And so on... of course yours will be different from mine. Come up with 10-15 good ones and share them with your students. I think that'll help you to clarify, both for you and for them, what your goals are for this course.
Oh, and there's a book by Kingsley Amis ("New Maps of Hell") in which he analyzes early SF. I haven't read it but Amis was a great writer, so it's probably worth checking out.
"I don't think they got the irony of trying to ban a book about book banning."
Mark Twain said "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." Or as my friend Patrick Laffey (RIP) used to say, "You can't make this shit up." Comedy.
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
http://www.baen.com/library/defaultTitles.htm/ to save the students money
Agent of Vega or another one of the James Schmitz selections
Crown of Slaves - David Weber (Harrington universe) - long
Mother of Demons - Eric Flint
Mountains of Morning - Lois McMaster Bujold
Oath of Swords - David Weber fantasy
Pandora's Legion - Christopher Anvil
Sleipnir - Linda Evans
A Logic Named Joe - Murray Leinster
Starliner - David Drake
and many others
awesome list... Id mod up if possible. id go with 2 parts... ________________________ Humans gone amok 1984.... There's a reason that it holds up for 60 years. O'Brian, wow. I need my 2 minutes of hate. soylent green aka "get out get out" Shows that those things we take for granted can be amazing. Gattaca or Brave new world Both Awesome dystopias that are polished to respectability. _____________________________________________________ Aliens and Space opera.. man-kzin wars orson scott card-- enders game Aliens to end things out with some fun __________________________________
what about reading what established authors in the field consider to be good science fiction? James Blish was famous for this, even to the point of being a critic of his own work. He wrote for a time under the pen name William Atheling Jr in several science magazines. His articles are collected in the books "The Issue at Hand" and "More Issues at Hand".
Robert Silverberg wrote "Science Fiction 101: Where to Start Reading and Writing Science Fiction" which is an awesome (and humble at times) look at what made his fiction better, what he learned in the process of writing it, and what he thinks are great stories by other authors.
Two favorites on the subject from Ursula K. Le Guin are "The Wave in the Mind" and "The language of the Night".
And finally, "Zen in the art of Writing" by Ray Bradbury.
If this were a class I was teaching, I'd have the class read some of the stories mentioned by the above authors, then go on to read what the authors thought of them. Granted, the class may not be about writing, but it does help build an appreciation of the craft to be able to follow the various styles of writing them, the processes involved, etc.
An interesting question. I humbly suggest that the objective of the course should be to expose students to as many different facets of the SciFi / Fantasy spectrum as possible given the time constraints.
...you get the idea.
The genre isn't just "SciFi" and "Fantasy" - it's much, much broader than that. The instructor should identify the segments first, and then allow the students to choose in which directions they want to explore. Here are some examples:
"Epic" Fantasy: J.R.R. Tolkien, Raymond E. Feist, Ursula K. LeGuin., and Michael Moorcock.
"Gaming" Fantasy: Marget Weiss & Tracy Hickman (DragonLance), R.A. Salvatore (The Darkelf Trilogy), and Gary Gygax (Gord the Rogue).
"Gritty" Fantasy: Steven Brust (Vlad the Assassin) and Robert Lynn Asprin (Thieves World).
"Traditional" Fantasy: Robert E. Howard (Conan) and Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter / Barsoom).
You can do the same kind of thing with SciFi...
"Military" SciFi: Keith Laumer (Bolos), David Drake (Hammer's Slammers), and - of course - David Weber (Starfire, Honor Harrington, and the Dahak series)
"Traditional" SciFi: Robert E. Heinlein, Orson Scott Card, and Ray Bradbury.
Read some short stories by Asimov...
Or better yet, his limericks. ;-)
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Just an idea, how about throwing in something from before the "Golden Age" of Sci-Fi? I am thinking of "Doc" EE Smith with his "Lensman" series. Not that anything he wrote came to pass, but how many things he did not predict. For example, he has nothing about computers in any of his books, nor anything about bio-technology or similiar things. Your class might find some interesting things in how Science Fiction of the 1930's and early 1940's saw the world and how it might become in the future. Just an idea for something completely different.
Pretty sure BOFH counts as both science fiction and fantasy...
J.L.Borges, Borges, Borges, Borges, oh whats the use, too late, no one will read through 600 plus comments..........
James Gunn and Chris McKitterick run the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas. They have a summer seminar for educators which revolves around using SF in the classroom. They also have other materials available. The Center's webpage is: http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/index.html They'll be glad to help you out.
1984! IF there was ever a generation that needed 1984 its this one. Also Hyperion 2 is a good one. I remember really liking the anvil of stars when I was in HS, but I'm not really sure that would be class appropriate. Aldus Huxley is also classic HS Reading. The hobbit is good beginner fantasy, but i think sometimes LOTR can be a bit dense with all the "insert crazy tolkien name" son of "insert tolkien name. I also had a rough time with the songs first go around. I think dune is a must. I think on of the key things even though it sounds ridiculous is to make sure to allow some in class reading time. When i was in HS most kinds didnt read shit. ALso In class discussion about what is really going on in the books and how certain books such as 1984 speak to us about what is going on today.
Well in my high school we learned that time exists so that everything doesn't happen at once. Along with the inevitable corollary that it is later than you think.
The earliest science fiction story I'm aware of is Voltaire's Micromégas. It's a story of a traveler from a planet orbiting Sirius who uses a vessel which uses the attractive and repulsive forces of the universe to sling itself from system to system. He comes to visit Saturn, where the inhabitants are dwarves to him, and then to Earth, where the inhabitants are microscopic to him.
There's also Swift's Gulliver's Travels which has sci-fi/fantasy elements to it.
Both of these stories are heirs to the tradition started by Don Quixote, which really planted the seed of exploring characters and society under abnormal pretenses, which is the heart of sci-fi and fantasy.
My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
Schlock Mercenary. It's a comic, yeah, but it's hard sci-fi with a lot of very interesting ideas. Most of it is also very well explained, and the author often engages in story related extrapolations.
It's also relatively easy to understand, so it's good to start out with for the weak and/or uninterested readers.
http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
I would recommend going to your local library and checking out this audio book - http://www.recordedbooks.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=scholar.show_course&course_id=81. It is a college course about sci-fi and fantasy and i think it would really help you decide which books you think would be best for your class. I listened to it last year and thouroughly enjoyed it.
1. Don't be afraid to go old (H.G. Wells _The Time Machine_, for instance, attempts to make some provocative claims about what happens to an increasingly technological society -- remarkable given when it was written).
Also in that line of thinking, Huxley's Brave New World. Pretty damn insightful about the dangers of a abusing genetic-engineering technology, especially for the 1930s
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
You want stuff that there's a good chance your students have not already read, and stuff that's actually going to teach them something and be worthy of a serious English class.
I'd include some works by Jorge Luis Borges. A good starting anthology is Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings. This is very high-grade literature -- IMHO Borges deserved a Nobel -- and demands a lot of the reader. I'd also include some George MacDonald. For short stories, try The Complete Fairy Tales. For a novel, try Lilith. Many of today's fantasy writers owe a huge debt to MacDonald. Another possibility is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. Or for something lighter, try Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.
Hope this helps!
Dune, by Frank Herbert (the best Science Fiction novel ever written)
Childhood's End by Arthur Clarke (for the sense of wonder of unknowable things)
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Frank Miller (religion and post-apocalypse)
The Earth Abides by George Stewart (post-apocalypse)
Inversions by Iain Banks (Moral dilemma of how much to interfere in a "weaker" civilization" plus a darn good yarn)
Hyperion by Dan Simmons (multiple writing styles for each "chapter")
The Doors of His Face, The Lamps of His Mouth by Roger Zelazny (great set of short stories)
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut (non-PC short story - great discussion will ensue)
I would suggest Terry Goodkind's First Book, Wizards First Rule, even though it is extremely lengthy because it is the beginning to what I believe to be the best Fantasy series ever to be written. Also, Tad Williams' Otherland is exceptionally wonderful. Something you maybe able to do for the longer books is assign them at the beginning of the semester and have an extra-credit test at the end of the semester over the book.
Why not structure the class around some sort of analytic method? Some people can do the analysis on pop-vampire stuff, some on steam punk, some of sports history, some on fantasy, etc.
The point of education is to teach the principles of various analytic methods. Give them the tools and skills, not get hung up on the nails and wood. Does it really matter what type of literature is used to achieve the effect? I'm just thinking more "Montessori", but that's the way we did it, back in the day. It was fun and we learned a lot. We learned *how* to learn and that learning could be fun.
An abstract lesson can be taught by allowing the students to propose their own projects to cover it. Kids can surprise you.
Several people have mentioned this type of approach and I can't agree more. Let the kids figure out how to explore the lesson by choosing their own genre. Have them present their analysis in an oral summary. One way to get people into new genre's is to hear other kids talk about it.
This will work much better if you have the kids in smaller "working groups". Each covering a different genre but addressing the same general topics. Maybe they can produce a combined report, that pulls from each genre covered in their individual reports to give some sort of insight into the topic area.
It's about using a kids natural interests to cover specific topics.
I think I've read every science fiction book. Most of them are crap. Well - I've read hundreds anyway and I have kept notes on all of them including ratings. I really think the newer stuff is better. I absolutely love Heinlein but Orson Scott Card is better. Anyway you should absolutely positively have either "Ender's Game" by Card or "Jumper" by Gould. They are good on so many levels. They are very easy reading (why make it hard when there is easy stuff!) and they make you think (what would I do if I were in his situation).
A good book that links ideas of society, ethics and science fiction that is an incredible read is Lovelock by Card and Kidd
Other very very modern very very good books that make all of Heinlein look old:
Chris Dolley: Resonance
Walter Jon Williams: This is Not a Game (cool usage of crowdsourcing)
Daniel Suarez: The Daemon (how to turn the internet into an overlord)
David Brin: Kiln People
Well it's impossible to ask for recommendations without those recommendations being influenced by emotions. But one way to at least mitigate that is to structure it around themes, since the description specifically states that the class will involve various social issues. For example:
:)
Read Robert Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War," and John Scalzi's "Old Man's War." Then discuss what they think each author thought about war and its consequences and how that reflected or disagreed with society's views at the time.
Read James Alan Gardner's "Commitment Hour," Lois McMaster Bujold's "A Civil Campaign," and David Brin's "Glory Season" and discuss gender roles and how science fiction can be used to explore them.
Read Walter M. Miller, Jr's "A Canticle for Leibowitz," Roger Zelazny's "Lord of Light," and Lois McMaster Bujold's "Curse of Chalion" and discuss the role of religion in SF/Fantasy.
Read William Gibson's "Neuromancer," Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash," and Vernor Vinge's "Rainbows End" and discuss how our view of the future in general and computers in particular has changed over the past few decades, as well as the differences and similarities between "serious" prediction of the future and satirical commentary on the present.
Alternately one could read early and late books for each of Heinlein, James P. Hogan, Hubbard, Orson Scott Card and Michael Crichton and discuss the varying degrees to which (nominally) decent SF authors go loopy in their later years
I'm sure there're lots more ideas along those lines.
This Space Intentionally Left Blank
I found this to be one of the most enjoyable literary classes at my university. A few of my personal favorites from the course that had some fairly deep connecting issues between them:
She, by H.Rider Haggard
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Shadow of Innsmouth, by H.P. Lovecraft
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
There were a few more, but those are the one I'm remembering off the top of my head. I would particularly recommend She.
Ender's Game?
A Stephen King book, pretty well written.
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
Asimov is a very good story-teller, and this is one of my favorite stories. It's ending is some-what cheeky, also.
Has the old saint in his forest not yet heard of it? That God is dead?
Only 3 good books?
Have you never read Starman Jones, Farmer in the Sky, Tunnel in the Sky, Puppet Masters
The Lazarus Long stuff is out there.. it's true.
But saying he only has 3 good books is seriously wrong
I think any of his Drizzt's novels after the first trilogy are very well written, and have much social commentary in them. Also Ben Bova (thinking Ender's Game) is probably one of the best writers of all time.
21st Century Renaissance Man
The canonical authors are actually fairly mainstream. Look at how many derivatives of LotR there are.
I'd suggest you look at authors that inspire and influence other authors.
Given John Gardner's reputation as a writer and a teacher of writing, his novel Grendel would seem like a good choice.
As selections from mid last century, I'd recommend Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore, Olaf Stapleton, John Wyndham.
Greg Egan and Kim Stanley Robinson are the pre-eminent successors to the Arther C. Clarke hard-science tradition, in either long or short form, and both routinely cover the ancillary issues mentioned.
For the HS audience, books like MT Anderson's Feed, Max Barry's Jennifer Government or Margo Lanagan's short stories seem appropriate.
This is a grounded Science Fiction story. The problem has one solution and the laws of physics don't allow for extigent circumstance.
The Last Question Asimov
Another physics question.
And then there were none Eric Frank Russell
Farenheit 451 Bradbury
Moon is Harsh Mistress Heinlein
Voyage from Yesteryear James Hogan
Postman David Brin
Now we're involved in social science fiction. Does society have the right to dictate to the individual? The Postman makes a case for social cooperation over individualism. And shows how an individual can unknowingly light the fires of social unity with selfish lie. Damn, I need to go read that again.
I Robot Asimov. These stories show people using tools, designing safeties and how those safeties can fail.
Forever War Joe Haldeman. Ongoing misunderstood war. What rights do your troops have once they're signed?
Monument Lloyd Biggle Jr. Light fiction, big social commentary. Death, Pollution, Pirate (developers).
The People series Zenna Henderson - They live among us and just want to be left alone.
To Serve Man The want to be our friends
Bernie the Faust William Tenn - Let's make a deal
First Contract Greg Costikyan Let's make a deal.
Earth Abides George Stewart - The original apocalypse book.
A Boy and his Dog Harlan Ellison. Another apocalypse story, a nifty film. Possibly a good pick when you'd like to collect unemployment due to some racey bits.
Lucifer's Hammer Niven and Pournelle. This could happen next Tuesday.
Princess Bride Goldman - Silly Fantasy incredible commentary. Allow extra credit for biography of Morgenstern.
Silverlock George Myers Myers - A roll up of Fantasy
Inferno Niven and Pournelle - Compare Dante to the the update.
Midsummer Night's Tale The Bard - Yes it does so fit.
i will say that my love affair with fantasy started in my freshman English class. We read Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea, which i recommend. It's short and really interesting. Or if you're looking for a longer Le Guin, The Left-Hand of Darkness has been done a lot in classes. There's tons there that can apply to today.
Also, Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is awesome. i wrote a paper in college for a US Canon lit class where i justified the use of scifi in the canon and went from My Antonia to Martian Chronicles with nothing inbetween, since both books are somewhat about the cultivation of a new land/world, etc.
Normally I'd recommend Trillion Year Spree, which is a history of science fiction, but I really think that it's tough putting critical material, even pop history, in a high school environment. It still might be good for handouts. It's the book that justifies Brian Aldiss' existence!
Otherwise, my suggestion would be to focus on exploring various subgenres and themes; one good way might be to pair up classic books with books that are strongly influenced by them. For instance, Starship Troopers or The Forever War, followed by John Scalzi's Old Man's War or something similar.
I think the earlier poster who suggested pointing out how science fiction is a reflection of our world was on the money - I think particularly Charles Stross and Cory Doctorow might be useful there, as they are both strongly engaged in the current technological changes and social climate that our youth culture is growing from.
You need to discuss the scientific facts commonly used in many of the Science Fiction TV programs (and obviously well known and believed by slashdot abusers)
1. If you give a computer a really hard problem, it will explode.
2. A nuclear reactor can easily explode, causing the Earth to split in half.
3. You can travel at the speed of light squared.
4. Spaceships can be steered jut like a car. Just jump in, and start driving.
5. You can have sex with any (opposite sex) alien that you meet (and many of the same sex ones too).
6. Aliens look just like normal people, except they are different colors.
7. Aliens travel all the way to our planet just to steal the water. The probing stuff is just for fun.
8. Aliens, who have the technological ability to create high level AI's and robots, need to enslave us to do their work.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
Definitely include Stanislaw Lem. His "Eden" or the "Tales of Pirx the Pilot" would be excellent. Also, omitting Asimov would be a crime.
I would recommend including Phantastes by George MacDonald, which is a good example of the type of fantasy that influenced the later work of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The copyright is even expired. I would also recommend a few of Tolkien's less well-known stories, like Leaf by Niggle or Smith of Wooton Major. If you want to expose them to the Silmarillion, I'd recommend the chapter on Beren and Luthien, and the one about Turin. I'd also recommend Cory Doctorow, though I haven't read any of his short stories.
That should cover most of High School English.
I've read everything of his that I can get my hands on, with the exception of his YA stuff (started straight on the adult stuff from my old man's collection when I was a kid, never went back), and yes, I think my assessment is true (although you might be right about Puppet Masters).
I Will Fear No Evil is probably the worst book I've ever read. It's the fucking Gone Fishin' of the literary world. The 2nd half of Stranger was unreadable. JOB sucked. Number of the Beast sucked. Friday sucked. I _want_ Heinlein to be good, I really do. I gave him plenty of chances, but, with very few exceptions, he failed to deliver. I mean, I get that it was a different time, and that you had to pepper your stories with a little sex to make them more palatable to the kind of people who were buying pulp sci fi, but Christ, I'd like a little bit of actual sci fi in my books, not just "Johnny fucked his mom in space again".
Any high school literature class that doesn't include a long discussion of the number 42 and the usefulness of a towel is, in this writer's opinion, not a literature class at all.
William Gibson, Neuromancer
Because he foresaw so much that we now take for granted.
I agree with the posters who have said that you should steer clear of perennial favorites -- most people will get around to reading those on their own. It's a good time to introduce good science fiction that they may never have heard of for whatever reason, or will not read. Even better is a chance to trace out the history of the development of science fiction and things that we take for granted.
For example, there is E. E. Smith's Lensman series. I am not aware of a book or series that incorporates the idea of a space opera prior to this series -- when you read it, it seems old and hackneyed, but if you keep in mind the era that it was written in, you'll become aware that it's years and years ahead of science fiction for its time. Ask the students to read it and keep in mind parallels to science fiction they know and think about how science fiction was influenced by it.
You can pick some other older books along these lines and do the same thing; for a project, have them select their own (old) book and then write a paper about what it did that has become common place in modern literature.
http://www.tenjou.net/
I'll probably repeat what others have said, but these are my suggestions:
If you want to start from the origins, start from the beginning. I'd suggest excerpts from the Gilgamesh Epic as well as a few stories out of The Odyssey (the sirens, Charybdis, Circe).
Then you can move on to a few Bible stories (really). Jonah is probably a good one. Not the full book, but again excerpts that are relevant (Good & Evil struggle especially, in the God-Devil dialog).
Then mention something out of the Middle Ages. Beowulf is probably too dense for most. The King Arthur cycles are a good choice, though. Some stories like Tristan & Iseult for example can be very good choices.
Then early modern works: fairy tales from the Victorian Era. Up to here it's mostly short stories and excerpts, short stuff that can get the class going and can generate interest and start people thinking. For a first full reading, a Verne novel is probably a good choice, pick one of the shorter ones.
The Hobbit is definitely a great choice for the early 20th century. Faster and easier to read than LotR, and still quite important.
Then middle-20th century. At this point, there's a LOT of choice. Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov are all big names you have to mention. I'll suggest my favourites, but it's a harder call here.
Caves of Steel is a great choice from Asimov. You can add a story from the Foundation trilogy here too, it was serialized as short stories initially, so it's easily broken up. The story of Bel Riose might be a great way to connect to the mythology from the early class.
Dune from Frank Herbert is hard to pass on. It is probably the seminal hard SF novel of the 20th century, and it is certainly not hard to make it current considering the environmental issues now affecting us. A good way to show how SF can inform the modern issues.
Then more modern:
Raymond E. Feist's Magician:Apprentice can be a good choice for later era Fantasy, but it's a bit light fare.
I would recommend Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule but this is for high school, and there's probably a bit too much violence and sexual content in it and the rest of his work is pretty bad.
Robert Jordan's Eye of the World can be a decent choice, make them read the first half and compare it to Tolkien, he was actually trying to somewhat imitate his style to help immerse readers.
One choice that might not be popular, but which would connect more with females is Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince. Just have them read the first half of that book, it's decently self-contained. It does have some sexual content, but it's not exaggerated and often only hinted at. It has relationship, family, coming-of-age, politics, good fights, dragons, a lot of what Fantasy is often about.
This is clearly not exhaustive but it's a list of titles I like and that I think would make good choices.
If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
Well then, why not go back to the Greek Dramas, and Homer's Iliad?
In fact most of fiction has its roots in fantasy, and the real problem is differentiating fantasy from science fiction, which many literary scholars see as an arbitrary distinction.
Of course, then so is the distinction between these two genres, and any other literature.
Cue screeds and lamentations from "hard" science fiction geeks ;-)
The first science fiction story I ever read was in a collection of short stories when I was a sophomore in high school in 1958.
It had such an impact on me that I became a life-long SF fan (good hard SF, none of that fantasy crap - which doesn't belong on the same shelf as SF). Reading this post brought the title back to mind and to my amazement, a google search for it found that it was a short story by Kurt Vonnegut! I'd totally forgotten who had written it, but the title is still as clear as day - "A Report on The Barnhouse Effect".
I can barely remember the story line, but I have to say that was certainly an influence on me and I would consider it an excellent starting point.
(FWIW, I've been a computer geek since the time I repaired Busicom calculators.)
Asimov's _Foundation_
Herbert's _Dune_
Tolkein's _The Fellowship of the Rings_
Gibson's _Neuromancer_
Adams' _Hitchhikker's Guide to the Galaxy_
The sequels are left as an exercise for the reader.
--
make install -not war
It will be difficult to balance the free, creative mindset of F/SF with the structure of a class and the tangible results demanded by school systems and committees. Hopefully the students AND the teacher will go into the class recognising that there will ultimately be far more to take away from a book than what the social situation was during some period of time. Students will get lots of that in their history classes, and a book that stands out with them will make them review and appreciate those factors in their own time.
Some background on the authors and their stories should be interesting and beneficial, but some of the novels being mentioned are worth more to be "enjoyed" than "studied". And worthwhile they are.
I think there have been a lot of good suggestions... here are some I have not seen that I would include if I had to teach a course on F/SF:
The Dying Earth - Jack Vance. The first Fantasy novel published by Jack Vance, a classic American F/SF author. It is a collection of related stories, each of which are 20-30 pages long, making them easy to sprinkle into a class. Being published in 1950, as a whole it provides quite an insight into the foundations of modern F/SF. For the Dungeons and Dragons-esque fans in the class, as I would have been, in this book Vance coins "The Excellent Prismatic Spray" -- which has been present in the D&D universe and among its many variations and spinoffs since the beginning of their existence. Despite being such an amazing contribution to the Fantasy genre, this remains a little known work today.
Three Hearts and Three Lions - Poul Anderson. I struggle to call it "required reading", but it is a great work of Fantasy, and definitely should be mentioned to interested students. Anderson plucks a soldier out of WWII and places him in the world of King Arthur's Court. Somewhat similar to Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" in that way, but far more readable and shorter (180 pages).
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension - Earl Mac Rauch. I have never watched the movie. This book is phenomenal; I very much hope your students will get the chance to be exposed to it. The character of Buckaroo Banzai conveys a very unconventional, original, and amazingly sensible philosophy on life. Strong themes also include leadership and reactions to adversity. On the same level as HHGTTG in my opinion.
Both Jack Vance and Poul Anderson have been one of the twenty-some recipients of the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America organization -- on the list with names such as Heinlein, Clarke, Asimov, and LeGuin. Other names on the list may help you find more material -- though I'm sure you will have plenty. :)
Best of luck with the class.
very well spoken
I have not seen this suggestion and it's late to the party... flowers for algernon. It is less overt scifi and the only book that has ever made me cry.
In fact there was recently a half-decent fantasy movie based on that story.
Banderas, yum!
Captcha: metaphor
Some have been mentioned already such as Lem (I really liked 'The Futurological Congress'). Another is 'We' by Yevgeny Zamyatin which influenced '1984', possibly 'Brave New World' (although Huxley denied it), and other dystopian works. You might also study an early work that first introduced the term "robot"; 'R.U.R.' (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Capek. 'R.U.R.' also likely inspired some parts of 'Metropolis' (another good study in its own right).
...is a religious wacko undeserving of any recognition, imho.
Virgins.
Blearf. Blearf, I say.
In the realm of Fantasy but with real world ideal's such as social interaction, war and the definitions of right and wrong explained as never before, it has to be the "Sword of Truth" series by Terry GoodKind.
The books are amazing
I took a reading class in high school and got to choose my own books. I picked up a "Ray Bradbury's Complete Works" and read and reported on it until my teacher told me I needed to branch out. I agree with some of the comments above about real world lessons in sci fi, and have integrated some of that into my own teaching now (as a college CS teacher), encouraging students to respond to movies that portray computers/AI/robots, etc, and how it makes them feel about technology and technological advances. Some books I think would be appropriate at high school level: Ray Bradbury short stories - good for "potential future" discussions, quite often. C.S. Lewis ("Out of the Silent Planet" and "Perelandra") - I like these because they remind me that what's really out there is nothing like what I expect. Douglas Adams and Piers Anthony - I lump them together because they don't have a lot of "speculative fiction", but they almost blind you with "what makes fantasy fantasy". Plus, they're fun. Isaac Asimov - Especially "I, Robot" for good discussion about the direction of technology (and for an easy movie day - bonus points for answering the question, "Does the movie really accurately portray the spirit of the book?") and "Foundation" if you want to get into discussions about sociology and other philosophical topics (although it might be a harder read).
Sigh. So, SO wrong on all counts. Did you ever actually read Heinlein's books for yourself or just take somebody's word for it? It is difficult for me to believe that anyone who read AND comprehended Heinlein's works could say such obviously incorrect things!
Even if it is not broken, hack it anyway! You'll learn something in the process!!
I learned science AND read science fiction while I was in high school. Why would anyone think that they were mutually exclusive? Brain damage?
Even if it is not broken, hack it anyway! You'll learn something in the process!!
Use this RAH short story and have the students compare characters, events, and society to today's Republicrats, and "prophets" like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.
Edgar Rice Burroughs - The Barsoom books...any of them. Ask the question "how would John Carter fare in 21st century America"
Asimov - "I,Robot". Bonus points for including the Harlan Ellison screenplay as part of the reading, followed by a discussion of science fiction adaptations to the big screen.
The above will burn up a couple of weeks at the least.
Good luck with the class....
I am my own gestalt.
I consider the core Dragonlance series, classics. I'm talking about the three-book Chronicles, here; not the rest. Dragonlance was Pagan fantasy in the same sense that LOTR was vaguely Christian, IMHO.
You might want to look at CS Lewis in the Christian category, as well; he did both fantasy and SF, although truthfully in my own opinion he is somewhat overrated. Narnia was ok, but not as good as most people seem to think; I've read much better, and some of them (the Silver Chair primarily comes to mind) were difficult to get into at all.
The Never Ending Story was a much better book than the films suggested; the second film in particular was a hatchet job.
David Eddings is also good; the Elenium is fluidly written and a very easy read, comparitively speaking.
offtopic: your wife is a fox who writes nerd books. you are a fortunate man.
Rule of thumb is, the thinner Heinlein's books, the better they are. Starship troopers is nice and thin as is Moon is a Harsh Mistress, I rather liked Friday and Door into Summer (nothing earthshaking, but nice reads), but all his thick books were steaming piles of crap, with Cat being near the top of the shit list (and I didn't even bother remembering the names of a couple other thick ones I read).
His Martian Odyssey tale was one of the first to introduce a sympathetic but entirely inhuman alien.
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
What the hell is wrong with you people? It's like you haven't read any fantasy written before 1970, and this is a literature class he's asking about, not a weekend at the beach.
I love sci-fi, I honestly do, but it isn't written for the classroom - while the concepts are often wonderful, the writing is a disaster. Remember that these stories used to be printed on pulp and sold for a nickel the way the National Enquirer is sold now. It's escapism, and that's fine. But come on - give the truly historic science fiction writers out there some credit and let Orson Scott Card be rediscovered a hundred years from now.
Try Ambrose Bierce (especially "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" or Mary Shelley, or gk Chesterton, or Lovecraft, or Poe, or Jules Verne, or at the very latest Bradbury.
It seems like this is the perfect forum for this, but honestly? You couldn't have picked a worse group of people to ask this about.
The Bible.
ok, a little light on the science bit, and the conclusion is a little obvious, but seriously stretches the student's vocabulary.
As a person the author might be an interesting object to discuss per se, as he - being a professor for physics and bio-chemistry (iirc) - usually detailed technologies from the future in a way that they seem quite possible for us. I remember having read something where he himself outlined how technologies mentioned in his short-stories had become reality after some decades (sorry, but no source for this at hand). I think his robot-laws from his robot-series (he had quite some stories around this topic) made it to a broader discussion about possible ethics for thinking machines. Anyway, it's impressive how he published science and science-fiction books besides each others (I know he also wrote scientifically about black holes and the like).
I think the Foundation trilogy might be worth a consideration. While his "I, Robot" might be known more broadly due to the according movie, I consider the trilogy to be his true masterpiece. Especially his theory about pyscho-analytics as a mathematical discipline (in short: capability to calculate probabilities for future actions of masses - in terms of billions of people) is quite an appealing idea. But also the contained theories about might-distribution, ruling, conspiracies, raise and fall of political structures (empires) leave a whole lot to discuss.
Just some more cents ...
Anyhow, bearing this in mind, I respectfully submit my own list:
Some less-known classics:
gimme a P. gimme a K. gimme a ..Dick.... err :(
Any class offering a history of science fiction should include an english translation of Rossum's Universal Robots by Karel Capek. It's short, but important. I took a Sci-Fi Fantasy class in high school, and the two stories we read which blew me away the most (and gave me the most helpful context later) were that and one of the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard. I highly recommend including both of those.
A Tale of Time city is the best for so many reasons, I won't even bother to list them all right now. It was not only my favorite sci fi book as a kid but it was my favorite book period!
Google's Super Secret Search Algorithm: SELECT @search_results FROM internet WHERE @search_results = 'good'
You can't do a SciFi class without the epic works of Kilgore Trout! Seriously, do include Kurt Vonnegut. Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five would do nicely.
Huxley wrote of a dystopian future where people watched TV an astonishing TWO HOURS A DAY. Thank god that hasn't come to... crap.
Even if they often appear on the same shelves at your local supermarket, Fantasy and Science Fiction are unrelated genres.
You might as well consider teaching the children how to make strawberry jelly on that same class.
DEFINITELY DEFINITELY DEFINITELY include some Isaac Asimov in this class. He is one of if not THE best science fiction author of all time. He has many short stories that you can choose from.
But personally, I would recommend his novel 'NEMESIS' as one of the most well written and well constructed science fiction stories I've ever read.
We were assigned "Day of the Triffids", "The Tripods", "Animal Farm", "Farhenheit 451" and "Z for Zachariah", and "Playing Beattie Bow". They wouldn't have been my own picks, but they each had something going for them as texts.
I'd pick Phillip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Ted Chiang and Greg Egan for some classic hard SF short ideas stories. What does it mean to be human?
I'd add some Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin and George Orwell for the more advanced students for some social "what if" exploration.
For younger high-school students, I'd also go looking for popular YA titles on the shelves now. I don't know much about that category.
What Belongs In a High School Sci-Fi/Fantasy Lit Class?
A bunch of pimply-faced NERDS!!
War as we knew it was obsolete
Nothing could beat complete denial
- Emily Haines
Read some short stories by Asimov or Le Guin or Gaiman...
One of the nice things about science fiction/speculative fiction, in my opinion, is that it works wonderfully well in the short story format. Even something as short as Asimov's 'The Last Question' provides an enormous wealth of literary, historical and scientific topics to discuss.
Furthermore, you're quite right that too much $Fav_Author is bad, but I think that you would agree that some works are more worthy of in-class study than others!
Pirate Party UK
Terry Pratchet gives a lot to comment on: be it the parodies of Shakespearian works by the witches or the commentaries on human nature, there is so much to discuss and develop. Not just that, they're great fun and may actually encourage people to.
Try out the Discworld novels - Wyrd Sisters might be a great start as a parody of Hamlet.
You may want to consider the recently published "Year Million" by Damien Broderick. It isn't really Science Fiction or Fantasy since it is a number of chapters (short stories) regarding what life might be like in year 1 million.
You would be hard pressed to find a better collection of thinking about current technological trends which are going to have to meld together things like advanced biotechnology, molecular nanotechnology, radical lifespan extension, mind uploading, virtual reality, transhumanism / posthumanism, etc. One of the problems with almost all historical science fiction is that it failed to treat the human mind as "software" that can be moved between hardware support systems. Some recent films have begun to touch on this, e.g. the "Matrix" series and perhaps the forthcoming "Surrogates" and "Avatars". While the "Terminator" series dealt with intelligent superhuman robots, the science is fundamentally flawed or dated even today.
You might want to engage the class in real "hard science" (see Note 1) near term (next 100 year) transitions which have tremendous social impact.
1) Biotechnology and medical advances leading to multi-thousand year healthy lifespans (not 100 year lifespans). If you can live long enough everyone gets to be a millionaire (compund interest) which changes the human social condition/dynamic/politics a *lot*.
2) Molecular nanotechnology making living for "free" a reality (see my "Sapphire Mansions" paper (short read) or fully comprehend "Engines of Creation 2.0" (or Nanosystems for the real hard core scientists)). What is society like when Star Trek "replicators" become "real"?
3) Molecular nanotechnology combined with the transition from a pre-KT-I level of civilization to a KT-II level of civilization (a Matrioshka Brain) presumably linked with nanomedicine, mind-computer links and eventually mind uploading, lead to a transformation of society unlike anything ever experienced (humanity moves from a physical realm to a virtual realm). That becomes interesting because it implies that much of what is currently found in Science Fantasy or Virtual Reality can become the primary reality.
It is also worth noting that there is a significant probability (50-90%) that #3 transition *will* take place in the 21st century so many students taking the course and writing stories based on such concepts will have the opportunity to surf the rapids that will be involved in such stories ("You must begin first by being there").
I would stress that to think or write about these concepts requires at least a 1 period class about what these advanced technology concepts entail, what fraction of them is here now, or coming towards us very rapidly and what we can foresee but could be viewed as "over the horizon". Broderick's "The Spike" and "The Last Mortal Generation" or for the hard core Kurzweil's "The Singularity is Near" are good background in these areas.
Disclosures: I am the author of Chapter 7: "Under Construction" in "Year Million"
Note 1: By "hard science" I mean science which doesn't violate (or really really stretch) known laws of physics. It could be argued that the Star Trek programs (e.g. faster than light travel), Stargate programs (worm holes not "crushing" people, unknown magical elements), Ringworld (unknown materials), (most current "mystical" TV shows (Medium, Ghost Whisperers) all fall into the category of "will never be realized" fantasy. In contrast, transitions 1-3 (above) all involve complex engineering (like "rocket science") but not "magic" (undiscovered or likely undiscoverable) physics.
Star Maker, written by Olaf Stapledon in 1937, is an excellent read that is often consider the forgotten cornerstone of science fiction. Its wording is intuitive and its concepts can be incredibly influential. I can imagine your students being blown away by its scope.
--- Stapledon undertakes the immense task of describing the entire history of life in the universe.
--- It tackles philosophical themes such as the essence of life, of birth, decay and death, and the relationship between creation and creator.
--- Stapledon imagines alien biologies, minds and civilizations radically different from human ones. Some of the elements and themes briefly discussed prefigure later fiction concerning genetic engineering and alien life forms.
--- Arthur Clarke considered Star Maker to be one of the finest works of science fiction ever written.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Maker
You should really explore more of Harlan Ellison's sci-fi stories - I Have No Mouth being the obvious one.
The man is the master of short stories in SF (Look up his Hugo wins) and his stuff would be incredibly easy for people to get into, yet still provide grounds for a high level of discourse.
How about teaching a science fiction course, but bringing some science into it? Give them just about any of Niven's short stories, for instance, and ask them to guess the ending - from, say, a first-year knowledge of physics.
but while you're teaching high school students science fiction, kids in other high schools are learning actual science
In Lit. class (substitute with appropriate name for english/[your language] class)? and i wasted my time learning about litterature there... silly me. ;-)
~men are from earth. women are from earth. deal with it.~
Anyone manage to mention a female author yet?
Assuming your class is not all male (or even if it is): Marge Piercy
Yes, he's a modern writer..... but hear me out.
First, he's written both sci-fi and fantasy. Secondly, every one of his books that I've read (most of them) not only tell a story, but also have moral/ethical/cultural/societal issues.
His fantasy series stuff is excellent, although in this case, the book I would really recommend is Adiamante.
link: http://www.lemodesittjr.com/science_fiction/adiamante.html
Cyborgs return to earth, the planet of death, after being gone for 10,000 years. The planet is ecologically a total mess, and society has split into two groups... the quazi-telepathic demi's and then normal people, draffs. Anyways, his writing really focuses on ethical/cultural/moral/societal decisions with a backdrop of high-technology and environmental catastrophe. It is a GREAT book, not just for the story, but in how it rings true with some of the problems we are experiencing in the world today.
PLUS, its not such a long book that it will take all of your time. (Its about 300 pages in paperback)
If you aren't familiar with Olaf Stapledon, pick up a reader at least. Last and First Men is long, but foundational (and brings in a lot of interesting history). He also wrote a number of essays and short stories.
I'd second the "Short Stories" idea though. You can cover a lot more interesting ideas focusing on short stories instead of novels, and the interesting idea is what SF is really about IMO.
Finally, if you decide to include 2001 (not a bad idea), then use the film not the book. More interesting and just as much "literature" as the book. BTW: The Academic Decathlon competition included the film of 2001 in the literature section back in 1991(?), so it isn't unprecedented or anything.
I can recommend, as many others, also Asimov. One reason why I would recommend him, is that he is not only a SciFi Writer, but wrote on almost every topic. There are collections, that include not only scifi stories, but also essays on writing scifi stories (e.g. How important are the names of your characters and what influence has the choice of names on the reader). I guess this aspect can also be very interresting in the a lit class.
The anti intellectualism from some members in /. puzzles me to no end.
There is a point during your education when a book is no longer just a book, and when you learn to see it as the cultural product of a social context, with all the implications, both positive and negative, which should be open to debate.
That this activity may appear boring to some people whose narrow interests in life are constrained to the topics discussed in this website is not surprising, what is surprising is how many people here constantly whine about asking people to do an intellectual effort that is slightly more taxing than the regular apathy we are inculcating on the youth in general.
Sometimes I wonder why Chinese and Japanese people are the most ardent fans of things like classical music, opera, or serious cinema. Perhaps they normally get on with the boring bits of their education, reaping the benefits years later.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
That is the teacher guiding people because he has the necessary knowledge to do so.
Why do students have to be pampered, have choices and be entertained at every step of the educational process?
Life is not like that, you have great moments, not so good moments, and most of it occurs in an unremarkable fashion.
Setting the expectation of students to have all inspiring peripatetic teachers at all times, for all subjects, is simply unrealistic.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
You should certainly add both Steven Erikson and George RR Martin to your fantasy list, as they describe complex worlds, detailed plots, and epic stories, where there is no real sense of good guys vs bad guys, where 'facts' depend on the POV of the character, just as they do in the real world. The books also basically make you think about various issues that are relevant in our society.
I am the Shield Anvil. And I am not yet done.
Id highly recommend works from Indian/Asian/Aboriginal cultures, falsely classified as "Myth" by the Euro-centric cultural-anthro-nazis. For example, the various creation and heroes-journey epics, if re-interpreted in the light of sci-fi pedagogy/epistemology/semiotics, they'd beat hands down any modern Scifi/fantasy work.
Not for nothing that European authors and impresarios from Poe to Geoge Lucas (ueewwww!) have routinely ummm "borrowed" without attribution from these non-European sources.
Id start with the Indian epic Mahabharatha which rolls sci-fi, warcraft, statecraft, romance, cosmology, philosophy, poetics ... all into one.
Anne McCaffrey should definitely be included. Her books are great for young women to read as they have strong women's characters, which can be a lacking in a lot of Sci Fi / Fantasy. The books are also good for all reading levels, especially the Pern series, and are just all-around great literature.
Allot of the classic authors referred to are available for free online, here for instance: http://manybooks.net/collections/SciFi_post1950.php (1950 thru 1960) If some of the science fiction is a little too 'liberal' for prude parents then I'd suggest C.S. Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy which are a surprisingly good read and quite rare among the majority humanistic sci-fi authors. Along that vein, I'd suggest there is another genre that could be added here - Erotic Fantasy with Space Ships. Seems to me there are a remarkable amount of dirty old men who write science fiction to fantasise about a new society where women have conveniently loose morals. Personally I'm an Clarke fan.
I would suggest a few classics, a few new ones, all relatively short and interesting. Students of that age don't have much attention span as a rule and usually (there is the rare gem) don't care to do deep analysis as I've come to expect nearing my 30s. With a wide range of potential students...
I'd suggest a few other books that are thought provoking (not necessarily exciting page turners) Such as:
Old stuff:
A few short stories from Asimov's "Robot Dreams"
HG Wells "Time Machine"
Bradbury's "Fareinheit 451"
L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time"
New stuff:
Gaiman's "American Gods"
Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
Salvatore's "Sojourn" (let's them discuss fantasy formula writing and how to still make it good)
But those are just off the top of my head... Every year there's a compendium of best scifi and fantasy short stories written. Get it and flip through it. Always a few good ones in there.
Read what I mean, not what I wrote.
Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Gerard Klein, Isaac Asimov and don't skip Frank Herbert!
Oryx and Crake presents plenty of ideas that are worthy of study.
too lazy to log in:
"Tiger Tiger" also known as "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester
It has some violent scenes, but the sexual parts are left to the reader's imagination. It's a good older book.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stars_My_Destination
I solicited the opinion of a friend of mine who is far better read than I. This was her contribution:
The Veldt by Ray Bradbury...exemplary of the author's style, dark, shows what human nature becomes when we take true nature out of the equation...no sense of consequences.
Little, Big by John Crowley...a generation-spanning epic of a family that lives on the edge of where modern world meets Fairie...but can never really acknowledge it.
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein...simply a beautiful example of how humans behave and how much a small change in their behavior could change our world. Please note things Heinlein envisioned WAY before our technology caught up w/him.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick...the movie Bladerunner is LOOSELY based on this book. The novel personifies the alienation of a post-plague world where it is illegal to be more real than real.
1. have half the class read ender's game
2. have the other half read ender's shadow
3. ????
4. Discussion!
Jules Verne 1000 ,miles under the sea, thetravel to the moon etc...
Werner Illming Utopolis
compare whats a reality today - and find comments form that time.
then take 1984 and Brave New World
and check which elements are in existence today!
you can frighten hell out of kids and parents alike without obscenity!
"1984" George Orwell
"Brave New World" Aldous Huxley
Try the Bible. The most widely accepted work of pure fantasy ever written.
- I live the greatest adventure anyone could possibly desire. - Tosk the Hunted
Lots of good Sci-Fi is available as downloadable audiobooks from the public domain site Librivox.org. I know Jules Verne is on there. I recall Ayn Rand's Anthem being fairly short (3-4 hours), good quality, and thought providing.
"The stars my destination" should be essential reading. A short novel that covers enough confusion and content to make Lost fans drool. This modern day Lost / Flashforward type stuff is playing catchup to books written in the fifties. "The Stars ..." can also be compared with a fat arse book like The Count of Monte Cristo to cover the same revenge topics. I also like Jack Vances Demon Princes books, but thats just good fun space opera.
Although she calls her writing "speculative fiction," her dystopia novels are fasinating to read and let's just hope they are fantasy. The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood. She is terrificly clever, creative, and witty.
Apologies if it has already been mentioned (I don't want to search through 8 pages of comments to find out) but check out the 1936 novel War with the Newts by Karel Capek. A satirical work exploring what happens after the discovery of another species of sentient earthlings.
If fate makes you a motorcycle, you become a motorcycle.
The earliest sci-fi book in my collection is Robert Wittie's 'A Survey of the Heavens' and 'Star Wars' published in 1681. It gave birth to a genre that has come a long way. The Sci-Fi Astromaxia or Star Wars - the story of a war between the inhabitants of other worlds was written to stimulate students and give them an interest in the study of the stars. I think the previous comments demonstrate the success of Witties endeavours. Any study of sci-fi is not complete without it. Conveniently the first part 'A Survey of the Heavens' opens with such chapters as 'The verification of the Copernican Theory' (goodbye flat earth) through to 'The probability of other inhabited worlds'. These chapters along with an apology to the god-fearing doubters were a good intro to Astromaxia and illustrate the early difficulty sci-fi writers faced - death. H.P. Lovecraft was a fan. His copy is in the Yale library. It is somewhat rare and you may find it through the universities on microfiche. If you cannot obtain a copy I could provide you with a digital copy of my own book.
Dividing motivation into genres would be interesting. Categories that spring to mind under 'fear':
* the Cold War / nuclear war
* communism
* technology - AI
* technology - biological
* corporations wielding excessive power
Categories under 'What if...':
* utopian societies / population control
* galactic space travel / teleportation / parallel dimensions
* limited/limitless supply of a material
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
A subscription to Planet Stories
I think you might want a section using L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics to demonstrate how many folks have a hard time distinguishing fiction from fact.
I took a SF/Fantasy class back in HS. When I signed up for the class I was not interested in either genre, but my choices that semester were: Modern Poetry, SF/Fantasy, or Shakespeare. Needless to say - I ended up really enjoying the class. Here is how I remember it going: - Started with a few short stories to ease us into the concept (wish I could remember them... the only one that sticks out was one about someone fleeing and running and in the end you find out it's an AI/Robot) - We had to read three novels from a very wide list (Adam's "Hitchhiker's Guide", Verne's "Time Machine", Card's "Ender's Game", "Brave New World", Edding's "Belgariad", Tolkien's "The Hobbit", Bradburry's "Fahrenheit 451", so many more) - Somehow we managed to fit in a lot of Twilight Zone episodes to get exposure to the more creative side of the genre. - While there were no formal "book reports" the students ended up talking to each other about their books... needless to say - I've ended up reading and owning just about every single book offered in that class. Long story short, great class - got me hooked on SF/Fantasy. I suggest taking a similar approach and just providing students with a suggested list and cut them loose. It worked really well. I can remember several students who started a book, hated it, and switched to another before they found the reading list they wanted.
A casnticle for Liebowitz 1984 The Chrysalids Brave New World A Clockwork Orange Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep Stand On Zanzibar, and The Sheep Look Up Also consider Frankenstein and The Handmaids Tale (although Ms. Atwoood will maintain that this one is NOT SF, I think she is just trying to stay out of the Ghetto) All of the above deal with your Socio/political criteria, and a couple (Sheep Look Up and Zanzibar) are directly environmental tales. For a bit of fun, you might throw in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress as R. H. deals well with the citizens responsability to revolt when the Gov. is irresposible.
Please don't dominate the rap, Jack, if you got nothin' new to say.
1) George Orwell - 1984 The discussions resulting from this book should be rather lively as Orwell pretty much nailed our present. ++Good.
2) Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy After reading Orwell, reading this will be rejuvinating. You can discuss the questions of life, the universe, and everything.
3) Greg Bear - Eon http://books.google.com/books?id=7yHURwnbFvAC&lpg=PP1&ots=H8tcoydu_h&dq=eon&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=&f=false The many ideas in this book are awesome. You could assign your class an essay 'You go 1000km and dig a whole and find a new universe, write about it'.
4) William Gibson - Neuromancer Neuromancer is kind of like a Moby Dick of Science fiction. The words used flow in a way that make you feel the world. It is probably the most difficult read on my list.
5) Arthur Clark / Ken Baxter - The Light of Other Days The discussion of Privacy is likely to be lively.
I could recommend many more...
-- Each tock of the Planck clock is a new world and here we are still life. --
Don't forget the classic: Brave new world !
I rarely post on slashdot, but i was surprised to see that The Forever War had not been mentioned yet. it fits well with the topical notion of examining war, and presents some interesting ideas like time dilation (thanks relativity!) this could be a valuable text for examining the vietnam war, as well as examining current conflicts. philip k dick is another, however holllywood seems to have raided his texts to the point where no-one can tell if they're hollywood stories or his storys (hmmm...that's almost apropos...) anyhow, just my $0.02 but these amazing authors (dick and haldeman) always seem to get overlooked when people make lists of sci-fi books.
If the teacher needs to ask this question maybe he shouldn't be teaching this course. My idea would be for him to go to his local library and read all of their SciFi collection. Then go the the next one and read anything not in the first. As a rule the librarians will keep decent stuff on the shelf. After that, it's just lit.
In my favorite English class, we read "Jane Eyre" and an early Harlequinn romance. Our teacher challenged us to explain why one was a classic and the other was smut. It was surprisingly difficult!
All of these, and there are a number of others, reflect the concerns of the 1950s and 1960s, something that your students might not be aware of, and which are still affecting us today.
Paul Auster's The Music of Chance immediately springs to mind. You really should consider books that aren't full of the usual genre material -- not only to provide a wider survey of these genre but also to help youth in understanding that science fiction/fantasy isn't all Battlestar Galactica and Lord of the Rings. The Music of Chance is that Twilight Zone-ish strange tale that is at once terrifying and impossible. It's an easy, relatively short read (perfect for high schoolers). Great introduction to "the strange tale" for those who might be turned off by all the space aliens and/or orcs and elves. Anyone up for a game of cards?
Harold
By tough question it would be hard to only choose a few, knowing that you can only cover so much material. I read some when I was in high school, but it wasn't a dedicated science fiction fantasy class. We did 1984, Animal Farm, Brave New World, The Chrysalids, and Flower for Algernon I know I remember at least.
It somewhat matters what level of High School you are talking about, some books are more appropriate than others.
A good resources is: http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/index.html
I would also suggest breaking the genre down into categories to get a broader experience. I would also avoid any of the non-serious "trash" science fiction and fantasy, while they may be fun and easy to read, they are not of great value (other than perhaps to get kids interested in reading in general). I would also stick to single books, not series for sake of time. Also pick shorter books, simply because you can cover more, and they may hold short attention spans better.
Some other classic books that would be on the short list:
Dune (it really has to be).
A wrinkle in time (more for younger audience).
Left Hand of Darkness.
War of the Worlds (really have to understand when it it was written to really grasp the depth of it).
Snow Crash (I believe there may be a rape scene which may be a problem).
Slaughterhouse V.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The Time Machine
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Forever War.
Something by Crichton (not including Timeline lol)
Something by Asimov
Something by Clark
There are plenty more. Many of the authors also have older shorter just as interesting books such as Frank Herbert. I didn't bother mentioning many of the other one already mentioned like Starship Troopers or Tolkin. Somewhat because they are obvious, and mentioned by many, but also because Tolkin, other than Hobbit which may be too young (maybe not), really is too long to cover and with the exception of Troopers I am not a huge fan of Heinlein.
I recommend Thomas M. Disch's marvelous book The Dreams our Stuff is Made Of. It's a thorough study of how science fiction has influenced scientific and social developments in the 20th century.
Serving your airship needs since 1995.
Bradbury, Lem and Leguin have all written extensively on the importance and meaning of Science Fiction. As for authors, don't neglect Borges - probably the most important short story writer of all time; the Strugatsky Bros. are important - especially in light of their working environment - as is Theodore Sturgeon - who was an important author in his own right - and whose texts generally focus on exploring the meaning of love. To poorly paraphrase LeGuin (it's been years since I actually read the piece), Science Fiction not only allows but requires the full creativity of the author. Probably the most important aspect of Science fiction is the pregnant constructions that reveal the unconscious (or not so unconscious!) beliefs and prejudices of the author. Even though modern Lit. Crit suggests that textual analysis does not reveal the author, within Science Fiction, I would beg to differ. IMO Science fiction is very much the result of a full disclosure of the Rorschach Ink Blot of writing; if you can create the entire universe, what (physics, etc) would YOU inhabit it with?
This comment was written with the intention to opt out of advertising.
http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-science-fiction-omnibus/dp/0140031456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254817689&sr=8-1
or perhaps
http://www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Omnibus-Wilson-Aldiss/dp/0141188928/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254817689&sr=8-6
Edited by Brian Aldiss, it's a diverse selection of short stories that contain some incredible ideas I still recall 30 years after I read them, and which should be largely applicable today.
Questions like:
What is the meaning of humour?
Just how close are creativity and "madness"?
It's not just spaceships and aliens, but real thought-provoking stuff.
Karl Edward Wagner's Kane, one of the most overlooked anti-heroes in scifi/fantasy. Bloodstone is one of the best fantasy novels of all time.
I would emphasize on authors who write about dystopias and examine carrefuly human nature and social conditioning. To name the one: Janusz Zajdel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janusz_Zajdel ) Probably there are many other who wrote about it, but give a try someone who really knows how it was when totalitarian regime ruled in his country.
-- "In theory, theory is the same as practice, but not in practice."
I think you should consider what your students have already read and avoid it. Being forced to read Farenheit 451 and The Time Machine from grade school through high school because teachers don't pay attention to each other's syllabi gets really old. Check with the other lit teachers and see what they normally make their kids read before you commit to a curriculum. I think it would be best to try to introduce students to something they haven't already been exposed to. If they're taking a sci fi lit class in high school I'd wager that's what they want from you anyway.
Maybe you meant to say "she never really lived with an awareness of the threat of nuclear annihilation." ?
I believe you will get mileage out of using difference mediums. I recommend some short stories, a la Asimov's works (your choice). I also recommend some novels, such as the Ender's series by Orson Scott Card (plenty of social and moral questions in that, esp. the sequels).
I would also recommend comics. Superman and Batman are still known to the current generation through cartoons and movies, for the non-readers. You can look at the art as well as the topics and writing for different eras. There is a decent documentary by the History Channel, titled "Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked", covering comic book heroes from the 30's through the turn of the century.
Have a look at the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, and The Power That Preserves). Fantastic series about a leper from our world slipping into what is either a comatose based delusion or another world where he finds he is regarded as a symbol of rescue and enormous power.
Wasn't going to comment, but as I taught a semester of "The New Wave" science fiction as an English expansion in 1975, one of the most radical things you could introduce in such a course would be women writers:
James Tiptree, Jr (Alice Bradley Sheldon) ... to name a few.
Ursula K. Le Guin
Kate Wilhelm
Johanna Russ
Doris Lessing
Pamela Sargent
Octavia Butler
Marge Percy
Suzette Haden Elgin
Leigh Brackett
Judith Merril
Elizabeth A. Lynn
Idris Seabright
Sheri S. Tepper
Mary Shelly
Andre Norton
Pat Cadigan
Joan Slonczewski
C. L. Moore
Vonda McIntyre
Joan D. Vinge
A Momentary Taste of Being
Greatest short story ever.
Pick books/stories that will resonate with issues today's kids are aware of. for example, Heavy Weather by Sterling - for global warming, 1984 - for surveillance and privacy, I'd spend time writing more, but this post is so late that it will probably never be read. . . .
one of the REAL classics:
Harry Harrison's "Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers" !!!
One cannot address a genre without looking hard at the satire.
And that was one of the best, just jam-packed (strange word, that) with stereotypes, stock situations, and the like. Like fitting the 747 for interplanetary flight: that was a Heinlein teen-SF schtick at its finest :-)
The "Steppen Fetchit" character Old John (the black school caretaker) might raise some hackles, at least until he reveals his true nature :-)
I agree with that and I was considering stretching it back that far in my post. But I think that may be stretching the scope of the class a bit too far. I wavered a bit in whether or not to go back as far as Don Quixote.
I think you can draw the line at Swift and Voltaire for the point where the idea of using a fictional society as a vehicle of contemporary social criticism began. There are of course many examples of earlier texts describing societies that never existed, but these were presented as legends. They were things purported to have at least some grain of historicity to them (even if they really were completely fabricated).
From that perspective I think you can tie the development of sci-fi and fantasy as we know them to the development of the modern novel (which is why I ended up mentioning Don Quixote as well).
My only political goal is to see to it that no political party achieves its goals.
I know how you feel. I took a class on Greek and Roman mythology way back when it was still "Modern Literature."
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Co-constructing does not mean that you abdicate responsibility, or don't provide a format for the class. It means you get feedback from the students on the material, and themes. If your students get so excited by a theme that it motivates them to explore read more widely and think more deeply that's great.
You can also have a core of short stories and novels that everyone will read and discuss, and let students develop their own personalized reading lists. At an in-between level, students can form groups to focus on a theme or an author ...
If you let students take a strong role in the class, make sure there is a solid place for kids who are new to science fiction or are shy about taking the lead. One thing you can do early in the class is to pick out some stories that you think are likely to be new to your class and make the discussion focus on the ideas, characters etc of the text. Don't relate it to Sci Fi/Fantasy as genres at that point. By the time you talk more about genres, students will have something to go on.
If you are willing to put in the time I would set up a wiki or a google group or other format for everyone to share ideas. (This would be in addition to traditional writing assignments)
By all means give kids resources for plunging in, but don't make the point an understanding of the history and range of the genres. [Personally I think either Fantasy or Science Fiction has sufficient scope for a course and wouldn't mix them.]
I read lots of science fiction in High School because I wanted to. I even read some good science fiction in classses ( Cat's Cradle, Fahrenheit 451, A Canticle for Liebowitz). I read it because it was fun, because it stimulated my imagination, not because it was someone's idea of canon. Don't include something you would hate to read. I know people's tastes vary, but I doubt my High School English teacher really liked Silas Marner.
I took an SF course at UCSC in the 90s, and that short story was used as an example of hard sci-fi. I find it interesting that you were so moved by the story when I took it exactly the opposite way--the author put a cute young girl into a made-up situation where she had to die to appease the gods of physics (i.e. the cold equations) in an obvious and blatant attempt at creating a tear jerker. YMMV, of course.
That said, I think my favorite comment in the class was that since she was hiding behind a door in the closet, couldn't they have jettisoned the door?
The Sword of Shanara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara
How much is your data worth? Back it up now.
A few suggestions, based on my background teaching in the Humanities, in HS and college, and in designing sites like WisdomoftheJedi.com and TwilightNewsSite.com.
Many students get most engaged when the theme of the work is "growing up," and thus the Twilight series is bound to come up. Meyer discusses everything she could fit in about maturity into the texts (hence, their popularity). Her concerns range from the major -- e.g., asking oneself how to choose a life partner by examining who you most want to be like -- to the more prosaic -- e.g., how to organize one's time, how to cook, and how to clean.
I will be posting on my Twilight site (soon) a listing of major themes within the series, which may help focus class discussions, necessary for such a popular work, so they don't descend into "I love it more than you" arguments.
If you haven't read the Twilight series yet, be aware that a major theme is pre-marital vs. post-marital intimacy, which is underscored by non-specific yet enthusiastic descriptions of married intimacy. Some of my teens were confused and/or offended by those parts. So, if you don't want to host discussions of sex in the classroom, the earlier books would be better. I suggest avoiding discussing these portions of the final book, "Breaking Dawn," at the least.
Star Wars is another popular option which is bound to come up. Just a warning: many of these books are written as part of an on-going series, and the introductory texts of each series many not offer much of a conclusion/plot in themselves.
FWIW, there is a Young Jedi Knights series which is for YA, though the books are light and a little goofy. Vague thematic structures. Fun reading, but not much there.
The Jedi Apprentice series was aimed at tweens, and are brief novellas, but are actually quite good, taking on the struggles of maturity and growing up within traditional sci-fi "what if" environments. Lead characters are well-known from the films, Qui-Gon and a young Obi-Wan. Very strong themes, including in the first book, "The Rising Force," written by Dave Wolverton. He offers many insights any young person (especially, boys) should relate to. Jude Watson takes over the series from there, and she largely leaves out any specific concerns for growing males, so if the class has a large number of girls, you may want to select one of those. Wikipedia and other sources have quick synopses of these and other works.
If I had to choose between a couple of more adult Star Wars books, perhaps the best SW book is "I, Jedi" by Michael A. Stackpole. It is well isolated from any series plot points, a good thing for the classroom. A warning: the lead is preoccupied quite seriously with whether to be unfaithful to his (missing) wife, so that may be a bit much for a high school classroom.
However, the SW book, "Traitor" by Matthew Stover, is a truly excellent work which focuses on the teen, Jacen Solo, and takes place largely outside the events on the on-going series it is part of (New Jedi Order). The lead is taken through several microcosms of living, based on one's worldviews. It is a serious work. The author attempts to take the Star Wars universe out of a simplistic good vs. bad duality (light/dark sides of the Force) into a more complex, subtle, Taoist view of living. (He succeeded only too well, throwing the entire series out of whack, until they had to turn the lead into a Sith and kill off the character in later books. Sad.)
Good luck with your course. And in keeping it on the schedule!
I've read it must be over 500 sci-fi books, and own over 300, so there is a long list that I'm aware of, to choose from.
The absolute first book to be read by a class, without a shadow of doubt, is "Last and First Men", by Olaf Stapledon. The reason is simple: this book covers from the 1930s when it was written, and from there each chapter jumps ten times further into the future than the previous one, spanning, eventually, four billion years into the future. Pretty much all other science fiction is, therefore, merely "filling in the gaps". The incredible thing about Olaf Stapledon's book is his startling prescience and ability to accurately predict World History up into the 21st Century, including the fall of the League of Nations and the rise and fall of its replacement, the United Nations; the creation and detonation of the Atomic Bomb; the rise and fall of the United States. This latter should cause much hilarity when, if the "Sci Fi Masterworks" version is put in front of the class, in the context of reading Stephen Baxter's foreword, where Mr Baxter (a sci-fi author to be avoided at all costs), basically splutters his polite indignation at Stapledon's "obvious mistake".
The second book must be Asimov's "The End of Eternity". It is again one of the defining books of Asimov's career, dealing with the consequences of Time Travel and hinting at the background behind the "Foundation" series. One of the key things to note in the book is the use of the word "Computer" as a title, like "Professor". Very few people now remember that the word "Computer" was originally given to "one who performs computation". Computer Harkan, the lead character of the book, is the person given the unbelievably responsible job of "computing" the "minimal necessary change" to a historical timeline that will result in the desired changes to the future _without_ causing other drastic side-effects. Eventually, Computer Harkan meets some of future humanity who explain things to him... I won't say more - it's a fascinating book, and quite short.
The third book I'd put on the list would be: "Lord of Light", by Roger Zelazny. In this book, a reasonable and perfectly plausible explanation is given as to how the old "Indian Gods and Legends" were considered to "perform magic", whereas in fact, just like Arthur C Clarke said famously, "any superior technology is indistinguishable from magic".
Other than that, I'd say that it was about authors.
Asimov. Asimov's Foundation series is very hard going, as are pretty much all of his books except those about "Robby the Robot", which, coauthored with his wife, are really quite fun. Also, the "detective series" novels are absolutely fascinating, but very dry, take getting used to. If there's one at all that has to be read, I would recommend the one where Isaac Bailey, a human, is called for to investigate a murder on the world Solaria, where the total number of humans (extended lifespans) is something like a million (50,000 acres is a small estate); the number of robots per human measures 1,000 to 1; the concept of "seeing" someone involves 3D Trimensional viewing (holograms), and it's part-way through the book that we discover that Solarians are utterly reviled by the concept of physical human contact. Later on we discover that the whole murder has been a setup (by a robot! despite the 3 laws!) in order to determine which of the species of humans is most suitable for robots to encourage to expand out into the galaxy. As a result, this book is again one of THE defining books behind the "Foundation" series (which is itself pretty dry and heavy reading).
Moving on from that, the books commissioned by the Asimov Trust are much more readable, such as the "Caliban" series, and "Forward the Foundation" which is in fact by Greg Bear. I very much actually enjoyed the books about the "No Law" robot, Caliban. Caliban was an experiment to see if a robot would develop its own laws, if it was given a brain on which the infamous "Three Laws" were NOT imprinted. The exper
You know a Freudian Slip is when you say one thing and you mean your mother!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
every time I see Science Fiction and Fantasy mentioned in the same breath I get this urge to kill, fantasy is modern fairy stories powered by magic, Science Fiction is potentials and possibilities, warnings and explanations of the more bizarre aspects of reality and science, I just cringe when it gets lumped in with Unicorns and magical swords.
I just don`t understand why people can`t see they do not have anything in common, even in the cases where "a sufficiently advanced science would be indistinguishable from magic", it still IS science and not magic, there`s a huge difference imo, one is reality forged into new forms by the will of man, and one is man forged into new forms by an alternate reality, please, please, please, if you must do this, then don`t lump them together as parts of the same thing, they have almost nothing in common, please distinguish between the two.
Consider including a sub-genre of the sort of book that George Stewart's Earth Abides offers. It is not strictly science fiction as it does not include anything alien, or truly technological. It is an alternative reality wherein humans are analyzed under extreme conditions much like the British Survivors series on the tele.
It is great literature and speaks to the human condition. It does not need gadgets and gizmos. It might be looked at as science fiction in the soft sciences vein. Sociology, communication, history, anthropology, psychology, and more, become the focus of such stories. The hard science is interesting and intriguing, but HOW we deal with the knowledge is really the underlying heart of sci-fi, as Rod Serling used to tell us waaaay back in a past that is only now reachable by the time travel offered in an electron vacuum tube.
better start with "My Pet Goat in Space."
Flash fiction is a story of 1000 words or less. Some publishers cap it at other sizes, as you can imagine: 500 or 300 words are typical. There is quite a bit of interest lately in flash fiction and many mainstream speculative fiction print and online magazines publish it. I think this may be of particular interest for a high school course because the stories may be read quickly, and more importantly, the length is tenable for student writing exercises. The limited length requires good writing skills and the ability to judge what are the most important elements of the story.
Two great resources for readers and writers looking for publishers of interest are Ralan.org and Duotrope.com. They have searchable databases of publishers. Ralan organizes their publishers by payment class: pro markets, semi-pro, etc, and some special classes, such as their flash/twitter section. (Twitterzines publish stories that fit in a single tweet!)
Ralan has about 30 flash/tweet-only publishers. Some notables are: pro markets (as defined by the Science Fiction & Fanstasy Writers of America): Flash Fiction Online. Semi-Pro and Paying markets: Flash Quake, Flash Me and Vestal Review. Many of the pro print and online magazines listed at the SFWA site also publish flash fiction, along with longer forms. Thaumatrope is the most well-know twitterzine.
Links: FlashFictionOnline.com, FlashQuake.org, FlashMe.wingedhalo.com, VestalReview.net, http://thaumatrope.greententacles.com,
http://www.sfwa.org/join-us/sfwa-membership-requirements/#shortfiction
The first effort I think would be to take a well known story (Foundation/Time Enough for Love) and tear into the plot itself and explain why/how it works. Is the story itself important? Maybe but you want something that's recognized as being a strong story with solid plot elements and this could work with any genre. Fiction in general with stories such as "To Kill a Mockingbird", that I was required to read during High School, were formulative of my wide reading interests. Prior to that, I restricted myself to very narrow set of genre's, mainly of Sci-Fi/Fantasy but began branching out into many different directions such as War and Peace, Hardy Boys Series, Tom Switf, Nancy Drew, even Harlequin stories if they're well written. I even started on Tom Clancy, a few Koontz and many other authors and no longer make the distinction between Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Techno-Thriller as they're all Fiction.
Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
What? No BattleField Earth?
But the characters add a necessary extra dimension. Niven has always been a boring writer. Heinlein's characters, although too often speaking for himself and his changing, perhaps evolving, perhaps self-rationalizing, beliefs and opinions.
The characters in Stirling's Drakon add spice to a classic of SF opera (in the truest sense), while the characterizations are most necessary and important in all of Banks' books. Cultures do, in fact, change, and those characters, when well-written, exhibit those changes. And Douglas Adams' characters are simply the best in comedic SF with an unusually dry wit! (Recommend BBC's original (circa '80s) broadcast series of A Hitchhicker's Guide.... -- hands-down the best.)
but while you're teaching high school students science fiction, kids in other high schools are learning actual science
Science Fiction is one of the primary influences for all young scientists. The kids that sign up for a class like this are the ones that are also taking Advanced Physics and Calculus in High School.
Stranger in a Strange Land, The Stars My Destination, When Worlds Collide/After Worlds Collide, and the entire last season of Startrek Voyager.
By Dan Simmons. If that book doesn't belong in a sci-fi lit class, then I don't know what does.
It is obvious that all speeches by Al Gore and the Global Warming fools should be there.
Poul Anderson wrote great SF, but frequently some of his fiction were era-based (as in the constant Cold War struggle extrapolated to the far future) while only a limited amount of his fiction would stand the test of future reading (such as Operation Chaos, or the short story preceding that, Operation Changeling). Admas' work was very futuristic, and covered a variety of scientific topics, making it qualify both as SF and comedy. The other works are applicable to today, while so much of what is considered "classic" SF is rather outdated, to say the least. And nothing, absolutely nothing, compares to the future fiction as exemplified by Iain Banks' The Player of Games --- he hit every target in that novel.
The Sentinel, by Arthur C. Clarke. This short story is the basis for 2001 A Space Odyssey and the other novels in the "Space Odyssey" series.
interactive hologram, or it didn't happen.
Many others have listed "fun" books. While many of them are good, others fall into the pulp category. (This is my favorite category, but isn't suited for a decent lit course.) If you are looking for something with a little more meat, then these have artistic merit.
Science Fiction
The Book of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Glasshouse, by Charles Stross
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Fantasy
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
The Dark Tower series, by Steven King
Reaper Man or Making Money, by Terry Pratchett
Re-read 1984, and try to differentiate that from today?
Good point! I recall escaping the boredom of school by reading all of Heinlein's novels....
It would depend on how you would organize your instruction...by chronology, by genre (those sub genres within sci-fi), by theme, by author...but definitely I would include from classic to contemporary. Include short stories, novellas, novels, scripts, poems. Include authors that write for young adults. Include authors from various cultures.
If I were to teach this class, I would definitely include:
CatÂs Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut...my favorite required reading in high school...issues are still relevant today and could spark great discussions
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld...my latest favorite in the YA field!...would appeal to both male and female students and such an important topic!
Bellwether by Connie Willis
EnderÂs Game by Orson Scott Card
The Giver by Lois Lowry...may be an easy read for high school but that depends...may be okay for Grade 9.
You get rated today's 10 points! Lottery, anyone?
Frankenstein.
Alice in Wonderland.
The Time Machine.
20,000 Leagues.
Neuromancer (a great example of how science fiction is of its moment...Neuromancer has no cell phones, as they were rare and Gibson hadn't imagined them.
I'd include some Phillip K. Dick and a work by Robert Heinlein as well. The former because I like to screw kids up mentally as much as I can, the latter because while I've never liked much Heinlein its place in history is undoubted.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
But you've got to keep them interested, so go with Banks' The Player of Games (cannot recommend this book too much, it is simply the BEST example of future fiction around) along with Stirling's Drakon, again, a real action yarn and classic SF opera.
Fantastic thought pattern. Why, if we just force kids to study PORN in schools that should put an end to that once and forever. Now why didn't I think of that?????
Mary Shelly's Frankenstein should definitely make the list. Frankenstein is considered by many people to be the first Science Fiction novel, and it maintains its relevancy by posing many of the ethical questions that Science faces today. You should also include Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, at least the first three books. The Foundation series discusses the fate of empires, alludes to humanities over dependence on technology, critiques religion, and examines human nature. I'm a big fan of anything Card puts together, particularly Ender's game, a book that examines war, ferocity, and even genocide. Also look for some short stories. Asimov has a number of short stories. I really like how he will often challenge our notion of life with his stories on Robots.
Check out the book "Terry Pratchett: Guilty of Literature". Its a book of critical essays on the writings of comic fantasy author Terry Pratchett. It would be a good way of introducing the class to ideas of literary criticism within the context of SF.
You are lost in a twisty maze of little standards, all different.
You don't need the internet. You need a librarian. As a teen librarian I am happy to recommend the following YA novels that I think would be appropriate and popular with a high school audience.
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Little Brother by Cory Doctrow
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
The adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Micheal Scott
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Original Grim fairy tales
Norse Mythology, Greek Mythology, Asian Mythology - since this is the basis of many fantasy stories.
DEFINITELY include Little Brother -- Even though it's aimed at young adults (16-17 years old), it can keep the attention of any reading level. Every time I read that book, I end up staying awake half the night, and every time I read the book I come away with some other project I want to try ;)
I agree with what you are saying. In my opinion, high school lit curricula of all flavors overemphasizes novels and underempahsizes other forms of prose, like short stories and poems. Look, you have to be able to relate the material to kids who don't, for the most part, care about it and don't, for the most part, have the attention span or the built-up knowledge about the world required to read even a modestly paced work of genre fiction and tie together the threads to extract the underlying ideas.
Additionally, most of these kids do not have the intellectual stamina to read through what we might think is "influential" literature and distill the meaning from it, because a lot of these books can be fantastically misinterpreted. You even run the risk of the kids not understanding what they are reading and why its important.
Some material is influential to us only because we either A) read it growing up, B) were introduced to it in college, or C) read it a few times and think its "important" but didn't really enjoy it. Avoid these types of traps. I know I read both "1984" and "Brave New World" and while I enjoyed them, I think they were chosen because they were "influential" rather than enjoyable. A good introduction to what genre fiction is supposed to be about will avoid the obvious ones that kids already have preconceptions about.
Short stories that you can put into a modern, current events type context in concert with a few book reports where the kids do a write-up of books that are chosen from a book list, with very narrow discussion points is I think the best choice. Also choose 1 or 2 books that everyone will discuss in groups throughout the semester. Personally I would recommend "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke as the first novel. Its a quick read and very enjoyable.
Additonally, Philip K. Dick has not been mentioned nearly enough here. I'd say Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? would be great, because comparing it to Blade Runner (perhaps watching the movie first) is pretty valuable. Also, an introduction to cyberpunk might be a good idea considering the world we live in today. Snowcrash might be fun.
Tolkien...yes everyone is now intimately familiar with Tolkien in their minds (IE Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, and Elijah Wood with a bunch of special effects). Avoid at all costs, lest you want to present what kids might think of as an "adult" Harry Potter. It really takes an entire semester of reading Tolkien and talking about the basis of his work to really get a lot out of it academically speaking. Kids are perfectly capable of reading the books and watching the movies themselves.
Regardless, I agree with a lot of people here who emphasize short stories. I think it should be the basis for ANY high school literature course. For instance:
Philip K. Dick "The Golden Man"
Harlan Ellison "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman", "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" or anything by Ellison really.
Arthur C. Clarke "Encounter in the Dawn"
One or two stories from "The Martian Chronicles", because they really are individual short stories.
It might also be of interest to read movie screenplays or TV scripts. "AI: Artificial Intelligence" and "The City On The Edge of Forever" are fantastic for this purpose.
Anyway, good luck!
-IR
Due to bizarre circumstances that were not under my control, I changed High Schools 8 times.
Every time I changed schools, a teacher forced me to reread Dune, even though I was able to quote page and paragraph.
(After a while, I just started putting other books in the Dune jacket cover.)
.. over a summer break, I took a course in Science Fiction and Fantasy at Rutgers University (transfers to CMU). It was a pretty decent course, even for a life-long reader of both genres, and not even close to being a "gut course", though I did score a 100% on the final.
One of the principles the professor had in mind -- if you could read and understand the book all on your own, it doesn't belong in the classroom. She approached the class as one might expect of a professor in any other sort of literature class. A couple of the titles we covered: "The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (Canopus in Argos: Archives)" by Doris Lessing, and "Riddley Walker" by Russell Hoban. I probably would not have selected either, both were interesting and worth a read. High School level, I dunno... you may want to tailor this course more as an introduction to the genres, and offer up more classic than challenging material. I'd make sure to include something modern... you can't go wrong with Neal Stephenson, Stephen Baxter, Neil Gaiman, or William Gibson. I think you have to represent at least some of the more challenging "classic" writers: Clarke, Lovecraft, Verne, Vonnegut, Asimov, Heinlein, Wells, Dick, Bradbury, Ellison... on the mostly Sci-Fi side. For fantasy, Le Guinn, Tolkien, Zelazny, Anthony, Pratchett, etc.
I wouldn't likely offer up more than one book or short story from the same author within such a class, and while I'd like to offer an independent reading project in that context, the likelihood that over 50% of the kids would produce one "Harry Potter" volume or another (I did finally read them, last July) might have me slightly worried for the future of our culture.
One reason I did well on the final... a large part of that was answering the question "what is the difference between Science Fiction and Fantasy". I suspect many readers here would have done well on that final, but this would be a good thing to ask at the end of the course. And perhaps a good indication of how well you did, educating these kids. My answer was certainly vetted by the fine literary folks at Rutgers, and 25-something years later, I am currently working on a novel that attempts to confuse the issue. It's always more fun when you can break things!
-Dave Haynie
Jules Verne
H.G. Wells
Isaac Asimov
Robert A. Heinlein
Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Douglas Adams
Then I'd allow the students to explore the wealth of titles and pick there own to read and report on. There are so many good authors out now I don't have enough time to read everything that is available.
I took this class in college and there were a couple of things they had us read that I would otherwise have not been introduced to. I remember these all being fairly safe as well.
Space Trilogy - C. S. Lewis - while most are familiar with his fantasy Narnia series, until this class, I wasn't even aware that he wrote a sci-fi series as well. I think we read two of the three (fairly quick reads) for the class. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Trilogy
Once and Future King - T. H. White - great as an introductory fantasy piece. Classically tells the story of King Arthur. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Once_and_Future_King
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - I'd never been introduced to Vonnegut until read this sci-fi book, but I entirely fell in love with his writing after. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat's_Cradle
The Silmarillion - J. R. R. Tolkein - No not the entire thing, just a couple of a selections. It was a good way to introduce him and include him as important in the field, without having to read (or for many re-read) the well-known works. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silmarillion
Some of the other "classics" like Bradbury are likely already being introduced in other HS Lit classes, so you may just want to mention them, and/or look at short story pieces.
If you can get away with more adult-themed reading, you might want to look at something Heinlein. I enjoyed Time Enough for Love, but it's not light reading - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Enough_for_Love
And...
In today's day and age, I'd suggest finding a way to introduce the readers to George R. R. Martin - A Game of Throne's might be a bit too hefty - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones so you can consider his two prequel short stories to the Song of Fire and Ice pieces, The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword from the Tales of Dunk & Egg - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_Dunk_and_Egg
Good luck!
Karel ÄOEapek âoeWar with the Newtsâ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_with_the_Newts
It has it all.
I think Tolkein is a bit overrated as far as educational value goes. The books are too long and I don't see the themes being that interesting to discuss or write about. Sacrifice & temptation? There's just not much to debate about.
Ender's Game is a shorter read and much more interesting for it's political and moral commentary. A selection of some of the short stories form Asimov's "I Robot" and Bradburry's "Martian Chronicles" might be good.
I really enjoyed "Heart of the Comet" http://amzn.com/0553763415. It has some interesting topics. Possible essay questions:
I think the best Sci-Fi uses differences in alien values to examine our own values and to discuss morality.
Xenocide in the Ender's Game series is one of these. Did the aliens commit murder or was it something else? Does their intent and ignorance free them from guilt? When Ender killed the alien was it murder?
Also, "The Sparrow" by Mary Doria Russell. http://amzn.com/0449912558 This one is pretty heavy. Read it if you haven't. It involves a Jesuit priest making first contact with aliens.
"Fleet of Worlds" by Larry Niven & Edward Lerner
I have seen relatively few references to Asimov...especially with regards to the "3 laws of robotics" which are seriously being considered in today's society, and even being expanded upon by MIT grads. Many of the above mentioned authors and works I would consider to be works of pure fantasy/fiction, but there is NOTHING that I can see that heralded the future so much as Asimov's "3 Laws". Oh, and Clarke's early work, also worthy of study. 'Nuff said!
"One man's magic is another man's engineering.." (Heinlein)
They are the same with the exception of what drives the 'technology'. Fantasy uses magic to get things done. SF uses technology. But both explore 'what if' conditions.
I would choose stories that fit one or both of two criteria: great literature and/or of particular historical importance (either in the development of the genre or its place in wider culture). I have not read much fantasy, so my list would at the outset be more science fiction heavy.
With these criteria, the following would make my list:
"Gulliver's Travels"
Possibly the grandfather of science fiction and fantasy and also good literature by most accounts.
"Frankenstein"
Very important and influential early science fiction and a beginning of a strain of fiction looking at the dangers of science, even if it maybe of questionable literary value.
"The Time Machine"
A good early attempt to imagine the where humanity is going and one of the first time travel stories.
"Lilith" (George Macdonald)
Difficult, but underrated late-19th century fantasy that influenced other writers, including C.S. Lewis. Visionary and profound.
"Brave New World"
Another attempt to imagine where humanity is headed, and arguably more interesting and plausible than Wells' attempt. Classic dystopian story.
"Out of the Silent Planet" (C. S. Lewis)
An imaginative vision of Mars (that of course does not hold up today in terms of accuracy, but still an interesting vision of an alien planet) and a fascinating exploration of what it might be like to encounter alien beings who do not know evil. Solid literature.
"Lord of the Rings"
Father of modern fantasy and great literature. Maybe a bit long for a class, but at least excerpts should be read. Another possibility would be Tolkien's short story "Smith of Whooton Major".
"Universe" (Heinlein)
Not great literature, but imaginative and containing numerous science fiction conventions (science vs. religion, rotating spacecraft, mutants, paradigm shifts...).
"1984"
Obviously important influence on wider culture and society. Excellent example of dystopian fiction and decent literature.
"Surface Tension" (James Blish)
Okay, this is debatable. It is a personal favorite even though its not great literature. A short story about microscopic humanoids. To me it is a great example of one of the things science fiction is best at: paradigm shifting.
Unfortunately I have not read enough contemporary science fiction and what I have read does not make the list. "Stranger in a Strange Land" might be a consideration for its cultural influence and its imaginative exploration of alien morality, but its not very good literature and the last half loses interest. Lovecraft should probably have at least a short story on the list, but I have not read enough to be able to say which story.
I agree with others that science fiction is much better suited to short stories, so additions to the list would more likely be of that type.
Although often fun to read, I have not read anything by Clarke, Asimov, or Bradbury that I would consider of satisfactory literary value for such a class (that includes their short stories). Although notably, I have not read "Fahrenheit 451". Robert Jordan does not belong on the list. Period.
Two other stories that could be considered, but are very difficult:
"Voyage to Arcturus" (David Lindsay)
Early 20th century science fiction dealing with the role of suffering in human (and alien) life. Filled with memorable and often symbolic visions.
"That Hideous Strength" (C.S. Lewis)
The last book of Lewis' space trilogy which actually takes place entirely on Earth. Deals with a lot of issues both theological and ethical, including the misuse of science. Includes a disembodied head, which is a common convention these days.
Anyway, this is my first stab at a list.
Sex with everyone, drugs, making fun of organized religion sex while on drugs in church. This book will get you fired. Check out if you school library has it first, then if the book title comes up say how will the story is excellent the subjects might offend some high school students and their parents, but it is in the school library. Watch kids run to the library to read a dangerous book. Smile.
First off, is this a one semester class or two?
1)Dune - Frank Herbert
2)20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - Jules Verne
3)Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip Dick
4)The Hobbit (alt choice: The Silmarillion) - JRR Tolkien
5)The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan
6)Le Morte d'Arthur - Sir Thomas Mallory
Those should give students a lot to think about and discuss while being interesting enough to actually read at the same time (I still remember slugging through The Fountainhead in high school).
It sounds like you were granted the opportunity to read a lot of great sci-fi and fantasy books at a young age. That's great. Not every kid is so lucky. There's actually a spectrum of personalities between geek and jock, and there are in-betweeners with great and open minds that aren't exposed to the same material and guidance that you were. True, very few people on the extreme-jock-end of the spectrum would be interested in the class, or the material, and they simply wouldn't take it. It's also true that some kids who take the class hands down(geeks), would already be familiar with a good chunk of the material. This is no reason to write off the class for everyone else.
Also, I fail to see why is it important for high-schoolers to be tested on the emergence and classification of genres. Genres rarely have any significance besides marketing and general orientation. The classification of sub-genres can be fun, and people take pride in their "Excuse me, I make house music, not drum and bass" attitude but is utterly useless in relation to experience of the underlying content of any art-form.
I would suggest that all sf involves politics at some level. Heinlein is political as is Asimov. They are not necessarily as obviously political as L. Neil Smith or Orwell, but they definitely say a lot about what is good in government and society and what is bad. None of Tolkein's good guys live in autocracies. Even the Kings of Gondor had to pay attention to their people. Remember that a lot of people consider the s in sf to stand for speculative, rather than science. The key thing is to think about which facet of the genre you wish the students to consider.
-John Van Voorhis
If you really want them to learn about Science Fiction/Fantasy, make the final assignment to write a short story in either genre. Only when you create it do you really start to understand it.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
I should think the fear of "falling into a hole - especially a hole with teeth" wouldn't be confined to the male gender. But hey, maybe I'm wrong...?
I bet the professor in question subscribes to a Freudian worldview. Whereas normal individuals see a hole with teeth as... a hole with teeth, Freud would see it as some sort of vagina monster (making it a "male" fear).
Freud was the master of a phenomenon called "projection", where he assumes that everyone else is fucked up in the same way that he is. It would be damn amusing if not for the tragedy of the fact that his flawed introspection-based ideas were so influential that they set back the entire profession of psychology by 100 years.
Sorry Freud, just because you have Oedipus issues doesn't mean everyone does. Logic fail.
Knowledge != Intelligence
I will answer your question with a question.
What belongs on the tip of your penis?
I might suggest an attempt to order the class more stringently. Over the course of a school year, I can conceivably see 4 sections of the class, which can be divided into your major topics: i.e. - "What is SciFi?" "What makes SciFi Literature?" "Explore the social criticism of SciFi (war, social structure, aging, liberty vs. responsibility, etc.)" "Inter-media study (lit into film, comics, games, intertextuality and etc. and vice-versa)" Three or Four books to each section would be appropriate and allow a development of theory, comparison, and/or creative critical thinking. Don't forget to include published critical works such as essays, etc. to guide development.
This will then be the kind of class that teaches children to actually think rather than regurgitate by rote. After learning these basic steps in this class, they can apply them to any literature, and even impress their future college professor (which I will be at about the same time they're starting college) rather than bore me to death.
What I find most ironic is how few people in the USA and the UK are really familiar with the works of Orwell. "1984" is an outstanding Sci-Fi book, although it's written as a narrative of the misery of oppressive politics, supported by (what was then) technology that could only be described as a fantasy.
For lighter reading, and lest you be accused of creating an oppressive atmosphere, one of the Douglas Adams like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy should also be on the menu.
- - - Non Caffeine Drink or Drink Error
Read his early stuff.
Starship Troopers
Farmer in the Sky
Tunnel in the Sky
Podkayne of Mars
Waldo Inc (nto my favorite but good)
Glory Road is decent.
Farnham's Freehold is VERY interesting not sure it's good but it makes you think and Its an interesting view on Race relations and their consequences for the future.
Job, Number of the Beast, I Will Fear No Evil are all Heinlein's the world would be a better place if everyone was polyamorous. Though I remember liking Job, and Friday.
That being said, I think Heinlein had some good points in Friday about marriages being handled like legal contracts.
Heinlein IS good, but I think he got a bit carried away with sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.
Another great book by her is The Lathe of Heaven.
It's turtles all the way down!
I'm sure "not being able to tell" is the norm for someone like yourself.
"Out of the Silent Planet" will stretch a high school student vocabulary, but it should maintain interest. It will also sell well in conservative areas as being from a known Christian author. It also leads into a trilogy of increasingly harder reads with "Perelandra," and "That Hideous Strength."
Invenio via vel creo
William Gibson's early stuff is classic. Burning Chrome is a nice collection of his short stories. The Dune series is a masterwork. Stephen Baxter writes sci-fi that really examines how technology has, and will continue to change what it means to be human.
I love questions like this! Thanks. It has produced some interesting answers, and has been good for a trip down memory lane. As good as everyone's answers have been, they have not all been focused on the context of the question.
This is for a one-semester high school class, we must remember--not a college class, and not for a degree in SF&F. The object is not to make sure that they read everything that everyone must read in the genre, but to (1) introduce the genre, (2) teach about the genre, and (3) whet the appetite for learning and reading more. In addition to the limited time that students have to devote to each class in high school, one must also bear in mind the limited budget for purchasing materials.
With that in mind, I'd put forward three notions: short stories are the best way to introduce readers to a variety of different authors and and archetypes; anthologies are a cost-effective way to deliver short stories; you can't cover it all. To this last point, I would say that there are different strands of fantasy, and that you are only going to touch on the ones that closely overlap science fiction; mainstream fantasy (including, much as I love them, Harry Potter and LOTR) needs to be another class.
The problem with anthologies, however, is that by-and-large they stink out loud. I suppose you have to purchase through your district, and they have preferred publishers, so you'd have to see what they have to offer--and you may be stuck with them. I poked around to see what was commercially available, and I admit I was pretty unimpressed. Of those that are in print, if I were teaching I suppose I would order Science Fiction: A Historical Anthology (Galaxy Books, edited by by Eric S. Rabkin) because it has some width of selection and includes some old classics, but I'd wish that I could do better. And maybe you have to not do an anthology... or supplement it with a few novels or collections.
Keeping in mind your context, then, if I were selecting a few additional novels for a one-semester introductory high school class (with limited time and attention spans), I would draw from this list [that is still in print]:
Asimov, I, Robot
Card, Ender's Game
Clarke, Childhood's End
Clarke, Rendezvous with Rama
LeGuin, The Left Hand of Darkness
Niven, Ringworld
Niven and Pournelle, Inferno
Sawyer, Flashforward
Mind you this is not my list of the "best" or "must-read", and is not as diverse a set of authors as I would wish, but simply what I think would work for your class--what is accessible at their age, and what makes for good class discussions. I would specifically not include excellent novels like 2001, Snow Crash, Red Mars, etc., because they are not quite old enough to appreciate the themes, literary adroitness, and so on. You and I might have really groked 2001 in high school, but the average high school student today probably would struggle with it.
(Also, having a tie-in with a popular movie or TV show that you can show in class will help those who are more visual or aural learners is helpful.)
Hope this helps.
I like the way you think ... it would be really funny to have kids going home to their parents and saying that they just don't grok them :)
Just remember to choose works that exemplify good writing. None of Neal Stephenson's rubbish.
by Eric Frank Russell. ...
One of the best. What could happen if the government at war was led to believe that terrorists/subversives were at large in the homeland?
The cost of that cleanup, of course, will be borne by taxpayers, not industry.
as it is posted on a 5 day old story, but: while everyone is busy listing their favorite, popular authors, the ones that can actually write are being forgotten. The guy who wrote http://greatsfandf.com/ has a point: it's people like Frank Baum, Mervyn Peake, Jack Vance and Ursula LeGuin that actually wrote fantasy deserving of the name 'literature'.
Skimming over the posts already here there is a plethora of good Science Fiction and Fantasy out there, however not all of it is literature, nor is all of it appropriate for a high school course. However what you select should be deliberate based on your objectives. Are you seeking?
The only other thing I would recommend is not to underestimate the maturity of your students, avoiding material with sexuality or other questionable material is not doing them any favors. Chaucer was the raunchest thing I read in high school and I'm grateful my teacher didn't gloss over it, it made it far more interesting and downright funny than the boring slog it would have been, the same goes for Shakespeare. Select the material you think is most relevent to the outcome you want to achieve regardless of how obscure it might be. However I will make the recommendation many have made above: Use short stories instead of books, most students in high school will blow off reading a book because they have "Better things" to do.
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read "Lord of Light" by Roger Zelazny. it illustrates not only that advanced tech is "magic" but the dangers of portraying onesself as a "God" as a result of access to such advanced tech.
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