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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. '"
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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"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.
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I actually took a sci-fi and fantasy class in my high school back in 1988. We read starship troopers, the hobbit, lord of the rings (we had to pick one of the three), 2001, and some books of our choosing. I chose soylent green iirc. We watched a few sci-fi movies. The teacher did an in-class analysis of the complexity of the lights and buttons of darth vader's suit as he progressed through 4, 5, and 6. We did a few book reports and some art projects. I did a poster of the horses in the river that did in the ring wraiths. It was one of the few brights spots of my high school experience. The teacher was awesome.
Disconnect your television. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. They're probably lying. Don't be a sheep.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
IMO, his most interesting story looking at how the full spectrum of basics that a society has to provide -- air, food, shelter, marriage, child-rearing, allocation of scarce resources -- might change under suddenly different circumstances. The technology is comprehensible to almost anyone. And kids in high school today may live long enough to see computers that pass a Turing test -- certainly more likely to see that than FTL space flight. Start from "Does an AI that passes such a test have any rights?" and you can take the discussion anywhere.
H.P. Lovecraft. I don't think that can be stressed enough. He is so often times overlooked or pigeonholed into the same horror category as Poe, but he really did help to lay alot of the foundation for good science fiction. His later works are especially of a cosmic scale, where ancient occult gods are nothing more than misunderstood alien entities. Some stories are much more obvious in their influence however, such as At the Mountains of Madness and certainly The Shadow Out of Time.
I certainly think that the major "dystopian" novels should be covered as well, such as 1984, Brave New World, and maybe even Stranger in a Strange Land.
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
I actually took a sci-fi and fantasy class in my high school back in 1988
I've never been able to figure out why these two completely different genres are always lumped together? Fantasy fiction almost always takes plece in the past, science fiction almost always takes place in the future. Fantasy deals with magic, scifi deals with science and technology.
I don't get it, unless it's that to so many people, technology IS magic. Since it isn't really, why do literature teachers lump the two together?
Personally, I've always been a fan of science fiction, and with the exceptins of Tolkien and Pratchett have never liked fantasy. I always wanted stuff explained, both in fiction and in life. "It's magic" never worked for me.
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