Thanks to everyone for participating in the class.  As those of you who showed up for class on Tuesday saw, the range of creativity for the world projects was broad.  Some focused on plants while others focused on animals.  The world itself was more important to others.

Though it took a little longer for class because of some technical difficulties and some misunderstanding about what an overview is, those who participated did reasonable work.

I am disappointed at some of the incivility and rudeness.  Some students left promptly after their presentation.  For those students, you missed the work of colleagues who patiently sat through your presentation.  Others made uncharitable comments as the time grew long.  I did not get similar comments when we ended class a little early.  Some chose not to do evaluations for the class.  This is unfortunate as I would have valued your comments on readings and projects.  We touched on the topic of time in the class at many points but we did not discuss variable values for it.  Please consider in the future that courtesy is always appreciated.

I hope that you got from the class a wider appreciation for speculative fiction and the science behind it.  As a whole, the class did a reasonable job with the assignments and with working on group material.

We have explored many worlds and many science concepts this semester.  The concepts of reproduction and sex in science fiction are broad and varied.  Most of the variations in reproduction occur in dystopian worlds.  There are very few stories of male only worlds (Ethan of Athos is one book).  The Wraethu series by Storm Constantine imagines a world where an alternate sex can create a pearl (embryo) that becomes a child.

There are several books and short stories about female only worlds which deal with sex and reproduction in different ways.  The Female Man by Joanna Russ, The Holdfast series by Suzy McKee Charnas and Ammonite by Nicola Griffith are excellent examples of alternate societies.

Some of the worlds have intentional separations of males and females while others posit a destruction of one sex.

Discuss why there are so few stories of male only worlds.

Abigail Oakes found this interesting site that is relevant to our class.  It is http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/full-episodes/titles/22622/the-incredible-bionic-man.  How would you define human vs other?

Soon you will be creating your own world.  You have some good, fundamental material to begin the task.  At a minimum, you should include information on weather, geography, and organisms for your world.  There should be a maximum of 5 people in your world group.  You may include illustrations if you wish, but it is not required.  You will need to include a complete bibliography for your materials used in planning the world.

There are many online resources about science fiction/fantasy world building other than the one given to you on NewDLE for the class.  Some are useful while others are lacking.  You need to plan carefully and work with your group regularly.  While breaking into subgroups is fine, you will need to collaborate closely to make sure that everyone has the same ideas about where the world is headed in your creation.  DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE.

Keep as your guide the question:  Is it scientifically realistic?

Cloning is a topic found in many forms within the science fiction genre.  As our understanding of the possible/practical has improved, the portrayal of cloning has differed.  Take a look at some of the short stories in the virtual library about cloning.  Can you categorize the type of cloning used?  Is the cloning an integral part of the story or incidental?

We will begin exploring the world of the scientist and how she views life.  The essay on the works of Thomas Kuhn will set the stage for our discussions along with information from Joan Slonsczewski (microbiologist).  Please review these items as you discuss how science fiction is used to examine the limits of life.  This type of discussion is especially interesting in view of the recent resurgence of the notion of zombies.  Authors like Sturgeon (More Than Human) and Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) inter alia have considered not only what constitutes life but also what is considered human.  Make your contribution to the discussion.

Welcome and ground rules

Welcome to the science of science fiction blog for 2013.  We will be using the blog to discuss issues of interest for the class of the same title and perhaps to continue as an interest group in the future. You should check regularly to see the threads created and to post your comments.  You should make sure that you are civil in your comments and responses.  It is your responsibility to do the readings for class and to attend film sessions regularly.  I encourage you to talk with each other in groups and to post for class discussion often.  This will give us a record to consider for examining how our ideas change over the course of the term.  Posting images should be done responsibly.