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neadodsI was enjoying the Tudor-Stewart class, but I was also trying to seriously learn and retain information from it, and right now if I have to concentrate seriously on anything, my head will explode. So I put my copy of Henry VIII down in favor of the fluffy For Matrimonial Purposes and the Tudor class in favor of the Science Fiction class. (I've decided I don't like the Mozart professor.)
If my reviews of this class interest you, run to and grab it right now because they've discontinued this one. It is available only on tape.
Professor Eric Rabkin of U of Mich has a good lecture voice - clear, measured, but not monotone. Not a particular sense of humor, although there is great interest in his subject. He's basing the definition of SF not on the amount of science in the story, but on these three principles:
1) The fantastic made plausible through the illusion of science
2) The plot contains high adventure
3) It asks the reader to think
There are 8 lectures at 45 minutes each covering:
Lecture 1 - Frankenstein and the Emergence of Science Fiction
Lecture 2 - Jules Verne and the Popular Passion for Science
Lecture 3 - HG Wells and Science Fiction Parables of Social Criticism
Lecture 4 - Pulp Culture, World War II, and the Ascendancy of American SF
Lecture 5 - "And the Winner is... Robert A. Heinlein"
Lecture 6 - Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, and the Expansion of Science Fiction
Lecture 7 - Stanley Kubric, Arthur C Clarke, and the Modern Science Fiction Film
Lecture 8 - New Wave, Cyberpunk, and Our Science Fiction World
Books specifically covered are:
I, Robot, Asimov
The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury
2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke (with a note to see the movie as well)
Neuromancer, Gibson
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein
The Left Hand of Darkness, LeGuin
Frankenstein, Shelley
20,00 Leagues Under the Sea, Verne
The Time Machine, Wells
If my reviews of this class interest you, run to and grab it right now because they've discontinued this one. It is available only on tape.
Professor Eric Rabkin of U of Mich has a good lecture voice - clear, measured, but not monotone. Not a particular sense of humor, although there is great interest in his subject. He's basing the definition of SF not on the amount of science in the story, but on these three principles:
1) The fantastic made plausible through the illusion of science
2) The plot contains high adventure
3) It asks the reader to think
There are 8 lectures at 45 minutes each covering:
Lecture 1 - Frankenstein and the Emergence of Science Fiction
Lecture 2 - Jules Verne and the Popular Passion for Science
Lecture 3 - HG Wells and Science Fiction Parables of Social Criticism
Lecture 4 - Pulp Culture, World War II, and the Ascendancy of American SF
Lecture 5 - "And the Winner is... Robert A. Heinlein"
Lecture 6 - Ray Bradbury, Ursula LeGuin, and the Expansion of Science Fiction
Lecture 7 - Stanley Kubric, Arthur C Clarke, and the Modern Science Fiction Film
Lecture 8 - New Wave, Cyberpunk, and Our Science Fiction World
Books specifically covered are:
I, Robot, Asimov
The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury
2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke (with a note to see the movie as well)
Neuromancer, Gibson
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein
The Left Hand of Darkness, LeGuin
Frankenstein, Shelley
20,00 Leagues Under the Sea, Verne
The Time Machine, Wells
