CHSTM
HSTM20301 [10 CREDITS]/HSTM20801
[20 CREDITS]
FROM FRANKENSTEIN TO THE MATRIX: SCIENCE
FICTION AND FILM
Semester 1, 2008-2009
Lecturer: Dr David Kirby
Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine
Room 2.26 Simon Building
Tel: 275-5837; Email: david.kirby@manchester.ac.uk
1
Lecture/Seminar: 1-3pm Monday, Simon 4A
If you enjoy this course and would like to continue with study in this area at
postgraduate level, CHSTM runs two Masters degrees and has a strong PhD and
MPhil programme.
The Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine (CHSTM), is a major
international focus for research in the history of modern science, technology and medicine.
It includes the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine and the National Archive for
the History of Computing. The interests of Centre staff lie predominantly in 19th and
20th century history, mostly in Britain, Europe and the USA, but also including STM in
developing countries. It gained a 5 in the 2001 RAE. The department is small and
informal, with a lively postgraduate community, and strong formal and informal seminar
programmes.
MSc/Dip History of Science, Technology & Medicine
This innovative MSc course aims to provide a comprehensive historical introduction to
19th - and 20th Century science, technology and medicine in their wider social, economic,
cultural and political contexts, including training in historical and social science methods.
A variety of option courses are available. Assessment is by essay, examination and a
15,000-word dissertation. (1year full-time, 2-3 years part-time)
MSc Research Methods in History of Science, Technology & Medicine
This new MSc course also provides a historical introduction to 19th - and 20th Century
science, technology and medicine in their wider social, economic, cultural and political
contexts, but places special emphasis on systematic and wide-ranging training in historical
and social scientific approaches. A variety of option courses are available. Assessment is
by essay, coursework exercises and a 15,000-word dissertation. Students accepted for this
degree are able to apply for Economic and Social Research Council studentships. (1year
full-time, 2-3 years part-time).
Research degrees: PhD/MPhil
Two research degrees are offered: PhD (3 years full-time, 6 years part-time) and MPhil (1
year full-time, 2 years part-time). The MPhil can be regarded as a preparatory degree for
the PhD, or as a free-standing research Master's. We expect PhD applicants to have a
strong background in HSTM (e.g. a good MSc in the subject, or considerable exposure to
HSTM at undergraduate level). Alternatively, students can take one of our taught
postgraduate courses before applying to go on to do research. These courses are designed to
give you the intellectual grounding and practical skills you need to do original research in
HSTM.
Full details of all CHSTM’s activities and courses can be found
at www.manchester.ac.uk/chstm
2
Course Outline*
Week
Date
Lecture/Seminar
Book(s)/Films
1
29 Sep
Introduction
2
6 Oct
3
13 Oct
4
20 Oct
Utopias
Looking Backward
Herland
5
27 Oct
Early SF
Evolutionary Biology
The Time Machine
6
3 Nov
Reading week
7
10 Nov
British Dystopias
Brave New World
8
17 Nov
American Dystopias
Religion and SF
Ideology and the Cold War
A Canticle for
Leibowitz
9
24 Nov
Feminist SF
SF and Cultural Studies
SF and Genetics
Xenogenesis: Dawn
10
1 Dec
Cyberpunk
Bladerunner
The Matrix
11
8 Dec
Ecology and the Built
Environment
Red Mars
12
15 Dec
Exam Revision
The Origins of Science
Fiction
Scientists in Literature
Victorian Horror
Degeneration
Deadline
Frankenstein
The Strange Case of
Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde
28 Nov: Deadline for
set essay (Friday)
19 Dec: Deadline for
20 credit project
(Friday)
(*I reserve the right to deviate from this outline at any time.)
3
Introduction
Do scientists play God? Is it possible to understand an alien? Will machines develop such
sophistication that they enslave humans? Do science and technology show the way to a
future utopia? Or dystopia? Or neither? Literature and film provide a means of exploring
fundamental fears and hopes about science and technology. Also, science and technology
have meant different things to different people at different periods of time. Again the study
of literature helps: by placing novels, plays - even films - in the context of their times, we
can understand the place of science and technology in different contexts.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of this course is to explore through literature and film the ways that ordinary
people have reacted to developments in science and technology, and their fears as well as
hopes for the future. This course takes a selection of classic texts and films from the
nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries to see what continuities and differences
there have been in the public imagination of science and technology over this period.
By the end of this course you will be able:
 to show an appreciation for historical approaches to science, technology and
medicine in literature and film
 to develop skills in critically interpreting themes in literature and film
 to demonstrate knowledge of the chronology of changes in popular responses to
science, technology and medicine over the 19th and 20th centuries
 to have a critical appreciation of the debates about the relationship between
literature and science
 to take part in informed discussions of these topics and issues
 to reflect critically on the cultural meanings of science, technology and medicine
In addition, 20-credit students will be able:
 to find and research a topic of their own choosing;
 to find and assess critically primary and secondary sources;
 to write, with full scholarly apparatus, a report on their individual research project.
Teaching
The module will be taught in 12 weeks in semester 1. Each week there will be a two-hour
lecture/seminar. The two hours will be divided between 1) a lecture, 2) a general discussion
of the lecture, various media texts, and required readings and/or 3) small group discussions
of students’ reports on the required readings/viewings and time for individual questions.
Lecture material is useful in putting SF texts in context and will help students on essays
and the exam. You should take careful notes during lectures since the lecturer will not give
out lecture notes at the course's conclusion. Copies of each lecture’s powerpoint presentations
will be online but these represent skeleton guidelines and are insufficient for revision.
The seminar component of the course is crucial to your comprehension of science fiction.
Therefore, attendance at these seminars is compulsory. This also means that everyone does
the reading and everyone comes to class prepared to explore the readings. To “explore the
4
readings” means you've read the required texts, you've thought about them, and you're
ready to dissect their themes in relation to larger issues. You will be expected to justify
your reactions to the texts with specific references to the texts or, when relevant, to other
texts. There are also suggested academic readings which will help you analyzing our
required texts. I have included some notes on critical reading at the back of this syllabus.
Please read through these tips as they will help you in understanding and analyzing
academic texts. They will improve our discussions and will help improve your written
responses.
All students are responsible for meeting the course requirements and deadlines. These are
clearly spelled out in this course outline so ignorance is not an excuse for missing
deadlines. Please check the course description first before contacting the lecturer with
questions about course requirements. The lecturer will be available for questions during
office hours (to be announced) and after the lecture/seminar on Mondays.
Readings
Each week has one SF text which is the “required reading.” Required texts are just that,
required for that week’s seminar. The “further reading” lists are useful for the discussion at
hand and I strongly urge you to examine a few of these before our seminar. The further
reading will also be important for your seminar coursework, for your longer essay work,
and for the exam. If you have difficulty getting the readings from SLC, use Google to
check their availability on the internet. Most of the required readings are also available in
local bookshops and public libraries. It is your responsibility to obtain copies of the
required readings.
Students should prepare for the lecture/seminar by reading each week’s required reading in
light of the list of questions given for each lecture topic in this syllabus. Consider the required
readings with respect to the following overall course themes:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
depiction of scientists
the relationship between humans and machines
utopias/dystopias
inner space vs outer space
race/gender/class in relation to science/technology/medicine
Take brief notes on your readings and your ideas about the questions/topics given at the
bottom of each lecture description in this outline. Use these notes in the class discussion and
as a way to begin to structure your essay and/or project.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a very serious offence, comparable to cheating in exams. It consists of passing
off others’ work as though it were your own (e.g. lifting passages – either word-for-word or
closely paraphrased – from books, articles, the internet, etc.). Even ‘recycling’ parts of your
own work, which has been submitted for assessment at this University or elsewhere,
constitutes plagiarism. It is not difficult for staff, who are all professional academic writers, to
recognize instances of plagiarism. Likewise, software for detecting material lifted from the
5
internet is regularly employed in this regard. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself
with the University’s policy on plagiarism before you prepare and submit any coursework so
that you do not inadvertently commit this offence. Please see the University’s guide to
avoiding plagiarism:
www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/studyskills/assignments/plagiarism/#top
Here, plagiarism is defined, and various misuses of sources are analyzed for their errors.
Since academic writing typically draws on the work and specific language of other writers,
it is vital that you understand the (often subtle) distinctions between ethical use of others’
texts and unethical appropriations of the work of others. The penalties for plagiarism range
from being required to resubmit the piece of work in question (with a maximum possible
mark of 40%) for minor instances to expulsion from the University in serious ones.
Disability
The University of Manchester is committed to providing all students access to learning in
the way most beneficial to them. It is important to tell us about any additional support that
you need. If you have a disability, a learning difficulty or any condition that YOU FEEL
may affect your work then you might want to tell us about it. Please feel free to approach
us to discuss any additional needs that you have. You may wish to email us, or we can
arrange a meeting. Any discussion we have will be confidential. If you wish, you can also
inform the Disability Support Office. It is based on the lower ground floor of the John
Owens Building. You can drop in, but for appointments/enquiries telephone 0161 275
7512, or email disability@manchester.ac.uk.
Assessment
There are two modes of assessment for this course:
 For undergraduates taking the course as a 10-credit module (HS20301), assessment
is by means of a set essay and an exam.
 For undergraduates taking this course as a 20-credit module (HS20801),
assessment is by means of a set essay, an exam, and a longer project.
10 credits (HS20301)
(50%) Continuous assessment: set essay
(50%) Exam
20 credits (HS20801)
(25%) Continuous assessment: set essay
(25%) Exam
(50%) 3000 word research project based on a case study
1. Exam (required for all students): There will be a two hour examination for this class,
which will count towards 50% of the overall course mark for 10-credit students and 25% of
the overall course mark for 20-credit students. The date, time, and location of the final
examination will be announced as soon as it has been determined. The scheduling and
administration of the final examination will follow standard University procedures.
6
The exam will ask you to respond to essay questions which will require you to draw on
both the lecture material and the seminar reading. The final examination will not contain
multiple choice questions. All examinable material will be covered by the lectures, the
seminar discussions, and the required readings. You must not use the same material to
answer more than one question; an answer that does not directly address the question will
be severely penalised. This course is about developing skills in interpreting literature and
film and the exam will test these skills. The format for the exam will be reviewed in more
detail at the final class meeting on Monday, December 8. At that meeting, we will discuss
the exam format, review the central themes of the course and discuss study strategies.
2. Set Essay (required for all students in HS20301 and HS20801): You will be expected to
produce an essay of 1,500 words (essay title below). The essay must be typed with 1.5 or
double spacing between lines – do not single space your final essays. Hand written
assignments will not be accepted under any circumstances. PC clusters are available on
campus for those who do not own computers.
See www.itservices.manchester.ac.uk/pcclusters/pcclusterlocations/ for locations.
Essays should conform to the Essay Guidelines at the end of this outline. Late essays, or
essays which ignore the Guidelines, will lose marks. Essays handed in late without a good
explanation will not be marked, and you will receive no credit.
Two separate copies should be handed in, with one anonymous cover sheet attached to
each. Use a paper clip to keep the two copies together. The essay is to be posted in the
CHSTM essay box outside room 2.21 in the Simon Building by 3.00pm on Friday 28
November. It will be returned at the last class.
Bear in mind that you will have a good deal of other work at this time, so don’t leave your
essay until the last minute. You will need to allow considerable time for reading around
your subject and for planning and writing the essays. Other students will be working on the
same topic and there will be considerable demand for books. You should therefore start
work on your essay early. Bear in mind that you will also need to balance the demands of
writing an essay with your work for other courses, so note the deadlines well and plan
your work accordingly.
Set Essay Title (1500 words; required of all students; due 28 November)
One of the alternative descriptions of science fiction is “speculative fiction.” This term
focuses on SF literature’s tendency to project future developments based on contemporary
conditions. However, much of the literature we explore in this course looks to the past
(social, technological, and economic) in its explorations and projections of the future. It is
no coincidence that Edward Bellamy’s book was titled Looking Backwards and not
“Looking Forwards.” For this essay I want you to address this question: How do science
fiction authors look to the past while creating futuristic visions whether they are utopian or
dystopian? Although you are encouraged to include other novels in your essay, you must
incorporate at least one of the required readings from this semester.
3. Project (HS20801 students only)
7
For those taking the 20-credit version of the course, there is an additional piece of
assessment. This will a more extended 3,000 word research project. This project is a
substantial piece of work, and is intended to allow you to explore in depth issues of interest
to you, and to allow you more scope for independent research and creative writing.
All students intending to take the 20 credit version of this course must attend a meeting
with me in the first few weeks of term. A sign-up sheet will be circulated in Week 2. We
will then meet regularly throughout the semester to discuss your progress and work on any
emerging issues.
Topics are outlined below; other topics or forms of assessment may be agreed in
consultation with the lecturer. The 3000-word project is to be submitted (two copies with
anonymous cover sheet) to be posted in the CHSTM essay box outside room 2.21 in the
Simon Building by 3.00pm on Friday 19 December.
The essay must be typed with 1.5 or double spacing between lines – do not single space
your final essays. Hand written assignments will not be accepted under any circumstances.
PC clusters are available on campus for those who do not own computers.
See www.itservices.manchester.ac.uk/pcclusters/pcclusterlocations/ for locations.
Essays should conform to the Essay Guidelines at the end of this outline. Late essays, or
essays which ignore the Guidelines, will lose marks. Essays handed in late without a good
explanation will not be marked, and you will receive no credit.
Two separate copies should be handed in, with one anonymous cover sheet attached to
each. Use a paper clip to keep the two copies together. The essay is to be posted in the
CHSTM essay box outside room 2.21 in the Simon Building by 3.00pm on Friday 19
December.
ATTENTION: All essays or projects that are improperly referenced will be returned to the
student unmarked and will receive a zero unless returned with all sources properly cited.
See ‘citing sources’ under essay guidelines (below) for proper referencing requirements.
Project Titles (to be used by 20-credit students, due 19 December)
For all projects, please use additional novels and films that go beyond those listed for each
week’s lecture. You are also encouraged to use scientific and academic articles. You are
responsible for obtaining any novels or films used in your project so please plan
accordingly.
1) Read Andrea Barrett’s The Voyage of the Narwhal and compare her description of a
scientific expedition and its consequences with the scientific expeditions in Frankenstein,
Herland and The Time Machine. How is the image of the heroic explorer gendered in the
fiction of different historical periods and what effect does this have on a society’s image of
science?
2) Read three of Iain M. Banks’s “Culture” novels: Consider Phlebas (1987), Excession
(1996) and Look to Windward (2000). Compare his depiction of technology to those in
8
Looking Backwards, Brave New World, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and in cyberpunk fiction.
Is the Culture a utopian society? Is this due to technological and/or sociological
development?
3) Compare Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars series with Bellamy’s Looking Backward and
Gilman’s Herland, including their historical contexts. Is it possible to write a convincing
utopian novel today, one that can inspire a political, scientific or social movement, or is
dystopian fiction the only reasonable response to the problems we face in the 21st century?
4) Read three seminal cyberpunk texts: William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984), Bruce
Sterling’s Islands in the Net (1988), and Neal Stephenson’s Snowcrash (1992). Compare the
depiction of cyberpunk themes in these novels with representations in movies like Blade
Runner and The Matrix. How do they treat these themes in similar ways and how do they treat
the same themes in different ways? What role does the visual nature of film and the
descriptive nature of literature play in these depictions?
5) Read Nancy Kress’s Beggars trilogy which was written during the same time frame as
Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy. Compare how these trilogies treat issues of gender,
race and biotechnology. Do these novels share similar views of these issues and how do
these novels reflect cultural concerns in the late-1980s and early 1990s?
6) Read four novels that were all published in 1959: Kurt Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan,
Gordon R. Dickson’s Dorsai, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and Robert Heinlein’s Starship
Troopers. How do these novels convey similar and different cultural concerns about the
Cold War?
General Reading for the Course
Material covered during the course can be found in the shortloan collection in John Rylands
Library. The following books are general and cover more than one week's material:
Roslynn D. Haynes, From Faust to Strangelove: Representations of the Scientist in Western
Literature, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. JRUL:
809/H315
Ludmilla Jordanova (ed.), Languages of Nature: Critical Essays on Science and Literature,
London : Free Association, 1986. JRUL: 809/J70
Gillian Beer, Darwin’s Plots: Evolutionary Narrative in Darwin, George Elliot and
Nineteenth-century Fiction, London: Routledge, 1983. JRUL: 823.09/B63. See also
Beer’s Open Fields: Science in Cultural Encounter, Oxford: OUP, 1996. JRUL:
820.9/B318
9
Jon Turney, Frankenstein’s Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular Culture, New Haven
and London: Yale University Press, 1998. JRUL: 501.45/T1
Rosalind Williams, Notes on the Underground: An Essay on Technology, Society and the
Imagination, Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 1990
Brian Aldiss, The Billion Year Spree, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1973
Hilary Rose, "Dreaming the future: other worlds." chapter 9 of Love, Power and Knowledge:
towards a Feminist Transformation of the Sciences, Bloomington: Indiana Press, 1994,
pp. 208-229.
Adam Roberts, Science Fiction: The New Critical Idiom, London: Routledge, 2000. JRUL:
809.3/R59.
Geoff King & Tanya Krzywinska, Science Fiction Cinema, London: Wallflower, 2000.
JRUL: 791.459/K6.
Vivian Sobchack, Screening Space: The American Science Fiction Film, London: Rutgers
University Press, 1987. JRUL: 791.4673/S17.
Gregg Rickman, ed., The Science Fiction Film Reader, New York: Limelight, 2004. JRUL:
791.459/R10.
Useful information is also available on the internet, but remember that all sources, and
especially web pages, should be read critically!
For the history of science context the following are excellent reference works:
Robert Olby et al (eds.), Companion to the History of Modern Science, London; Routledge,
1990. JRUL: 509/O16 and SLC 509/O17
Roy Porter, The Greatest Benefit to Mankind (history of medicine). JRUL: 610.9/P24
Roger Smith, The Fontana History of the Human Sciences. JRUL: 301/S341
Peter Bowler, The Fontana History of the Environmental Sciences. JRUL: 550.9/B32
W.H. Brock, The Fontana History of Chemistry. JRUL: 540.9/B26
John North, The Fontana History of Astronomy and Cosmology, JRUL: 520.9/N17
Donald Cardwell, The Fontana History of Technology. JRUL: 609/C2
Ivor Grattan-Guinness, The Fontana History of the Mathematical Sciences. JRUL: 510.9/G67
Lewis Pyenson and Susan Sheets-Pyenson on Science and Society. (not in JRUL)
10
Week 1 - Lecture: Introduction
For today’s class we will outline the broad aims and scope of this course.
Required Viewing/Reading: None
Discussion Questions
What is science fiction? What science fiction authors/novels are you familiar with? What are
some common themes in science fiction?
11
Week 2 - Lecture: The Context of Frankenstein (1818)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a remarkably influential book - and not just on twentiethcentury horror films. It asks many of the questions raised in this course: the scientist as
creator, science and technology out of control, monsters, experiments that go disastrously
wrong, and the ‘mad scientist’ archetype. In this lecture we will discuss the impact of the
Enlightenment on 19th century notions of science as well as the anti-science elements of the
Romantic movement.
Background Reading:
Roslynn D. Haynes, ‘Chapter Seven’, From Faust to Strangelove: Representations of the
Scientist in Western Literature, Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1994. JRUL: 809/H315
Samuel Holmes Vasbinder, Scientific Attitudes in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Ann Arbor:
UMI, 1976. JRUL: 823.79/Sh44/34
Jon Turney, Frankenstein’s Footsteps: Science, Genetics and Popular Culture, New Haven
and London: Yale University Press, 1998. JRUL: 501.45/T1
Required Reading: Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus, in the Penguin
Popular Classics Edition (one pound!).
Discussion Questions
 What sort of “science” and “scientists” influence Victor Frankenstein?
 What is the significance of the electrical storm?
 How does the monster learn? Why does he go ‘bad’?
 Pay close attention to who is in isolation and who is in social groups. What are the
dangers of isolation?
 Does Victor Frankenstein play at being God?
 Is Victor Frankenstein the monster’s ‘father’? If so, what kind of father is he?
 What is the effect of presenting different characters' viewpoints on the novel’s
themes, especially those of Victor and the monster?
 Do the monster's eloquence and persuasiveness make it easier for the reader to
sympathize with him? Why do you think most film versions of the story present the
monster as mute or inarticulate?
 How are Victor and the monster similair? Do Victor and the monster become more
similar as the novel goes on? How does their relationship with each other develop?
 Victor attributes his tragic fate to his relentless search for knowledge. Is this the true
cause of his suffering? In what ways does the novel present knowledge as
dangerous and destructive?
 What is a “monster?”
 Is Victor a monster?
 What is the role of the framing story in the novel?
 How does the novel depict women?
 Who was Prometheus? Why is the novel subtitled "the Modern Prometheus?"
12
Week 3 – Special Lecture by Dr. Neil Pemberton
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) and Degeneration in Late Victorian Imagination
Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel tapped into concerns about the nature of human nature by
exploring the origins of evil in the human psyche. We will also discuss other novels of the
time like Dracula (1897) and The Portrait of Dorian Grey (1891) which address notions of
“degeneration” in humanity as well as the construction of disease/personality and
animal/human boundaries in literature.
Background Reading:
Christopher P. Toumey, ‘The Moral Character of Mad Scientists: A Cultural Critique of
Science’, Science, Technology & Human Values, 17(4), 411-437, 1992.
Nils Clausson, ‘Degeneration, Fin-de-Siecle Gothic, and the Science of Detection: Arthur
Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles and the Emergence of the Modern
Detective Story’,
Journal of Narrative Theory, 35(1), 60-87, 2005.
David Skal, The Monster Show, New York: Macmillan, 1994.
Required reading: Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde in the Penguin Popular Classics Edition (one pound!). Also available through JRUL
shortloan.
Discussion Questions
 How does Utterson perceive the relationship between Jekyll and Hyde for most of
the novel? Is his interpretation understandable? What are the limits of his
knowledge?
 Paying particular attention to Stevenson's descriptions of the city at night, discuss
How does Stevenson uses descriptive passages of the city at night to evoke a mood
of dread? How does this fit into his vision of human nature?
 What characterizes the way events in the novel are reported for the reader? How
does this method of narrative contribute to the thematic development of the novel?
 How does Jekyll interpret his relationship to Hyde?
 Why does Stevenson chose to tell the story from Utterson's point of view rather
than use Jekyll's from the beginning?
 How is Henry Jekyll both similiar to and different from Victor Frankenstein?
 What is the relationship between physical deformity and evil in Stevenson’s view?
 Where do issues of class or social status influence the characters’ actions, treatment
of one another, or the advice they give?
 How might Jekyll’s formula be compared to modern pharmacology?
13
Week 4 - Lecture: Context of Looking Backward (1888) and Herland (1915)
Edward Bellamy imagined the world of the year 2000 as one in which advances in technology
would solve the problem of class and allow all humans to enjoy a life centred on creative selffulfilment rather than the onerous industrial labour and radical disparities in wealth and
education that characterized his Victorian context. Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland is a
feminist utopia that questions the ability of scientific rationality to solve human problems.
Unlike Bellamy, Gilman pointed to changes in human socialization as the key, rather than
advances in technology. Both of these utopias challenged social hierarchies and dealt
optimistically with the evolutionary concerns that increasingly troubled social theorists in the
latter part of the 19th century (and which would be addressed in a far less positive way by H.G.
Wells’s Time Machine).
Background Reading:
Hilary Rose, "Dreaming the future: other worlds." chapter 9 of Love, Power and Knowledge:
towards a Feminist Transformation of the Sciences, Bloomington: Indiana Press, 1994,
pp. 208-229. (has bits on Herland)
Daphne Patai (ed.), Looking Backward, 1988-1888: Essays on Edward Bellamy, Amherst,
Mass.; London: University of Massachusetts Press, 1989.
Sheryl L. Meye, ed., Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Woman and her Work, 1989.
Jill Rudd and Val G., eds., Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Optimist Reformer, 1999.
Required reading: Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward, 2000-1887, pp 97-113 in Penguin
Classics edition. Another edition is available in the JRUL: 813.49/B414/62. Also read
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland, Chapters 1, 5-8. Herland is also on the internet:
etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/GilHerl.html
Discussion Questions
 Bellamy wrote in 1887, describing the year 2000. In what ways do you think he was
right or wrong in this description?
 What problems does Gilman see in scientific rationality, expressed in the character,
Vandyck, the sociologist?
 Which is more realistic in their plan for Utopia – Gilman, who wants to change the
way children are socialized, or Bellamy, who relies on technology to achieve a
better world?
 What are the beliefs and expectations of the men about women in both novels?
What are their stereotypes about women? How do Bellamy and Gilman challenge
them? How do they not?
 How does Gilman treat Motherhood and the nurture of children?
 What is the role of social transformation in each novel?
 What role does economic development play?
 Is there any sense of hierarchy remaining in these utopias?
 Why does it bother the men that the Herlanders don't treat them like “men?”
 Why is it significant that Bellamy’s novel is set in the future while Gilman’s is ste
in the present?
 Which utopia would you prefer to live in? Why?
14
Week 5 - Lecture: Context of The Time Machine (1895)
First published in 1895, H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine deals with themes of evolution,
class struggle and the nature of progress - topics of general concern and increasing selfdoubt in Victorian Britain at the end of the 19th century. This is reflected in his bleak
predictions about the future of the human race. In this lecture we will discuss themes of
progress and evolution in the context of Wells and Jules verne.
Background Reading:
Michael Coren, The Invisible Man: The Life and Liberties of H.G. Wells, Bloomsbury,
1993; especially Chapters Two and Three; JRUL 823.91, W461/181.
John R. Reed, The Natural History of H.G. Wells, Ohio University Press, 1982; especially
Chapter Two; JRUL 823.91, W461/184.
John Carey, The Intellectuals and the Masses, Faber & Faber, 1992. JRUL: Cres
820.9/C182
David C. Smith, H.G. Wells: Desperately Mortal, Yale, 1983. JRUL: 823.91/W461/149
Mark R. Hillegas, The Future as Nightmare: H.G. Wells and the Anti-Utopians, Oxford,
1967. JRUL: 823.91/W461/136
Required reading: H.G. Wells, The Time Machine.
Discussion Questions
 Who is the Time Traveller? What can you deduce from his narrative about his
political, social, educational background?
 What does the Time Traveller’s relationship with Weena suggest about Wells’s
ideas about women’s roles in his own society?
 Describe the Time Traveller’s role as a scientist exploring the future. Does he have
any obligations or codes of conduct he follows?
 What does the Time Traveller find in the year 30,000,000? How does this fit with
Wells’s beliefs as a Darwinist?
 How does the relationship between the Eloi and the Morlocks fit into Wells’s
social, biological and political beliefs?
 Where does the Time Traveller fit in the social hierarchy? How does this affect his
observations of the future?
 What evolutionary assumptions does the Time Traveller make about the Eloi?
 What is symbolic about Weena’s white flowers in the narrative?
 How does this novel relate to Wells’s later utopian fiction? How does it relate to his
other ‘scientific romances’ like War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man?
Week 6: Reading Week
15
Week 7 - Lecture: Context for Brave New World (1932)
Brave New World presents a startling view of the future in which technological and
political developments strip humanity of its freedom. What makes Huxley’s interpretation
different from other dystopian visions is the fact that his fictional society not only lives in
this totalitarian government, but embraces it like mindless robots. The novel addressed
several issues relevant to the 1930s including the use of pharmaceuticals, state surveillance,
the creation of social castes, and the role of science in progress. In addition, we will look at
the way in which George Orwell addressed notions of totalitarianism and fascism in the
context of Nazism in Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949).
Background Reading:
Keith Booker, Dytopian Literature Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1994.
Katie De Koster, Readings on Brave New World, San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1999.
Tom Moylan, Scraps of the Untainted Sky: Science Fiction, Utopia, Dystopia, Boulder,
CO: Westview Press, 2000.
Required Reading: Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Full text can be found online at:
<www.hedweb.com/huxley/bnw/>.
Discussion Questions
• What does the Director mean be saying that, ‘Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the
major instruments of social stability!’
• What role does John the Savage play in the novel? Why does Huxley have John the
Savage commit suicide?
• What is the significance of the World State's motto: ‘Community, Identity,
Stability’? How does the government maintain ‘social stability’ in the novel?
• What is the significance of Huxley's use of "Ford" as a substitute for "God"?
• What is the attitude about sex in the brave new world? How do John, Lenina, and
Linda handle their sexual relations in the novel?
• Why would this world be considered “evil?”
• What are the problems with utopian literature?
• How do dystopias discuss the balance between individual freedom and the needs of
the State?
• How is the World State’s motto “Community, Identity, Stability” reflected in the
novel? How might this relate to Soviet Communism?
• What does the Director mean be saying that, ‘Bokanovsky’s Process is one of the
major instruments of social stability!’ How is reproduction tied to social control?
• What role does John the Savage play in the novel? Why does Huxley have John the
Savage commit suicide?
• What is the significance of the World State's motto: ‘Community, Identity,
Stability’? How does the government maintain ‘social stability’ in the novel?
• What is the significance of Huxley's use of "Ford" as a substitute for "God"?
• What is the attitude about sex in the brave new world? How do John, Lenina, and
Linda handle their sexual relations in the novel?
• How is psychology employed in the World State?
• How are the characters names reflective of Huxley’s time?
16
Week 8 - Lecture: Context for A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959)
Written during the height of Cold War concerns over the danger of nuclear war, A Canticle
for Leibowitz is widely considered a SF classic and won the 1961 Hugo Award. Part of the
novel's success derives from its richly realized setting, a post-apocalypse America where
scraps of pre-war knowledge are gathered and preserved by a Catholic Church which no
longer understands the knowledge. Most SF is highly critical of religion, but Canticle is
distinguished by its serious consideration of religious issues. The novel also addresses
issues of technological inevitability and the circularity of history in human development.
We will also explore ideology in SF by examining the writings of the ‘grandfather’ of
‘hard-SF’ Robert Heinlein who was a staunch libertarian and anti-communist. His books
such as Starship Troopers (1959) and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966) argue for the
role of service in citizenship and the importance of militarism.
Background Reading:
David Seed, American Science Fiction and the Cold War, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, 1999. JRUL: 813.09/S112.
Frederick Kreuziger, Apocalypse and Science Fiction, Chico, CA: Scholars Press, 1982.
JRUL: 809.3/K65.
The Spring 2000 issue of Listening: Journal of Religion and Culture, 35(2) is devoted to
‘A Canticle for Leibowitz at Forty’.
Michael Strada, ‘Kaleidoscopic Nuclear Images of the Fifties’, Journal of Popular Culture
20 (3), 179–198, 1986.James Berger, After the End: Representations of PostApocalypse, Minneapolic, U. of Minnesota Press.
Required reading: Walter Miller’s A Canticle for Leibowitz.
Discussion Questions
17

















After centuries of preserving human knowledge, why are some of those in the
Church not entirely happy about its spread? In what ways does history seem to be
repeating itself?
What is the motive for the ‘Great Simplification’? Do you find it probable or
credible? Why or why not?
What evidence is there that Benjamin is the ‘Wandering Jew’, or some variation on
that theme? What evidence is there that he doesn't fit the Wandering Jew tradition
precisely?
How does this story leave you feeling about humanity? Is it optimistic? Pessimistic?
Purely nihilistic?
After centuries of preserving human knowledge, why are some of those in the
Church not entirely happy about its spread? In what ways does history seem to be
repeating itself?
What is the motive for the ‘Great Simplification’? Do you find it probable or
credible? Why or why not?
What evidence is there that Benjamin is the ‘Wandering Jew’, or some variation on
that theme? What evidence is there that he doesn't fit the Wandering Jew tradition
precisely? What evidence is there that he fits the role of ‘Lazarus’?
How does this story leave you feeling about humanity? Is it optimistic? Pessimistic?
Purely nihilistic?
What religious symbolism is evident in the novel? In what ways might Miller be
questioning his own religious beliefs?
What does the story convey about Miller’s thoughts on the threat of nuclear war?
In what ways does history seem to be repeating itself?
Why is Benjamin sceptical of the value of re-emerging technology?
After centuries of preserving human knowledge, why are some of those in the
Church not entirely happy about its spread?
How does the argument between Thaddeo and Dom Paulo relate to Miller’s overall
argument about the importance of knowledge?
Does Miller consider our own age a dystopia?
What elements of the society in the third section can be considered utopian?
What is the significance of the two-headed mutant Mrs. Grales/Rachel? Does she
have two souls? Is miller suggesting Rachel may be the ‘messiah’? Is she ‘Mary’?
18
Week 9 - Lecture: Context of the Xenogenesis Trilogy (1987-89).
Writers from minority groups in society began to grapple with science fiction in the 1960s,
using the genre to create new worlds in which race, ethnicity and other identities were no
longer stigmatised. Most explored the ‘inner space’ of future transformed societies rather than
the ‘outer space’ of the more popular technology-driven science fiction novels and films. In
the 1980s, however, minority writers began to challenge the white male exclusivity of the
scientific and technical fields through imaginative fiction. Octavia Butler’s novels pose
difficult questions about race, gender and new biotechnologies.
Background Reading:
Ziauddin Sardar & Sean Cubitt, Aliens R US: The Other in Science Fiction Cinema,
Londomn: Pluto Press, 2002. JRUL: eBook.
Marleen Barr, Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond, Chapel Hill,
N.C: University of North Carolina Press, 1993.
Ron Eglash, ‘Race, Sex, and Nerds: From Black Geeks To Asian American Hipsters’,
Social Text, 20(2), 49-64, 2002. JRUL: eJournal.
Jose Van Dijck, Imagenation: Popular Images of Genetics, NY: NY University Press,
1998. JRUL: 576.5/DIJ.
Required reading: Octavia Butler’s Dawn: Xenogenesis (1987)
Discussion Questions
 Is the main problem confronting the characters in Dawn one of humans vs aliens, or
whites vs blacks, or men vs women?
 Compare Butler’s vision of the future development of the human race with that
portrayed in The Time Machine and Brave New World. Is she creating a utopia?
 What is Butler’s impression of new genetic technologies?
 How would your reading of this book change if I told you that Octavia Butler was a
man? Or white?
 Difference is a major theme for this novel. How does Butler deal with this concept? Is
it good or bad in her view?
 Is the main problem confronting the characters in Dawn one of humans vs aliens, or
whites vs blacks, or men vs women?
 Compare Butler’s vision of the future development of the human race with that
portrayed in The Time Machine and Brave New World. Is she creating a utopia?
 What is Butler’s impression of new genetic technologies?
 How would your reading of this book change if I told you that Octavia Butler was a
man? Or white?
 Why are the human resisters so concerned about what is “human?”
 What is the “human contradiction” in this novel? Why are the Oankali afraid of
awakening men?
 What role does compromise play in this novel?
 In what ways is this story an “origin” story? Is Lilith’s character Judas, Eve, or
Mary? Why are the Oankali afraid of awakening men?
19

How might Lilith be construed as a “slave?” In what ways might she reject this
categorization?
Week 10: - Lecture: Context of Blade Runner (1982, 1992) and The Matrix (1999)
Cyberpunk developed in the mid-1980's and it narratives envision near-future worlds
dominated by information technology and global corporations. It is generally seen to have
started with the writings of William Gibson, especially Neuromancer (1983). A central
theme of cyberpunk is the relationship between man and machine - specifically, what
makes us human as we interact and depend on machines at a more and more personal level.
The Matrix takes cyberpunk themes to their extreme as human life becomes nothing more
than information. While Blade Runner shows a future in which corporations dominate the
world and cyborgs do not even know if they are human or machine. In this lecture we will
explore all of these themes as well as religious symbolism in both films.
Background Reading:
Paul M. Sammon, Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, 1996.
Emmanuel Carrere, I am Alive and You are Dead: A Journey into the Mind of Philip K.
Dick, 2004 (1993), Bloomsbury Press.
Larry McCaffery, ed., Storming the Reality Studio: A Casebook of Cyberpunk and
Postmodern Science Fiction, Durham: Duke University Press, 1991. JRUL: 810.8/M62.
Veronica Hollinger, ‘Cybernetic Deconstructions: Cyberpunk and Postmodernism’,
Mosaic, 23(2): 29-44, 1990. JRUL: eJournal.
Gerogre Slusser & Tom Shippey, eds., Fiction 2000: Cyberpunk and the Future of
Narrative, Athens: U of Georgia Press, 1992.
Required viewing: Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (The Director’s Cut) and Andy and Larry
Wachowski’s The Matrix (Store VCR 262 and Store VCR 263 in JRUL on overnight loan).
Discussion Questions
 How is the nature of capitalism treated in each of these movies? How does
science/technology fit into these visions?
 How do these films deal with the question: What is the difference between real
memories and artificial memories? How could you tell the difference? Would it
really make a difference if your memories were not your own?
 How do these films deal with the question: What does it mean to be Human?
 What is The Matrix suggesting about the nature of truth?
 How is the nature of capitalism treated in each of these movies? How does
science/technology fit into these visions?
 How do these films deal with the question: What is the difference between real
memories and artificial memories? How could you tell the difference? Would it
really make a difference if your memories were not your own?
 What is the relationship between memory and information in these films?
 How do these films deal with the question: What does it mean to be Human?
 What is The Matrix suggesting about the nature of “truth?”
 How do the religious themes in The Matrix relate to other religious themes in SF?
 How do these dystopias relate to the dystopias in Brave New World and A Canticle
for Leibowitz?
20


Do the societies in these films have any utopian aspects?
What role does advertising play in dystopian SF?
Week 11 - Lecture: Context of Red Mars (1993)
The damage that human economic systems, warfare and population growth might do to
Earth’s environment has long been a subject of science fiction, particularly in the New Wave
dystopias of the 1960s and ‘70s. Most of these novels and films were influenced by fears of
nuclear warfare and its aftermath (the background of Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep, for example). The fictional accounts of the 1980s onwards, however, have dealt
increasingly with fears of global climate change, playing out different scenarios of Earth’s
destruction. Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars (1993) details the scientific and commercial
exploration of Mars by the beleaguered population of an overcrowded Earth. This
interplanetary migration of global capitalism and human conflict naturally leads to revolution
on the newly colonised planet. As in much previous science fiction (Ray Bradbury’s Martian
Chronicles or Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, for example), Mars works its
own magic on the human psyche. The subsequent books in the Mars trilogy tell a story rather
different from the usual dystopian scenarios.
Required Reading: Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars.
Discussion Questions
 Is Robinson using a fictional depiction of Mars to argue about the effects of global
capitalism on Earth? Why or why not?
 What does Robinson’s portrayal of the characters and politics of the scientists
involved in the Mars exploration team tell us about the politics of science?
 Is it ethical for humans to terraform other planets, even uninhabited ones?
 What motivates each character to go to Mars? What motivates them once they are
on Mars?
 Does Robinson privilege any character’s ideas about Mars over the others?
 What is the role of religion in the novel? Do any of the characters have a “spiritual”
relationship with the planet?
 How does this novel encompass themes from previous novels we have studied?
 This novel is classified as “hard” science fiction. Why? How does it differ from a
“soft” science fiction novel?
 What role does genetic engineering play in Red Mars? How does this compare to
genetic manipulation as done by the Onkali in Xenogenesis?
 Could Robinson have explored these themes in a shorter novel? How?
 How does this novel relate to themes of exploration encountered in other novels?
 Is the phrase “built ecological system” an oxymoron? Why or why not?
Week 12: Exam Revision
21
Essay and Project Writing Guidelines
1. Presentation
Type your essay, double-spaced, on one side of the paper only.
Number the pages and leave margins - left, right, top and bottom - of one
inch for marker’s comments.
Course outlines will specify the word-length. Hand in two copies of your
essay, either directly to your lecturers or at a place designated by them.
Essays which ignore these guidelines will lose marks.
2. Planning the essay
Check the course outline to find out how much reading is expected for an
essay. (You will be expected to go well beyond required lecture and
seminar readings.)
Prepare an outline of your argument. The outline should list in abbreviated
form (e.g. on one side of A4), the points you wish to make, and the kind of
evidence which you will cite. Once this outline is coherent, then draft the
essay from it.
3. Writing the essay
The first paragraph should introduce the overall aims of the essay, and the
last paragraph should briefly summarise your conclusions.
In order to help the reader, your paragraph structure should mirror the
structure of your argument. Avoid a succession of very short paragraphs
(one or two sentences) or long ones (more than one page).
Although your essay may refer briefly to required readings or lectures, your
argument will need to go well beyond these sources. Simply re-iterating
points already made therein will be heavily penalised.
4. Citing sources
If you use an author’s argument or evidence, you must cite the author and
title of the work you have used. You may cite these sources at the bottom of
the page (footnotes), at the end of the essay (endnotes) or in the text in
brackets (….). Since the full reference will be in your bibliography (see 4d
below), you need only use an abbreviated form of reference, e.g. ‘Pickstone,
Medicine & Industrial Society, p. 123’.
22
Do not bother to quote an author directly unless his/her particular phrasing is
important for your argument.
If you do take text directly from a work, however, you must signal that fact;
failure to do so constitutes plagiarism (see below). Quotes of 3 lines or less
should be enclosed with inverted commas; longer quotes should be indented
as a bloc. In addition you must cite the author’s name, title and the page
where the quote appeared.
Attach a bibliography at the end of your essay. Include only those sources
you have used, following this model
Book: J.V.Pickstone, Medicine and Industrial Society (Manchester 1985).
Article: D.Edgerton, “Science and Technology in British Business History”,
Business History, vol.29 (1987), 84-103.
Use your sources critically. Simply reproducing what an author says does
not impress markers. Noticing where an author’s argument is weak does.
5. Marks
Once the essay has been marked, you may collect it from the lecturer
responsible or the appropriate tray in the CHSTM Office. The mark given at
this stage is provisional only; it does not become final until approved at the
examiners’ meeting in June.
Marks are awarded according to the following criteria:
Coverage of the relevant literature: have you drawn upon a reasonable
number of sources from the reading list?
Understanding (of lectures, required readings, and readings used in your
essay).
Structure of the argument: have you set out your argument or analysis in a
clear way and supported it with relevant evidence?
Critical capacity: have you noticed the weaknesses in some authors’ work?
Have you reflected upon the weak points in your own argument?
Quality of prose: have you used complete sentences properly punctuated?
Is your meaning clear?
Organisation of the material: does the sequence in which you present
material make sense? Have you started a new paragraph each time you
23
make a new point? Have you included an introduction and a concluding
paragraph?
Format: have you followed the essay guidelines?
Faculty of Life Sciences
CRITERIA FOR MARKING THEORY PAPERS
K
C
U
A
R
Knowledge
Coverage
Understanding
Awareness
Reading
Percentage Marks Criteria
Outstanding answer with high degree of
100
20/
originality/flair/insight. Possibly considered
“perfect” because a better answer could not
be given even by the examiner.
95
90
19
18
Outstanding answer with clear evidence of
originality/flair/insight.
K Contains all of the relevant
information with no errors or only
insignificant errors
C Addresses all aspects of the
subject
U Displays an excellent
understanding of the subject
within a wider context
A Gives extensive evidence of
critical awareness and
independent thinking
R Has read extensively beyond the
essential material
85
17
80
16
75
15
70 I/IIi borderline
14
65
60
13
12
Excellent answer, with evidence of
supplementary reading and some originality
/insight in its approach
Very good answer, well presented with
clear, logical arguments, and conveying a
clear depth of understanding or breadth of
coverage. Evidence of some original
thought.
Generally accurate, organised and wellinformed, logical and thorough. Definite
indication of extra study, attempts to analyse
Reasonably comprehensive – covering most
important points , even if limited to lecture
material. Possibly some minor omissions
K Contains all of the relevant
information with no or very few
minor errors and no major errors
C Addresses all aspects of the
subject
U Displays a good understanding of
the subject within a wider context
A Contains evidence of critical
awareness and independent
thinking
R Has read beyond the essential
material
K Contains most of the relevant
information but may include some
minor errors though no major
ones
C Addresses all aspects of the
subject but might not give
adequate coverage to all aspects
U Displays an understanding of the
24
subject within a wider context but
this might not be substantial
Iii/IIii borderline
A Contains some evidence of
critical awareness and
independent thinking but depends
mainly on factual information
R Has read and understood at least
some of the essential material
55
50
11
10
Adequate answer, but limited to lecture
material, with some minor errors or
omissions. Little or no cross referencing
between lectures.
K Contains the central core of
essential information but may
include some minor errors and a
few major errors
C Does not address all aspects of the
subject and might not give
adequate coverage to the aspects
that are addressed
U Has some understanding of the
subject within a wider context but
this might be limited
A Little evidence of critical
awareness and independent
thinking
R Might have read the essential
material, but probably with
limited understanding
45
9
Incomplete answer. Information is
Sparse, possibly poorly organised with some
or many inaccuracies.
K Contains only a limited amount of
the relevant information and may
include minor and major errors
C Addresses some aspects of the
subject but coverage of these
aspects is incomplete
40
8
Pass/compensatable fail borderline. This
mark is the bare minimum required for a
clear pass and represents attainment of the
minimal standard requisite with intended
learning objectives
U Has only a limited understanding
of the subject within a wider
context
A Very little, if any, evidence of
critical awareness and
independent thinking
R No evidence of having read the
essential material
35
30
7
6
Deficient answer. Many omissions.
Some relevant facts and general approach
sensible.
Compensatable fail/outright fail borderline.
Deficient answer. Many omissions. Some
relevant facts and general approach sensible.
This answer is barely enough to achieve
above an outright fail having barely
achieved some of the intended learning
25
K Contains very little relevant
information, though some is
present, and may include minor
and major errors
C Addresses a few aspects of the
subject but coverage is very
incomplete
U Has little or no understanding of
the subject within a wider context
A No evidence of critical awareness
and independent thinking
R No evidence of having read the
essential material
objectives
25
5
20
4
15
3
Answer largely irrelevant, but displays some
understanding of the general subject
K Contains very little relevant
information and what is present is
incomplete and probably out of
context, and there may be many
minor and major errors
Answer largely irrelevant, the information
may be poorly structured, confused with
many errors
C Coverage is sketchy and
unfocussed
U Has no understanding of the topic
within a wider context
A No evidence of critical awareness
and independent thinking
R No evidence of having read
anything
10
2
5
1
0
Answer mostly irrelevant, a very poor
answer which may only vaguely address one
aspect of the question.
K Just a few relevant words and
phrases and there may be many
minor and major errors
Hardly any answer – maybe one or 2 key
words implying the most basic awareness of
the subject
No answer, or answer totally
irrelevant/incorrect. (including cases where
the question has been mis-read).
C Coverage is wholly inadequate
U Has no context
A Totally lacking in critical
awareness and independent
thinking
R No evidence of having read
anything
CHSTM Resit Policy
(This policy applies only to those students who have failed the entire course.)
a) If the student failed just the exam, a resit exam is set.
b) If the student failed because coursework was of poor quality, s/he must resubmit
coursework in August. Where the original coursework submitted was an essay, the resit
essay should be on a new topic - specified by the lecturer - so that the student is not
effectively given two goes at the same original topic. Where other kinds of coursework
were failed, lecturers should use their discretion in setting the resit-task.
The deadline for resubmitted coursework will be the first day of the August resit-period in
order that resit marks can be sent to home-departments in time for their early Sept.
examiners meetings.
If the student failed because coursework was not submitted by the final deadline
(generally the date of the exam), the student must resubmit coursework in August (as per
previous paragraph), but a penalty will be levied (on the grounds that the indolent should
pay a price), namely: maximum mark achievable is 40%.
c) If the student failed both the exam and coursework, s/he must sit the resit exam and
submit new coursework.
26
Some Notes on Critical Reading of Academic Texts
Critical writing depends on critical reading. Most of the papers you write will involve
reflection on academic texts - the thinking and research that has already been done on your
subject. In order to write your own analysis of this subject, you will need to do careful
critical reading of sources and to use them critically to make your own argument. The
judgments and interpretations you make of the texts you read are the first steps towards
formulating your own approach.
Critical Reading: What is It?
To read critically is to make judgements about how a text is argued. This is a highly
reflective skill requiring you to "stand back" and gain some distance from the text you are
reading. (You might have to read a text through once to get a basic grasp of content before
you launch into an intensive critical reading.) THE KEY IS THIS:
*
*
don't read looking only or primarily for information
do read looking for ways of thinking about the subject matter
When you are reading, highlighting, or taking notes, avoid extracting and compiling lists of
evidence, lists of facts and examples. Avoid approaching a text by asking "What
information can I get out of it?" Rather ask "How does this text work? How is it argued?
How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text
reach its conclusions?
How Do I Read Looking for Ways of Thinking?
1.
First determine the central claims or purpose of the text (its thesis). A critical
reading attempts to assess how these central claims are developed or argued.
2.
Begin to make some judgements about context . What audience is the text written
for? Who is it in dialogue with? (This will probably be other scholars or authors with
differing viewpoints.) In what historical context is it written? All these matters of context
can contribute to your assessment of what is going on in a text.
3.
Distinguish the kinds of reasoning the text employs. What concepts are defined
and used? Does the text appeal to a theory or theories? Is any specific methodology laid
out? If there is an appeal to a particular concept, theory, or method, how is that concept,
27
theory, or method then used to organize and interpret the data? You might also examine
how the text is organized: how has the author analyzed (broken down) the material?
4.
Examine the evidence (the supporting facts, examples, etc) the text employs.
Supporting evidence is indispensable to an argument. Having worked through Steps 1-3,
you are now in a position to grasp how the evidence is used to develop the argument and its
controlling claims and concepts. Steps 1-3 allow you to see evidence in its context.
Consider the kinds of evidence that are used. What counts as evidence in this argument? Is
the evidence statistical? literary? historical? etc. From what sources is the evidence taken?
Are these sources primary or secondary?
5.
Critical reading may involve evaluation. Your reading of a text is already critical if
it accounts for and makes a series of judgments about how a text is argued. However, some
essays may also require you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of an argument. If the
argument is strong, why? Could it be better or differently supported? Are there gaps, leaps,
or inconsistencies in the argument? Is the method of analysis problematic? Could the
evidence be interpreted differently? Are the conclusions warranted by the evidence
presented? What are the unargued assumptions? Are they problematic? What might an
opposing argument be?
Some Practical Tips
1.
Critical reading occurs after some preliminary processes of reading. Begin by
skimming research materials, especially introductions and conclusions, in order to
strategically choose where to focus your critical efforts.
2.
When highlighting a text or taking notes from it, teach yourself to highlight
argument: those places in a text where an author explains her analytical moves, the
concepts she uses, how she uses them, how she arrives at conclusions. Don't let yourself
foreground and isolate facts and examples, no matter how interesting they may be. First,
look for the large patterns that give purpose, order, and meaning to those examples. The
opening sentences of paragraphs can be important to this task.
3.
When you begin to think about how you might use a portion of a text in the argument
you are forging in your own paper, try to remain aware of how this portion fits into the whole
argument from which it is taken. Paying attention to context is a fundamental critical move.
4.
When you quote directly from a source, use the quotation critically. This means that
you should not substitute the quotation for your own articulation of a point. Rather,
28
introduce the quotation by laying out the judgments you are making about it, and the
reasons why you are using it. Often a quotation is followed by some further analysis.
29