Latino/a and Caribbean Science Fiction
English 3515-110
Spring 2016
“We should be a space-faring people, if only to leave and come back”
(Carl Marcum, from Latino/a Rising)
Class:
206-A Morales Carrión
MWF: 11:00-11:50
Professor:
Matthew David Goodwin
Office:
221 Morales Carrión
Office Hours:
Monday/Wednesday: 12PM—3PM
Contact Information:
matthew.goodwin@upr.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an introduction to Latino/a and Caribbean science fiction written predominantly in
English (but not exclusively). The course will cover novels and short stories, films, comics, and
art. We will study science fiction from the perspective of, as Nalo Hopkinson writes, “the wrong
side of the strange-looking ship that appears out of nowhere.” Through its unique set of artistic
techniques, science fiction offers a new perspective on the diverse experiences of U.S. Latinos
and Caribeños. How have Latino and Caribbean writers and artists used science fiction to depict
the experience of migration, colonialism, and race? What are the benefits and limitations of
using science fiction allegory for political and aesthetic purposes? Since science fiction enables
us to envision alternate social systems, what role does pan-ethnic Latino and Caribbean
collaboration play in science fiction? This course will equip you with the necessary analytical
tools to understand this field through both the history of Latino literature and the history of
science fiction. In this course, we continue the recovery project of Latino and Caribbean Science
Fiction, a genre with a rich history, a dynamic present, and a potentially marvelous future. The
course then calls on you to pick up the mantel and to become a part of the future of Latino and
Caribbean science fiction.
REQUIRED TEXTS
The syllabus and many of the texts for the class are found on my Google Drive.
Full link:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5b4LfLRmrpPc2R3dVFzLXEzbTg&usp=sharing
Books you need to get through Amazon, either a physical copy or the ebook:
Yoss: A Planet for Rent
Ernest Hogan: Smoking Mirror Blues
Sabrina Vourvoulias: Ink
Los Bros. Hernandez: Amor y Cohetes
Frank Espinosa: Rocketo Volume 1: Journey to the Hidden Sea
Pedro Cabiya: The Head
James Stevens-Arce: “Soulsaver” (THE SHORT STORY, NOT THE NOVEL)
I suggest getting some kind of tablet reader or a Kindle Paperwhite.
Otherwise, you can download the kindle reader to your smart phone or laptop for free. Or,
simply sign up for an Amazon account and use it on any PC. I will provide most texts in PDF in
case you are not able to get the books.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS & EXPECTATIONS
Grading:
35%: Comparative Essay (7 pages)
30%: LSF Podcast
15%: Blog (13 posts, 2 autoretratos)
10%: Blog Leader and Presentation (10 minutes, in pairs)
10%: Participation
Don’t plagiarize, that is, taking ideas, words, phrases, paragraphs, entire essays from other
people and passing them off as your own work. It’s cheating. It’s against the spirit and policies
of the university. If you plagiarize you will receive an F in the course. In fact, no sources other
than your little grey cells and the texts we are reading are required. If you want to respond to an
idea from another student in your blogs just make sure to acknowledge that the idea was his or
hers. I recommend not using random websites, since they are very often filled with errors. If
you are citing an academic essay, make sure to put in the proper citation. On how to cite using
the MLA method see “The Owl” website.
Typical Class Structure:
Attendance/Recap/Plan: 5 minutes
Blog Presentation (or discussion of blogs by professor): 10 minutes
Lecture and Large Group Discussion: 20 minutes
Small Group Discussion: 10 minutes
Conclusion: 5 minutes
Comparative Essay:
The Comparative Essay is the first major writing assignment for the class. You will provide a 1page double spaced proposal in week 4 which should contain the topic, summaries of the stories,
and some initial thoughts about them.
Choose two stories from the syllabus to compare and contrast. Here are the options:
1) Compare and contrast satire/humor in: Juan José Arreola: “Baby H.P.” and
Magdalena Mouján: "Gu Ta Gutarrak (We and Our Own)"
2) Compare and contrast science fiction sexuality in: Gloria Anzaldúa: “Interface” and
Daína Chaviano: “The Annunciation”
3) Compare and contrast the uses of androids in Luis Valdez: Los Vendidos and Ridley
Scott: Bladerunner (additional reading required: Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep?)
4) Compare and contrast outer space migration in: Bef: “Bajo un Cielo Ajeno” and one
chapter/story of Yoss: A Planet for Rent
5) Compare and contrast alien invasion and colonialism in Richie Narvaez: “Room for
Rent” and Silva Moreno-Garcia: “Them Ships”
6) Compare and contrast the joining of the human and technological in Alex Hernandez:
“Beasts on the Shores of Life” and Guillermo Lavín: “Reaching the Shore”
7) Compare and contrast the second generation immigrant experience in Alex
Hernandez: “Caridad” and Nalo Hopkinson: “A Habit of Waste”
If you have an idea for another essay not listed here, simply contact me.
A comparative essay can be structured at least in two ways. Either examine one story, the other,
and have a third section comparing them. Or, discuss both stories together in regard to two or
three related topics.
There will be the possibility of reading your essay during an English Week symposium
(Wednesday 3/16). More information on English Week will be forthcoming.
Although you will be meeting with your tutorial partner about your essay, it is not a group
project.
LSF Podcast:
After Spring Break you will begin a project to create a 15-minute podcast which you will post on
your blog, along with a script of the podcast. A 15-minute radio drama is about 6-7 pages of
script. A template for a Radio Drama script will be provided and should be followed. I suggest
using Audacity to record the show, however, there are many audio recording programs (Garage
Band, Adobe Audition, etc.). Training for the software will be provided in the course.
You have a couple of options:
A) Create your own Latino/a or Caribbean science fiction short story. Record yourself
reading the story. Include a 1-page artist statement that explains your creative process.
B) Adapt a published work of Latino Science Fiction into a Golden Age Radio Show.
Include a 1-page artist statement that explains your creative process.
C) Contact an author/artist of science fiction for a recorded interview. Add a 1-page
description of what you learned from the interview and how it helped illuminate one of
their works of science fiction.
D) Choose your favorite work of Latino/a or Caribbean science fiction. Provide a summary
and a critical analysis of one aspect or topic in the work. Make your podcast engaging by
putting it in the form of a dialogue, story, exposé, or another style of radio show.
This project can be done by yourself or in groups of up to four. With each additional student, 15
more minutes is added to the podcast (so, two students need to produce a 30-minute show, etc.).
In group projects, each student needs to be responsible for writing or adapting specific parts of
the show. Groups need to explain the division of labor on their script.
Post your podcast (ideally as an MP3 file) and the script in a regular blog post.
Blog:
You will be maintaining an academic blog throughout the semester. 13 Blog posts and 2
Autoretratos are required. You will make a blog post basically once a week and they are due
before class begins. You will write about the readings that are highlighted in yellow on the class
schedule. If there are two readings, simply pick one to write about. When you have a novel or
film, you need to make only one blog post about the entirety of the novel/film. Blog posts for
films seen in-class are due 24 hours after class ends.
I have a blog site that I use for all of my classes: www.teachermirror.com. You will also create
and maintain your own blog. This blog will be connected to the class blog and should only be
used for class matters. In order to access the student blogs, someone needs to have an Edublogs
account. You can personalize your website however you wish, but I recommend using a
template which is functional on mobile devices. An Edublogs app is available.
For some very basic information about blogs
Organize your blog using these “Pages”:
1) Home
Your blog journal is located on your home page. This is the default place to put blog
posts. For each post you will write a brief reflection on the reading for the day which
includes a 2 sentence personal reaction to the text, a two sentence summary, and four to
five sentences giving a critical analysis or interpretation of one aspect of the text. My
perspective is that we learn best when we engage the readings from these three
standpoints. You are encouraged to include images, videos, or web resources, but the
post must include these three written elements. The blog entry should be posted on your
blog before class begins. Late posts will not be accepted for the grade.
2) Autoretrato
You will be making a review of your own blogging in the middle of the course and at the
end of the course. Examine your posts and analyze them closely for patterns. What
aspects of the texts do you normally focus on? How can you improve your ability to
critically analyze literary texts? Write a one paragraph analysis of your blogging and add
it to this page. Quote key parts of your posts and note what you think are your top three
posts. Creative selfies are encouraged. After each autoretrato has been posted, you will
receive a grade for the blog as a whole up to that point. The blog will be graded twice
during the course; however I will be reading your posts throughout the course.
3) About Me
Tell us the basics: major, academic interests, and anything else.
How to set up your blog:
1) Sign up for a new account (this is a free service for you). You need to go here first:
http://edublogs.org/
2) Blog Type: Student
Username: course section, your first name, three random numbers (For example:
110luis836)
Email: Skip this
Password: Put in a strong password
‘I want to use invite code”: 4747942-spring2016
“Type in words above”
“I agree to terms of service”
“Continue to Create A Blog”
3) Blog Domain: Same as username
Blog Title: Like this: Roberto’s Blog for English 3515-110
Register and Create Blog
4) Go to your “Dashboard.”
5) Customize your blog (pick a theme, preferably mobile friendly)
6) ADD YOUR INFORMATION TO THE
CLASS INFORMATION LIST.
7) Each blog post should have a title like this:
Blog #1: Rodney Morales: “Ship of Dreams”
Once the semester is over and the grades are submitted, I'll need to delete your blogs so that I can
add the new ones for next semester. But, I don't want you to lose your blog posts if you want to
keep them. There are a couple of ways to save them:
1) Copy/paste each post into a Word Doc.
2) Save your webpage. In Firefox, you go to the menu on the top right of the browser. Click
"Save Page" and put it on your computer. Then, you basically have a reproduction of the blog in
its latest form.
3) Follow the instructions here: https://help.edublogs.org/blog-to-book/
You need to "export" all of your blogs from your dashboard then go to this website and turn it
into a PDF: https://www.blogbooker.com/
Blog Leader and Presentation:
Once during the course, you, along with your tutorial partner, will separately make MEGABLOG-POSTs, comment on your peers’ blog posts, and give a presentation about your own blog
posts for the class. Each student will receive a separate grade (as opposed to a joint grade for
your both). Sign up on the blog presentation schedule here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IobKVDWvRm8HHP5I8PkPW0fobztlENut8dD1vpXyujU
/edit?usp=sharing
Here are your responsibilities:
A) 24 hours before the class begins, post a MEGA-BLOG-POST. A Mega-blog-post
contains the 3 elements of a normal blog post, plus an additional paragraph that goes
beyond a regular post. There are a number of ways to write this extra paragraph: 1) pick
a key word/image in the text, explain it, explore it, show how it functions throughout the
story. 2) Compare/contrast this story to another science fiction story (from the syllabus
or not). 3) Read an academic essay on the work or author you are discussing, report on
the essay, state the ways you agree or disagree (don’t choose a random website). 4)
Interview the author or present information from an interview with the author that you
find online.
B) In addition, you will comment on all your peers’ posts. These should be substantial
comments that respond to specific elements of the posts. You can certainly be critical, but
remember to respectful as well. Divide the labor: 15 comments for each student in the
pair. You will not be penalized if some students do not make blog posts. These
comments can be done before or after class, but they will be due 24 hours after the class
ends.
C) Come to class to continue the conversation. Have a 10-minute presentation ready. We’ll
start with one student then move to the other (go alphabetically by last name). You
should do a couple of things:
1) Read out-loud and discuss your MEGA-BLOG-POST. I will show them on the
projector and you can have them in hand if you want. Expand on your post. How did
you choose your topic or focus? What did you learn from the process? How do you
understand the story better?
2) The other student then plays Devil’s Advocate. Offer alternative perspectives to your
partner’s blog post. Give examples that may not be covered by your partner’s
argument or theory. Offer constructive criticism (not grammar related). The pair
should then continue the conversation till about 5 minutes.
3) Switch to the second student’s presentation.
4) Given extra time at the end you can do any of the following: A) State what questions,
concerns, or interests about the story still remain. Explore these final issues, and
synthesize the information: what are the strongest arguments, what can we learn from
the weakest, and ultimately what is the most reasonable interpretation of the text?
Give us the final say on the conversation as it is so far. B) Discuss 1 or 2 posts of
other students that were interesting to you. Point out what was important about the
posts and how they helped you gain some insight into the story. If there are enough
posts made before class, make some observations about the patterns, what students
are interested in and what debates have arisen. C) Open up to question and answer
from the class.
Participation:
Your participation in the class is essential. In order to learn, you need to take an active role in
the course. Participation will be evaluated by the following: class attendance, tutorials and
tutorial reports, and other possible events such as the English Week. More than 3 unexcused
absences will result in a letter drop in the participation grade (every subsequent unexcused
absence will result in an additional letter drop). In addition, your participation grade will be
negatively affected by internet surfing or doing homework in class, or too frequent (and
intentional) projectile vomiting.
Tutorials:
The tutorial approach emphasizes active engagement and in-depth analysis. Instead of class, you
and another student will meet with me and discuss the ideas in your papers for one hour. You
will read your partner’s paper and fill out the tutorial discussion sheet prior to the tutorial. Come
to the tutorial with your paper, your partner’s paper, and the tutorial discussion sheet (cookies,
coffee, tea, etc are encouraged). The structure of the tutorial is as follows:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Brief presentation of the paper’s thesis and major points in the argument
Critique by the other student
Critique by the professor
Exploration of ideas in the paper lead by the students
Students switch roles
There are two tutorials in the course. Because of time constraints, each has a different structure.
Tutorial #1:
The first tutorial will be held outside of class time and at my office.
Tutorial #2:
The second tutorial should be held at the same time as class but at the place of your choosing. I
will not be present at this tutorial.
Sign up on the tutorial schedule here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IobKVDWvRm8HHP5I8PkPW0fobztlENut8dD1vpXyujU
/edit?usp=sharing
After each tutorial, write up a one-page double spaced report which describes what happened in
the tutorial. Make sure to include the major critiques that were offered along with responses.
Turn in a copy of your tutorial report to the professor at the class following the tutorial.
CLASS SCHEDULE
___ indicates that a Blog post is due for this reading before class begins.
Part I: Genres in Flux
Week One:
Wednesday 1/20: Introduction; Pedro Zagitt: “Misinformed” and “Circular Photography”
Friday 1/22: NO CLASS
Week Two:
Monday 1/25: Blog set up
Wednesday 1/27: ADÁL: Coconauts in Space
Friday 1/29: Juan José Arreola: “Baby H.P; Magdalena Mouján: "Gu Ta Gutarrak (We and Our
Own)"
Week Three:
Monday 2/1: Pablo Capanna: “Acronia”
Wednesday 2/3: Gloria Anzaldúa: “Interface”; Daína Chaviano: “The Annunciation”
Friday 2/5: Luis Valdez: Los Vendidos
Week Four:
Monday 2/8: In-Class Film: Ridley Scott: Bladerunner
Wednesday 2/10: In-Class Film: Ridley Scott: Bladerunner
Friday 2/12: In-Class Film: Ridley Scott: Bladerunner
Comparative Essay Proposal Due (bring to class, 1-page double spaced)
Part II: Colonialism—Migration
Week Five:
Monday 2/15: NO CLASS
Wednesday 2/17: Bef: “Bajo un Cielo Ajeno”
Friday 2/19: Silva Moreno-Garcia: “Them Ships”; Richie Narvaez: “Room for Rent”
Week Six:
Monday 2/22: Yoss: A Planet for Rent (“For Rent, One Planet” to “Performing Death”)
Wednesday 2/24: Yoss: A Planet for Rent (“The Sacred Tigers” to “Aptitude Assessment”)
Friday 2/26: Yoss: A Planet for Rent (“Divers” to “The Platinum Card”)
Week Seven:
Monday 2/29: Alex Hernandez: “Beasts on the Shores of Life”
Wednesday 3/2: Guillermo Lavín: “Reaching the Shore”
Friday 3/4: Nalo Hopkinson: “A Habit of Waste”; Alex Hernandez: “Caridad”
Week Eight:
Monday 3/7: Comparative Essay Due (bring two copies of the paper to class, one for me, one for
your partner)
Wednesday 3/9: NO CLASS: Tutorial #1
Friday 3/11: NO CLASS: Tutorial #1
Week Nine:
Monday 3/14: At Home Film: Guillermo Gómez-Peña: “Naftaztec: Pirate Cyber-TV for A.D.
2000”
Tutorial #1 Report Due (hand in copy at class)
Wednesday 3/16: STUDENT PRESENTATIONS FOR ENGLISH WEEK
Friday 3/18: At Home Film: Alex Rivera: A Robot Walks into a Bar
Autoretrato #1 Due (put on your blog page “Autoretrato”)
SEMANA SANTA: 3/21—3/26
Part III: The Future of Solidarity
Week Ten:
Monday 3/28: Ernest Hogan: Smoking Mirror Blues Part I
Wednesday 3/30: Ernest Hogan: Smoking Mirror Blues Part II
Friday 4/1: Ernest Hogan: Smoking Mirror Blues Part III
Week Eleven:
Monday 4/4: Gabriel Trujillo Muñoz: “Cajunia”
Wednesday 4/6: Carlos Hernandez: “Entanglements”
Friday 4/8: Marcos Santiago Gonsalez: “Traditions”; Richie Narvaez: “Rough Night in Toronto”
Week Twelve:
Monday 4/11: Sabrina Vourvoulias: Ink Part I
Wednesday 4/13: Sabrina Vourvoulias: Ink Part II
Friday 4/15: Sabrina Vourvoulias: Ink Part III
Part IV: The Canon and Literary Politics
Week Thirteen:
Monday 4/18: Los Bros. Hernandez: Amor y Cohetes
Wednesday 4/20: Frank Espinosa: Rocketo Volume 1: Journey to the Hidden Sea (0-3)
Friday 4/22: Frank Espinosa: Rocketo Volume 1: Journey to the Hidden Sea (4-6)
Week Fourteen:
Monday 4/25: Pedro Cabiya: The Head (1-6)
Wednesday 4/27: Pedro Cabiya: The Head (7-12)
Friday 4/29: James Stevens-Arce: “Soulsaver”
Week Fifteen:
Monday 5/2: NO CLASS: Tutorial #2: Outside of Class (without professor)
LSF Podcast Due: Post on your blog
Wednesday 5/4: Junot Díaz: “Monstro”; Carmen Maria Machado: “Inventory”
Tutorial #2 Report Due (hand in copy at class)
Friday 5/6: Pablo Brescia: “Code 51”; Edmundo Paz-Soldán: “Artificial”
Week Sixteen:
Monday 5/9: Carl Marcum: “A Science Fiction” and “SciFi-ku”
Autoretrato #2 Due (put on your blog page “Autoretrato”)
Wednesday 5/11: Conclusion