"Sales Pitch"

Wec read "Sales Pitch," by Philip K. Dick, in class on January 30 and February 1. If you have not already contributed to discussion of this story or handed in written comments, post your ideas about the story here. As with our previous couple of stories, some comments about the extrapolations in "Sales Pitch" would be interesting.

The Post-Mortem People

We read and discussed the story "The Post-Mortem People" in class on January 23 and 25. If you did not get to contribute to discussion, or if you have further thoughts about the story, please post your comments here. Remember that the discussion focused on extrapolation and the author's purpose in creating this future world.

2112

Please comment here about the song-story "2112" (by the band Rush) which we listened to in class on Friday, January 18. You might comment about the nature of the extrapolations in the song, or about how it compares to other SF stories/films you have experienced.

SF Slide Show, Part 3

If you were chosen in class, please comment on part 3 of the SF History Slide Show, which we saw in class on Wednesday, January 16. You should share either an interesting bit of knowledge about SF that you gained from the slides, or make an observation about the form of the show that you might want to address in your own update. If you were not selected in class, you have the option either to comment on the slide show itself, or to respond to one of your classmates' comments. As always, please make sure that your comments are coherent and correct.

"The Pedestrian"

Please comment on the story "The Pedestrian," which we read in class on January 14. You may address the story's ideas, your personal reactions to it, or your thoughts about its extrapolations, but please make sure your comments refer to specific elements of the story. (In other words, don't be satisfied with just saying "I liked the story" or "I didn't like the story."

If you were not assigned to comment in class, you still have the option to respond to the story or to one of your classmates comments.

SF History Slide Show, Part 2

If you were chosen in class, please comment on part 2 of the SF History Slide Show. You should share either an interesting bit of knowledge about SF that you gained from the slides, or make an observation about the form of the show that you might want to address in your own update.

If you were not selected in class, you have the option either to comment on the slide show itself, or to respond to one of your classmates' comments.

As always, please make sure that your comments are coherent and correct.

First Impressions

To make sure you are able to access the class blog, and to verify your attention to class, please write two responses. First, comment about one interesting bit of information you have learned about science fiction this week. This tidbit should be something you did not know before the class began. Second, write which of the following SF decades you would like to study and why: 1975-1984; 1985-1994; 1995-2008. Please make sure that your comments are coherent, correct, and specific