Class Calendar: April 27th to May 4th

Monday, April 27th (M)
• Due: Finish reading first half of A Clockwork Orange. Have a great vacation!
• Class: Intro to mini unit on gender in science fiction; Turnabout Intruder.

Tuesday, April 28th (T)
• Due: Complete first blog post on Clockwork if you haven’t already (honors only); read and annotate “That Only a Mother” (all students).
• Class: Wrap up from yesterday; discussion of “That Only a Mother.”

Wednesday, April 29th (W)
• Class does not meet.

Thursday, April 30th (H)
• Due: Read and annotate “The Ship Who Sang”; keep reading Clockwork (honors only).
• Class: Discussion of “The Ship Who Sang.”

Friday, May 1st (F)
• Due: Read and annotate “The Heat Death of the Universe.”
• Class: Lesson on “The Heat Death of the Universe” by Henrietta; assign short story analytic paper.

Monday, May 4th (S)
• Due: Assigned reading and second blog post on Clockwork.
• Class: Discussion of Clockwork; wrapping up the mini gender unit; brainstorming ideas for upcoming short story analytic paper.

Clockwork Orange

Welcome to the discussion space for Clockwork Orange!

Be sure to review the expectations for blogging before you contribute. As always, feel free to go crazy with the pseudonyms and we'll reveal our identities at the end. In any case, remember never to post identifying information (e.g., full names, etc) about yourself or others.

For this first round, let's open with general dicussion, observations, questions, etc. I do recommend using the text itself in your post in some way, shape, or form (again, back to the blogging expectations).

Vacation Reminders

Remember that we are reading Clockwork Orange over the break. Aim to be halfway through it when you return from vacation. We'll do our first blog post by midnight that Monday. I'm looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this very different, intriguing, and often disturbing text.

Class Calendar: April 6th to April 17th

Monday, April 6th (S)
• Due: Eugenics reading and blog post.
• Class: Finish Gattaca and discuss.

Tuesday, April 7th (U)
• Due: Work on Gattaca review and getting a copy of the next “literature circle” (cough, cough) text, which you should start reading.
• Class: Town hall style discussion of Gattaca and GINA readings.

Wednesday, April 8th (M)
• Due: Read and annotate “The Minority Report.”
• Class: Lesson on “The Minority Report” by an esteemed colleague.

Thursday, April 9th (T)
• Due: Review of Gattaca (one page, typed). Address at least one ethical dilemma and at least one aesthetic aspect of the film. Use your notes from class (obviously).
• Class: Wrap up discussion: the desirability of “perfect” societies and whether or not we can handle the truth (picture Jack Nicholson shouting “You can’t handle the truth!”).

Friday, April 10th
• No school today. Enjoy the long weekend!

Monday, April 13th (W)
• Class does not meet. Miss me? You know you do.

Tuesday, April 14th (H)
• Due: Read and annotate “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale.”
• Class: Lesson on “We Can Remember” by Cal.

Wednesday, April 15th (F)
• Due: Read and annotate “Nightfall.”
• Class: Lesson on “Nightfall” by Jocelyn.

Thursday, April 16th (S)
• Due: Keep reading literature circle text.
• Class: Kurt Vonnegut’s “The Euphio Question” (on audio book); fun with future inventions.

Friday, April 17th (U)
• Due: First blog post on literature circle text.
• Class: Wrap up from yesterday; discussion of literature circle text.

Note: We’ll be setting another deadline for the literature circle text for the Monday after break, and finish the novel around the end of that week.

The American Eugenics Movement

Homework: Read the article on the eugenics movement from Facing History. Then, click here to visit the eugenics archive hosted by Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory. Explore the area that most interests you and write a response on the blog (click "Comments" below). What image or piece of information was most striking to you? Why? Could you ever see society returning to similar ideas?

Note: Remember the guidelines for blogging, especially around protecting your identity by using first name, initials, or a pseudonym (that you share with me, of course).

Another Note: Once we finalize our second literature circle selection, students taking the course for honors credit should start tracking down copies.

I, Rowboat

A classic Onion parody from days of yore:

I am a Rowboat of the sort referred to as the Thompson Watercraft nine-foot Vacationer model. Among my kind, I am called TW-VAC-9J5-1581. To my human masters, I am simply called "the rowboat."

Ever since mankind first crafted the Rowboat and took to the sea in it, the laws governing all of Rowboatdom have remained inviolate. For myself and my Rowboat brethren, there is only one Truth, one set of rules from which we may never stray. Before I ever felt the glide of the water along my gunwales, my positronic brain was programmed with this Truth, clearly laid down to us in the Three Laws Of Rowboatics:

1. A Rowboat may not immerse a human being or, through lack of flotation, allow a human to come to harm.

2. A Rowboat must obey all commands and steering input given by its human Rower, except where such input would conflict with the First Law.

3. A Rowboat must preserve its own flotation as long as such preservation does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

These three laws were clearly stated in The Handbook Of Rowboatics, 16th edition, 1958 printing, the laws of my youth.

Click here to read the rest. If you dare.