SF in the Classroom
1981; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 5; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/chq.0.1865
ISSN1553-1201
Autores Tópico(s)Themes in Literature Analysis
ResumoSF in the Classroom Carol D. Stevens Science Fiction in the English Class. Arizona English Bulletin, Fall1972. Calkins, Elizabeth, and Barry McGhan . Teaching Tomorrow: A Handbook of Science Fiction for Teachers. Dayton: Pflaum/Standard, 1972. Hollister, Bernard C., and Deane C. Thompson . Grokking the Future: Science Fiction in the Classroom. Dayton: Pflaum/Standard, 1973. Friend, Beverly . Science Fiction: The Classroom in Orbit. Glassboro, NJ: Educational Impact, Inc., 1974. Millies, Suzanne . Science Fiction Primer for Teachers. Dayton: Pflaum Publishing, 1975. Williamson, Jack , ed. Teaching Science Fiction: Education for Tomorrow. Philadelphia: Owlswick Press, 1980. Taken together, these works reflect some changes in attitudes toward the teaching of science fiction in the past decade. Yet if a single characteristic unites them, it is probably a sort of proselytizing tone: a combination of defensiveness about SF's claim to legitimacy as a literary form and missionary fervor regarding the benefits to be obtained from introducing SF into the classroom. If we are to believe all of the arguments presented here, science fiction will make our students avid readers; assist them in developing creativity, independent judgment, and social responsibility; and enhance their ability to cope with rapid change in a technological future. Rather a tall order for a genre which, in the U.S. at least, derives solidly from the pulp-and-penny-dreadful tradition and which even its chief proponents assert is lacking in some of the traditional criteria for judging literary merit, most notably effective and thorough characterization. Nevertheless, since Mark Hillegas promoted his groundbreaking course at Colgate in 1962, there has been a steady proliferation of courses in SF at the university level. As Ursula K. LeGuin puts it, "I don't think there's really much question of keeping the professors off Aldebaran. They're there." (Williamson, p. 21) And joining them are increasing numbers of high school, junior high, and even elementary school teachers eager to introduce their students to SF through courses, mini-courses, modules, [End Page 16]and units, for a variety of reasons and using a variety of approaches. Those of us who hid our copies of Edgar Rice Burroughs in geography books and read Lucky Starr by flashlight under the covers regard the phenomenon with mingled amusement, apprehension, and enthusiasm. Judging from the above listed works, we have a lot of company. In one form or another, most of them pose similar questions regarding genre definition, literary worth, escapism, issues orientation, et al.Many of them offer useful suggestions for integrating SF into the curriculum. And underneath it all lies a hesitancy, a persistent and increasingly vocalized question: will academic respectability kill a good thing? One of the earliest works is also one of the most thorough on all counts. Science Fiction in the English Class, a special issue of the Arizona English Bulletin, is superseded in variety and thoroughness of approach only by Jack Williamson's collection of essays published this fall. Errol Zimmerman's "The Study of Science Fiction: Is 'Future' Worth the Time?" is one of many essays which both trace the development of SF from the pulps and present its "creative approaches to futurism" as one of its chief virtues. In fact, its chief justification, emphatically not an aesthetic criterion, is that "It is the only body of literature we have which seriously examines the future": a standard which can be applied equally to H.G. Wells and Frank Herbert, Jules Verne and Arthur C. Clarke. Other essays echo the tone and develop the content of Zimmerman's, providing a more detailed historical context. Some, like Elaine Keller and Deborah Rosen's "Yesterday and Tomorrow: A Study of the Utopian and Dystopian Vision," offer detailed rationales, course outlines, syllabi, and bibliographies for courses unified by theme or type. Theirs is notable not only for its thoroughness and logic but also for its flexibility. Several pieces deal with science fiction in the junior high school curriculum. Jeanne K. Smith ("A Sampler of Science Fiction for Junior High") offers several criteria for judging the appeal of SF to a younger adolescent audience. These include a main character in his teens, a "task-oriented" rather than moral or ethical trial, the absence of adults...
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