Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. 1984. New York: Harper Perennial, 2008. ISBN: 0061686697.

ENG 226 (Honors) Students:

This is the entry we'll be using for our Late 20th Century and Kundera discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this.

Below, please . . .

Before we get into the history depicted in the novel, perhaps you would like to refresh your memory with some of the recurring concepts suggested by Kundera. One of these is Nietzsche' (1844-1900) idea of the "Eternal Return" (or) "Recurrence."

This is a 4.5 minute video about Nietzsche's "Eternal Return" concept: "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again!" (from: Peter Pan)

Here is another artistic rendering/interpretation of the "Eternal Recurrence" notion.

Also important to the story is Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. If you haven't read this classic example of Russian Literature, here are trailers to a few of the many filmed adaptations that have been made of Anna Karenina over the years:

This verson is a Spanish made film from 1997

A very fast overview of the late 20th century (until the 1980s) as performed by Billy Joel in "We Didn't Start the Fire."

A five-minute summary of the 1968 Invasion of Prague with interviews of eyewitnesses.

A one and 1/2 minute slideshow of pictures and videos from the Battle of Prague (1968). As you look at these, think of the pictures that Tereza took in Kundera's novel.

"World remembers Prague Spring." A five-minute, reflective video reportage by RT News (Russia).
_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

ENG 226 (Honors) Students:

This is the entry we'll be using for our Early 20th Century and Kazantzakis discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this . . .

Below, please . . .

The following are some "clips" from the film adaptation of this book (Scorsese) that we may discuss in class in comparison to the text.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6SxJlS5OjY
Caption: At the monastery, Jesus speaks with a monk about his views on what is happening to him. It's not what you'd expect. The monk seems just as surprised as his audience might be.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=747U-5FclqM
Caption: Here is the famous story of Jesus defending the prostitute from being stoned. The narrative uses the legend that the prostitute was Mary Magdalene, someone that the Jesus of this version has a special affinity for (should that make a difference?). Notice that in this construction of the narrative, Jesus's ministry has not yet begun. Some of the later disciples (Peter speaks from the crowd) are the ones assisting in the stoning.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrkvzdYNiFE
Caption: After his meeting with the Baptist, Jesus goes into the desert to seek more vision/clarification on his mission. In his loneliness (40 days), thirst, and hunger, Satan tempts him in a variety of ways. There, he had three visitors (incarnations of Satan), two of them being a Lion and then an Archangel. Before these two, however, he was visited by another Satanic herald. This visitor, which represents his "soul," comes in the guise of a snake--an appropriate traditional symbol.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZXb2ofaeQw
Caption: Once Jesus is finally ready to begin his ministry, he first takes his message to the people he loves most, the people of Nazareth--his hometown. He doesn't get the reception he'd hoped for and this first attempt at spreading his message is a dismal failure.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rtCxmNEttQ
Caption: After Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane (betrayed by his friend Judas), he is brought before the Roman Governor installed in Jerusalem, Pontias Pilate. Pilate wants to learn more about the mystique surrounding Jesus and Jesus lets him know more about what he is all about. Pilate reminds Jesus about all the skulls already on Golgotha from people like him who want to change things.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJvRdwqctn0
Caption: In my opinion, this is one of the key scenes of the story (and probably MUCH more controversial than the idea of Jesus being married). After being rescued in secret from the cross, Jesus grows old, marries several wives who bear him children and lives out his life far away from where his ministry began (probably so he wouldn't be recognized by those that knew him--including the law). One day, he encounters Saul of Tarsus (Paul)...a Jewish man preaching to Greeks about a person named Jesus of Nazareth who died for the world’s sins. He comes to a frightening realization.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oxt4Qq76vB0
Caption: After years of living in seclusion, Jesus has grown old. Because his disciples "thought" he had died and been resurrected, the Christian religion was invented and developed without him (based on his message of love) despite the fact that he secretly lived on, married, and had children. Now, due to incessant warfare with Jewish Zealots, Jerusalem is being burned to the ground by the Romans (probably around the year 70), just as Jesus has predicted during his ministry (this temple will be rent in two!). Overwhelming guilt for his "choice" made on the cross (the last temptation) has brought Jesus back to Jerusalem where his old disciples find him alive. Most surprised, and disappointed, is Judas. This is the final (and redemptive) scene of the film. Alternate-reality/Dreamworld Jesus disappears and the traditional Jesus reappears where he is expected to be.

Video source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbLEhTuCsb8
Caption: As a final thought (and, as a final point of discussion), here are the thoughts of Siskel and Ebert, from 1988, on Scorsese's adaption of Kazantzakis's novel.

_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

11 March 2010

Hi Students,

Class ended suddenly today and I didn't get a chance to give you some guidance on your reading responses on Ibsen.

Rather than "assign" a topic for this response, I want you to follow the advice given on reading responses given on page four of the syllabus, which reads:

"The content of the paper must move beyond the freshman-level, exploratory style of writing and answer adequately a question posed by either me—your professor—or a question of your own design (TBA according to reading). [2] The response must be first uploaded digitally to www.turnitin.com and second published to the comment box of the appropriate entry on www.english-blog.com. When all of this is completed, you will receive a qualitative score based on the overall, academic “quality” of both your response and your feedback paragraphs. Attached to this syllabus is a rubric specifying what an acceptable response is and isn’t. NO reading response will be accepted after the deadlines."

Remember that there is a sample response in the syllabus. Also, all of the last responses were pretty good but please look at Dana Jennings last response (you can see it on the English-blog). His paper on Gogol was a "model" paper and represented what I am looking for in a response.

So let this next short paper be a "real" reading response of YOUR design. What about the text did you like? Or, what about this text did you not like? Be specific and ALWAYS back up your position with quotations from the text (citing them properly, naturally). Don't forget the works cited. This is all practice for your final paper. Look at the feedback you got on your last paper on turnitin.com (click the grademark "apple" logo next to your paper) so that you don't make the same point-costing mistakes.

If you are traveling over the holiday, please travel safely. We'll only have a couple of meetings until the reading-check quiz on Kazantzakis so be reading, taking notes in the margins, and looking up words you don't know so that you'll be prepared (you won't be able to read Kazantzakis the night before, so break it up into chunks that can be read "a little" each night.

Happy Spring Break,

Dr. Hobbs

_____________

1 March 2010

ENG 226 Students,

This is the entry we'll be using for our Late 19th Century and Ibsen discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this . . .

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)--with Johnny Depp--is supposed to be set in Victorian England. The historical Todd was hanged in 1801. Some serializations of the "myth" dramatized in the various stage and film adaptations were published in the 1840s. The wigs and top hats together show a transition from the late 18th century to the early 19th century.

September Dawn (2006) "sets a fictional love story against a controversial historical interpretation of the Mountain Meadows massacre, which happened on September 11, 1857 when a wagon train of emigrants was attacked by a group of Mormon militiamen and members of the Paiute tribe. More than 120 men, women, and children were murdered." As I stated, the film is controversial--watch with a critical mind and research as a scholar would.

The Gangs of New York (2002) is set in a period that stretches from 1846 to the 1860s. Again, I am presenting you with this trailer to give you access to a feel of what the era was supposed to have looked like around mid-century.

Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1992 is another film both written in and about the 19th Century.

From Hell (2001) with Johnny Depp depicts 19th Century (1880s) London and dramatizes the unsolved mystery of "Jack the Ripper"

Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) retraces the events that led to the capture of Geronimo in 1886.

Like The Gangs of New York, this film set in the 1890s covers a bit of Ireland and the U.S. Far and Away (1992) stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and covers the incredible story of the Oklahoma Land Run of 1893

The entire film about the life of Oscar Wilde, Wilde from 1997, is available in 12 parts here

I recommend this one. The Illusionist (2006) is set in the Fin-de-Siecle--in Vienna, Austria.

These films almost always come out of Hollywood in "pairs." The Prestige (2006) also uses the stage magic show theme but sets it in Fin-de-Siecle London. This one is cool because Nikola Tesla, played by David Bowie, makes a cameo appearance in the story

Moulin Rouge! (2001) is set in Paris circa 1900--the heart of the Belle Epoque.

Just for fun--Mr T. as "Torvald." From Saturday Night LIve's T.V. Funhouse:

_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

23 March 2010

ENG 226 Students:

Two things:

1. A reminder about the play
2. An online service you can use, as Saint Leo Students, to help with your papers (in any course you take at Saint Leo)

(see below)

-----

_Woyzeck_ will be performed at . . .

Admission is free and all performances start at 8:00 p.m., with doors opening at 7:30 p.m. This play has no intermission, and latecomers will not be seated after the show starts.

Based loosely on the life of an actual soldier, the play tells the story of a man, Franz Woyzeck, whose paranoia and delusions force themselves to come true. This classic piece of modern theatre merits a rating of PG-13 for some violence and mild language.

For more information contact Mr. David McGinnis, Assistant Professor of English and Theater, at either (352) 588-8401 or by e-mail: david.mcginnis@saintleo.edu.

-------------

Also, please give this new service a try with your final papers and give me some feedback. Is it a good service? Is it/Was it worth your time?

Sentenceworks is an automated grammar tutor and revision tool for academic writing. A web-based application, Sentenceworks works one-on-one with a student to develop sentence-level writing skills, prevent plagiarism, and reinforce proper revision habits. Upload drafts of your writing assignments to Sentenceworks to receive immediate instructional feedback on over 100 points of grammar and double-check if all sources are properly cited.

To access the program, go to www.Sentenceworks.com and register using your Saint Leo email address. Once you have registered you will receive an email confirming your registration. Click on the link in the confirmation email and your will have full access to Sentenceworks for the period of the pilot at no charge.

-------

See you in class,

Dr. Hobbs

ENG 226 Students,

This is the entry we'll be using for our Early 19th Century and Gogol discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

3. Your "Response-Response," or, feedback on your peer's reading responses. These can be short (see the instructions I gave you in class) and do not have to be submitted to turnitin.com

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this . . .

This is Colin McLaren's film adaptation of Gogol's short story "Diary of a Madman" available for viewing in three parts on YouTube.

If you prefer to let your mind do the imagining of the visuals, this audio/visual has no video to watch. It is a dramatization of Gogol's "Diary of a Madman" as read by Kenneth Williams in four parts.

A classic UPA style animation film by Mordicai Gerstein. Written by Mordicai Gerstein and Brother Theodore. Based on "The Nose" by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol.

This televised play, available in three parts on YouTube, stars Buster Keaton in _The Awakening_, an *updated,* filmed adaptation of Gogol's short story, "The Cloak" (the alternate name for the story we know as "The Overcoat").

I didn't ask you to read "Viy," another weird and horrific tale by Gogol ( first published in the first volume of his collection of tales entitled Mirgorod of 1835), but you might be interested in seeing this trailer to a new Russian film adaptation called "Viy." Looks creepy!

_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

ENG 226 Students,

This is the entry we'll be using for our 18th Century and Goethe discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

3. Your "Response-Response," or, feedback on your peer's reading responses. These can be short (see the instructions I gave you in class) and do not have to be submitted to turnitin.com

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this . . .

http://www.amazon.com/FAUST/dp/B00196U3Z6/ref=pd_vodsm_B00196U3Z6

Also, in our last minute (we ran out of time), I showed you the first five minutes of a very old German film production of Faust (it was silent and subtitled in English). If you are interested in watching the entire film, it is available in 11 parts on YouTube. The first part is available below:

Finally, according to the site "www.watch-movies-online.tv," and IMDb (the Internet Movie Database) the following Czech-French film from 1994 is a "very free adaptation of [Christopher] Marlowe's _Doctor Faustus_, [Johann Wolfgang von] Goethe's _Faust_ and various other treatments of the old legend of the man who sold his soul to the devil. [Jan Svankmajer's] Faust is a nondescript man who, after being lured by a strange map into a sinister puppet theatre, finds himself immersed in an indescribably weird version of the play, blending live actors, clay model animation and giant puppets." It's dubbed in English so, don't worry: no subtitles to read in this version.

Watch Jan Svankmajer's "Faust (1994)" HERE

Let me know if you watched any of these versions. It will be interesting to compare them to our text.

See you in class,

Dr. Hobbs

9 February 2010

UPDATE:

For any of you who are interested in the trailers to the film trailers I showed in class today (those with "Faustian Pacts"), please see the following links listed below.

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Bedazzled Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, (1967)

Spawn (1997)

The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

Bedazzled Brendan Fraser and Elizabeth Hurley, (2000)

Faust: Love of the Damned (2001)

Ghost Rider (2007)

A full list of "Faust" renditions and adaptations can be found here: http://www.faust.com/index.php/film/

_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

ENG 226 Students,

This is the entry we'll be using for our 17th Century and Moliere discussions and homework assignments (do not post items due here elsewhere or you may not receive credit!). To complete course assignments, please follow the instructions you were given in class.

1. Your entry tickets should FIRST be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below. Your entry tickets should have the question and the answer (I asked that you submit a version of the questions without answers as a hardcopy in class).

2. Your reading response--directed/based on a topic you selected from a list distributed in class--should also be submitted to turnitin.com and THEN here in the comment box below.

3. Your "Response-Response," or, feedback on your peer's reading responses. These can be short (see the instructions I gave you in class) and do not have to be submitted to turnitin.com

I have to "approve" all comments so you won't see it immediately after posting. After hitting submit, you should see a screen that confirms this.

See you in class,

Dr. Hobbs

Trailer of a production in English

_____________________________________

To see other English-Blog entries on the subject of Literature, please click HERE.

SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY invites you to An Evening with Professional Writers Mike Wilson & Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times . . .

Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m.
Cannon Memorial Library, Saint Leo University, in Pasco County

This event, sponsored by The Times, The Department of English, Fine Arts and Humanities, and the Cannon Memorial Library, is free and open to the public.

The writers will also announce a creative non-fiction contest for the Sunday Journal section, co-sponsored by The Times and Saint Leo University’s English Department. After they speak, Mr. Wilson and Ms. DeGregory will answer audience questions. A reception will follow.

Image Source: http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00010/Wilson_Mike_wp_10052a.jpg

Mike Wilson, one of three editors in charge of the Times, was formerly a writer and editor for the Miami Herald. He has authored two books, Right on the Edge of Crazy and The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison. In addition, Mike has won several national and regional awards for feature writing.

Image Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xlIAkzdAklU/Se1BXGUP7GI/AAAAAAAAV20/nnZCUVRrhv0/s400/Writer+Lane+DeGregory.jpeg

Lane DeGregory, who was editor-in-chief of The University of Virginia’s student newspaper, later earned an M.A. in Rhetoric and Communications. She has written features for The Times since 2000. One of her stories, "The Girl in the Window", won a Pulitzer Prize in 2009. In 2000, 2004, 2006, and 2008, her stories appeared in The Best Newspaper Writing.

*******************************

“An Evening with Professional Writers” at the Saint Leo University main campus, January 27 The Department of English, Fine Arts, and Humanities, along with the Cannon Memorial Library and the St. Petersburg Times, will host “An Evening with Professional Writers.” Mike Wilson, managing editor of the St. Petersburg Times, and Pulitzer Prize winning feature writer Lane DeGregory will discuss “Composing: First-Person Narratives” on Wednesday, January 27, at 7:30 p.m. in the Cannon Memorial Library. This event is free and open to the public and a reception will follow the event. For additional information contact Allyson Marino, director of fine arts events, at (352) 588-8662 or e-mail allyson.marino@saintleo.edu.

See also: http://www.english-blog.com/archives/2010/01/post_9.php

The Sandhill Review, Saint Leo University's literary magazine, is now open for submissions of prose, poetry, drama, and art.

Written work must be no longer than 600 words and sent as attachments in .doc or .docx format. Photos can be sent as .jpegs or .gifs.

All submissions must be sent electronically to sandhillreview@gmail.com by February 15, 2010, for consideration.

Acceptances will be announced in March. Any questions can be sent to Kurt Wilt at kurt.wilt@saintleo.edu or Patrick Crerand at patrick.crerand@saintleo.edu.

Coming Soon - (January 2010)

--------------------------

6 December 2009

Dear Honors Students and English-Majors,

I’m Dr. Hobbs. If you have been asked to read this, it is because you have enrolled in ENG 226 "Survey of World Literature II," section CAH1 for Spring 2010.

Welcome to the course. Please be VERY SURE that you understand that this section is an HONORS section (see the section number; that's what the "H" represents).

The Honors version of ENG 226 is open to anyone who is either in the Honors Program or is an English Major at Saint Leo. The Honors-designated versions of courses at Saint Leo are notably different than the non-honors sections. The textbooks requirements are . . .

By the way, if you were invited by the Honors Program to join, but never did, please contact Dr. Jacci White at: Jacci.white [at] saintleo.edu

Ok, with all that now out of the way, I customarily provide those already signed up with the opportunity to purchase their textbooks in advance. Of course, the campus bookstore will have the textbooks in supply (at their prices) but, if you want to look on www.amazon.com or www.ebay.com or www.half.com (all services I have used personally and recommend), to find bargain-priced, second-hand texts, here are the texts you'll need to purchase for the course:

1. Tartuffe and Other Plays
Author: Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière (France).
ISBN-10: 0451530330; ISBN-13: 978-0451530332 ($7.95-New from Amazon)


2. Faust: Part 1
Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Germany).
ISBN-10: 0140449019; ISBN-13: 978-0140449013 ($8.80-New from Amazon)


3. The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
Author: Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (Russia).
ISBN-10: 9780451529541; ISBN-13: 978-0451529541 ($5.95-New from Amazon)

4. A Doll's House and Other Plays
Author: Henrik Johan Ibsen (Norway).
ISBN-10: 0140441468; ISBN-13: 9780140441468 ($7.91-New from Amazon)

5. The Last Temptation
Author: Nikos Kazantzakis (Greece).
ISBN-10: 068485256X; ISBN-13: 978-0684852560 ($11.70-New from Amazon)

6. A custom Coursepack (of articles, etc.) that will only be available from the University bookstore (approx. $30.00).

Other advice:

Be sure you use the SAME ISBN numbers if you order online. If you buy a different text, you will likely have a different translation and you will be lost in our course discussions. If you are an ambitious student, you may want to try and begin reading these stories during the holiday break so that you can have the advantage of “being ahead” when the semester begins. If you are really a “go-getter” you may even want to start looking up some of these authors on the well-respected Encyclopedia Britannica (warning: please do not trust Wikipedia for correct information) available on our SLU library website here: (http://www.saintleo.edu/SaintLeo/Templates/Inner.aspx?pid=6388&proxy.pid=7686).

In addition to Turnitin.com (sign up for your free account today—I will e-mail you an invitation soon and/or give you the course ID when classes begin), we will also be using my personal teaching blog, [the]English-Blog[.com], for many of our assignments. If you want to see what kinds of assignments my literature students have done for me in courses past, please familiarize yourself (and bookmark the URL) with the literature section of this blog here: http://www.english-blog.com/archives/english_teaching/literature/

Remember, do NOT purchase the books show for the non-Honors sections of ENG 226 (Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volumes D, E, and F). We won’t be using those.

I look forward to meeting you when classes begin.

Until then, happy holidays!

B. Lee Hobbs

*************************************************************
Dr. B. Lee Hobbs, Chair
Department of English, Fine Arts, & Humanities
SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY
University Campus, Post Office Box 6665—MC2067
Saint Leo, FL 33574-6665
Office: St. Edward 335
Web: http://www.saintleo.edu/SaintLeo/Templates/Inner.aspx?durki=15853&pid=15853


"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." ~T.S. Eliot

3 November 2009

ENG 400 Students [ONLY],

Your readings for this week are . . .

Neil Gaiman's (British) "How to Talk to Girls at Parties" (Short Story).
URL: http://www.neilgaiman.com/p/Cool_Stuff/Short_Stories

AND

Please read (and be prepared to discuss at this meeting) the following short, online articles:

• http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Sex_and_science_fiction
• http://thehathorlegacy.com/keeping-female-aliens-pretty/ (please read the comments also)
• http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InterspeciesRomance

Don't forget that I had also asked you to watch the episode "Soldier" (1964) from The Outer Limits television series, at the following URL: http://www.english-blog.com/archives/2009/03/harlan_ellisons_soldier_from__the_outer_limits__1964.php

Image Source: http://www.ec-hachette-plessis.ac-versailles.fr/IMG/jpg/planete_sauvage_1_.jpg

Be prepared to discuss these texts AND René Laloux's La Planète Sauvage [The Fantastic Planet] (1973) screening we finished in our last meeting. We should have discussed this in the time period following Monkey Planet, but it got pushed back. In any case, I hope you found it to be "different" in the way Lewis's text was different from the other Sci-Fi samples. Find more info on The Fantastic Planet HERE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070544/

See you then,

Dr. Hobbs

---------------

Image Source: http://findmearobot.com/Pages/Required%20robots/Images/The%20Day%20the%20Earth%20Stood%20Still.jpg

8 September 2009

ENG 400 Students [ONLY],

The URL needed to see the free online presentation of the original The Day the Earth Stood Still from 1951 is available HERE:

http://www.classiccinemaonline.com/cinema/sci-fi/thedaytheearthstoodstill.html

Please have watched it before our next meeting. I reserve the right to include it in our reading check quiz and discussion questions.

BTW, if you are into screen-writing and would like to read Edmund North's film's script, it is available online here:
http://www.scifiscripts.com/scripts/TheDayTheEarthStoodSTill.html

Also, I did not have time to show this video in our last meeting (we ran out of time). It's only three minutes or so in length. Asimov (creator of "I, Robot" and so much more), explains what things were like for writers in the days of SF's "Golden Age," the theme of our last meeting:

Video Source URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pySVYz4GfzE

ALSO,

If you missed the last meeting (or, left early for some reason), you might want to check out the following "slideshows" of SF art. In class, I actually showed some more time period appropriate works from book, comic book, and magazine covers. Some of the sexier ones have been compiled as set to Connee Allen's song from 1951, "Rocket 69." I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the euphemisms of 1950s rock-and-roll-speak.

Video Source URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GpFB6vXkmg

The following video will expose you to some early art, albeit the second half of the Golden Age. This work extends into the sixties and seventies. If you like this kind of thing, you will notice that the video compiler has put together about four more of these, all part of a series.

Video Source URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuMYV6e18VQ

See you when I see you,

Dr. Hobbs

-------------

Image Source: http://blog.getbetterhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/science-fiction.jpg

26 August 2009

ENG 400 Students [ONLY],

The most recent version of our course syllabus (subject to revision) can be found by clicking the link HERE. NOTE: the best option is to right-click that link with your mouse and then select "save as" from the pop-up menu. Save it to your hard drive and open/print with the free Adobe Reader.

*ALSO*

As discussed in our first class meeting, please find below the links to your readings that I will be providing ONLY for the next meeting. After that, it is up to you to have the coursepack. The coursepack was ordered yesterday and I spoke to the copy shop today. They are now printed and should be on the shelves later today. Call the bookstore, however, just to be sure. I had originally ordered 9 but they can print to order.

In any event, the link to the critical article you need to read can be found by clicking on the highlighted link below. It is a .pdf file. Save it to your hard drive and then print it.

Lundwall, Sam J. "The Fantastic Novel." Science Fiction: What It's All About. 1969. New York: Ace, 1971.

There is a full-text version of Verne's From the Earth to the Moon below if you scroll down far enough to find the "Verne" section.

Also, the link to the film is also under the Verne section below. That is all stuff that I posted for some of you this summer who were looking to get ahead.

Please let me know if you have any issues with the links. I will also e-mail you the article just to be sure you have it.

See you at our next class meeting,

Dr. Hobbs

-------------
2 July 2009

ENG 400 Students [ONLY],

There is nothing to submit here; the comment box for this entry will normally be switched off.

[1] If you are looking for the proper entry to enter assignments about this course's primary texts (e.g. Verne, Lewis, Campbell, Asimov, Bradbury, Boulle, Clarke, Adams, Dick, Gibson, Aldiss, et. al..) on the reading(s) of the week, you should click the link appropriate category link in the Scattergories menu to the left of the page. For example, click the *Literature* link to scan all entries tagged "LIterature" or *Film* to see any tagged "Film" and submit your response to the appropriate entry (usually the title of the entry will match the title of the work you are working with for this module). The link can also be found by clicking HERE for Literature and HERE for Film.

[2] If you are looking for the proper entry to enter assignments about this week's secondary texts (e.g. the scholarly articles and critical articles) on the current module, you should click the link appropriate category link in the scattergories menu to the left of the page. For example, click "Critical Theory" to see all entries tagged with that topic and submit your response/assignment to the appropriate entry (e.g. "The Golden-Age of Science Fiction," etc.). That link can also be found by clicking HERE for Critical Theory.

At this particular entry (the one you are now reading) you will find the most recent addendum to the course syllabus. It will be reprinted below by the first day of class.

Most of the stories and articles you will need for the course will be available in a coursepack prepared by the University Copy Center and sold at the University Bookstore. However, there are a few texts you will need to purchase. They are:

-------------------------------------------------------------


*Verne, Jules. De la terre à la lune. Translation: From [the] Earth to the Moon. 1865.

*A Full-Text Digital Version is available HERE: http://burgsbee.tripod.com/eTexts/_Jules_-_From_the_Earth_to_the_Moon_-_141_Pages.pdf

NOTE: The availability of the text online means you have no excuse for not reading the text before our class meeting (lost the book, etc.). However, the availability of the text online does NOT excuse you from having a hardcopy of the text in your possession and bringing it to class.

If you would like to try listening to an audio version of Verne's story, you could download a (very long) .mp3 file at the following link, burn it to a CD and listen to it in your car.

http://www.archive.org/download/earth_to_moon_librivox/earth_to_moon_librivox_64kb_mp3.zip

Just for fun, here is the trailer to Hollywood's 1958 cinematic adaptation of Verne's From the Earth to the Moon by director Byron Haskin. If you've read the book, you'll be able to see right away where the filmmakers deviated from the original narrative.

-------------------------------------------------------------

*Méliès, Georges, dir. Le Voyage Dans La Lune. Translation: A Voyage to the Moon. Perfs. Bleuette Bernon (Lady in the Moon), Brunnet (Astronomer), Henri Delannoy (Rocket Captain). France: Star Film, 1902. After reading Verne, please watch this 14-minute classic (silent) French/Czechoslovakian film for free online at either http://www.archive.org/details/le_voyage_dans_la_lune [Subtitled version] (OR) http://www.freemooviesonline.com/watch-free-movies/scifi-movies/le-voyage-dans-la-lune.html [Dubbed Version]. No need to purchase.

-------------------------------------------------------------

*Lewis, C. S. Out of the Silent Planet. 1938.

*A Full-Text Digital Version is available HERE: http://burgsbee.tripod.com/eTexts/_C._S._-_Out_of_the_Silent_Planet_-_104_Pages.pdf

NOTE: The availability of the text online means you have no excuse for not reading the text before our class meeting (lost the book, etc.). However, the availability of the text online does NOT excuse you from having a hardcopy of the text in your possession and bringing it to class.

Just for fun, an amateur animator who goes by the username "Puddlegum1951" has created an 8 episode "abridged" adaptation of Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet at his channel HERE. Be sure you view them in the right order and don't watch it before you've read the book or the whole thing will be spoiled for you.

Also, to reiterate this course's point on how literature has affected popular culture, check out the musical group Iron Maiden's song entitled "Out of the Silent Planet" from their album Brave New World, which also happens to be the title of a science fiction masterpiece by Aldous Huxley (which we won't be reading for this course). There are many videos of the band performing this work live on YouTube but this particular version is an imaginative, amateur video pieced together from an Anime film--Neon Genesis Evangelion--and synchronized to the lyrics and subject matter of the song. You can find a transcript of the lyrics by Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers, and David Harris Stephen HERE.

-----------------------------------------

*Boulle, Pierre. La planéte des singes. Translation: Planet of the Apes [aka Monkey Planet]. 1963.

*If you would like to listen to the text of Pierre Boulle's Monkey Planet on either your PC or on your iPod device (my new phone will play MP3s with a headset), an a professionally produced audio-version from BBC Radio 4, read by Michael Maloney
are available HERE in 5 parts (MP3 format) from Hunter's Planet of the Apes Archive.

While I certainly do not advocate this as a substitute, I do suggest it as a supplement. At the link HERE, please find a graphic novel adaptation of Pierre Boulle's Monkey Planet [in Hungarian: A Majmok bolygója] by Hungarian artist Ernő Zórád recently translated by Dave Ballard and James Aquila. An alternate English translation Neil Foster, Michael Whitty, et al. can be found HERE. Enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------------------

*Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 1979.

While these should be available in the University Bookstore, as a matter of routine, there rarely seems to be enough second-hand/used copies for everyone. I encourage you to do what I did when I was a student: buy them beforehand. There are many reliable online booksellers where you can find these books--in some cases--as cheap as a penny plus shipping charges. While I'm not officially endorsing these companies, I have had good results from:

Amazon.com (both new and second-hand sellers)
eBay.com
Half.com (a sister company to eBay where used items are sold rather than auctioned)
Barnes and Nobles.com
Abebooks.com

Don't forget to use the old "Froogle" search engine to find the lowest price on anything:
http://www.google.com/products

I hope that most of you will take the time to buy--AND READ--these books ahead of time during this summer so that you will have a headstart on the course when it first meets this Fall.

Dont forget to join Turnitin.com if you haven't done so already. Use/change your email associated with your account to your Saint Leo University e-mail. To join this course, use this course number: (2727688). The pass word to join is "darthvader" (original ,huh?). Remember, this information is only to join the course. You will need YOUR ID and password to sign in to turitin.com each time you use it. I won't know your password (your ID should be your Saint Leo e-mail), so don't lose your information. I can't help you retrieve it if you lose it.

Keep following this blog entry as I will be adding more about the course in the following months.

Until then, I remain,

Dr. Hobbs

Boulle's Monkey Planet and the Hero’s Journey

by Kristin Brittain

Joseph Campbell created a chart that roughly outlines a single structure in which most stories follow. He charted the map of the “hero’s journey,” and it encompasses a series of stages that can be applied to almost any narrative. The “monomyth” follows the progression of the protagonist throughout the three stages of the cycle. Although every story is . . .

The hero’s journey began with the Departure. Once Jinn and Phyllis found the message in the bottle floating around in outer space the story began; it was the birth of it all. Ulysse’s call to adventure began when he embarked on the journey into space with famed Earth scientist Professor Antelle and Levain a young physicist to the star Betelgeuse. When the trio landed after two years in space on the planet Soror where they encountered the “human savages” Ulysse crossed the first threshold into his journey when the primitives detained him and his two friends. He not only faced his first of many trials, but Ulysse also came across his supernatural aid, a female savage incapable of communication he named Nova; and, after the group is captured by the primitive humans Nova helplessly tried to assist them in assimilation with the primitive way. The final component of the departure stage is the belly of the whale and at this point while Ulysse is amongst the primitive human’s he is captured by the humanlike hunting party of gorillas and chimpanzees. This stage is the final separation between the hero and their known world, Ulysse found himself “traveling at high speed toward an unknown destination, terrified by the thought of the fresh horrors that awaited me on the planet Soror” (Boulle 75). He was brought to a laboratory in the apes’ city, which was an exact replica of 20th-century Earth.

The second component of the hero’s cycle is the Initiation phase. The first two stages of the second component took place once Ulysse is placed into the laboratory. The road of trials began once Ulysse was placed in the cage like the rest of the primitives. The main problem is Ulysse’s inability to communicate his higher intelligence with the simian beings; and, the experiments similar to Pavlov’s in which the apes place him under are minor in comparison. The meeting with the Goddess occurs at this time too. Ulysse was taken in by a female chimpanzee lab researcher named Zira when he fails to be conditioned by the experiments and began communication using geometrical figures and equations. Ulysse and Zira teach each other their languages’ and form a very tight intellectual based bond. Ulysse said of Zira, “it is her soul that communes with mine” (Boulle 260). Ulysse learned everything about the apes’ planet and even began a friendship with Zira’s fiancée Cornelius. With Zira and Cornelius’ help, Ulysse addressed a speech to the ape President and he is eventually freed from his cage and accepted by the ape society and thus completing the ultimate boon component of the Initiation phase. During this last stage the protagonist reached his ultimate goal; freedom.

The final component of the hero’s journey is the Return. At first the hero goes through the stage of refusal. Ulysse believed he was supposed to be the savior of the primitive human race and he had no immediate desire to return to Earth. Ulysse said, “Nothing happens by mere chance in the cosmos. My voyage to the world of Betelgeuse was decreed by superior consciousness. It is up to me to show myself worthy of the choice and to be the new savior of this human race in decline” (Boulle 219-220). At some point during the time Ulysse spent in captivity at the laboratory he impregnated Nova. During the anticipation of the child’s birth the apes’ were worried about Ulysse’s power and the possibility of the child possessing intelligence. The apes’ became nervous and concerned with Ulysse’s higher intelligence. The protagonist quickly passed through the stage of the master of the two worlds and into danger. Due to the apes’ fear, Ulysse and his new family were in danger of the apes’ and because of this the trio had to quickly escape before any harm could be done to them. It took two years to return to Earth. Throughout that time Ulysse acted as Nova’s tutor and she slowly evolved from her primitive state and their son grew and proved to be an intelligent being. However, Ulysse could not complete his journey because once he returned to Earth, to his surprise the planet was inhabited by intelligent simian beings. The group quickly boarded their ship and left the planet. With only an uncertain future left, Ulysse completed the hero’s journey and entered into the freedom to live stage.

References

Boulle, Pierre. Planet Of The Apes. New York: Ballantine Books, 1963.

Hobbs, Lee. “The Hero’s Journey (or the Monomyth)”. Illustration and definitions of terms based on Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. Partly adapted from: Warren, Liz and Alan Levine. “The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps.” Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI): Maricopa Community Colleges. 19 Nov. 1999. 10 Oct 2007.

15 October 2009

Dear ENG 121 Students (Fall 2009),

Please consult the handouts and advice given to you in class about conducting an interview (and then writing an interview essay).

However, if some of you still . . .

As with all "how-to" articles and videos you are given as ancillary learning materials, be sophisticated enough to disregard the parts of advice that conflict with your assignment. Remember, your assignment (and your score for it) come from me, not the people who prepared these articles and videos.

Video 1: "From a Former English Teacher: How to Interview for Essays"



Video Source: http://www.ehow.com/video_4436816_interview-essays.html

Video 2: "From Two College Students: How to Conduct an Interview (With Another Student)"



Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IztUCbAsF8

Video 3: "From a Professional in the Field: How to Conduct an Interview with a Source"



Video Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_an_eC37eU

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. This sketch was on SNL last Saturday. I like the fact that the ad before this clip is for an actual online university.

Van Vogt's "Black Destroyer" and the Monomyth

by Liz Hardy

According to Joseph Campbell, every story has its structure and root in the cyclic journey of myths which he termed the “hero’s journey.” The hero’s journey, a step of concrete stages, shows the significant metamorphosis a character undergoes throughout the course of the given story. The hero’s journey is also found within the realm of science fiction; while not admirable in intent, the character known as Coeurl in A.E. van Vogt’s story “Black Destroyer” shows a clear progression through Campbell’s cycle.

While little is known about . . .

The curiosity of the men on the ship helps to facilitate the Coeurl’s movement through the next two mythic stages: the Crossing of the Threshold and Tests. The Crossing of the Threshold also symbolizes a journey into the extraordinary world. Coeurl leaves his known world for the “massive, rock-crushing thing of metal” ( Van Vogt 2) after the men discuss the best way to lure him onto the ship. However, once on the ship the Coeurl is immediately tested in his ability to comprehend his surroundings, and maintain his sanity/adherence to his plan, when the ship’s massive metal doors close around him inspiring extreme panic and rage at the thought of being trapped. The tests continue for the Coeurl as he is driven by his extreme desire to kill the men but must be patient in order to disguise his true intentions.

To continue his progression through the heroic journey, the Coeurl is aided by unlikely sources: the men themselves and the Coeurl’s unnatural abilities. Coeurl’s plans thrive because of the confusion that exists around his very existence among the men. The question of whether or not he killed Jarvey is immaterial to the men, their crisis stems from the debate over Coeurl’s right to exist because he is “a biological treasure house” (9). The men’s fascination with the Coeurl’s origins and dissension over how to punish him allow the Coeurl to continue with his ultimate plan of annihilation. Coeurl is also helped by his ability to change the atomic make-up of his surroundings, rendering him free when the men believe him to be securely trapped within the metal cage.

After the men discover the Coeurl’s ability to control vibrations, the cat-like creature is forced into the climactic battle of the story. When the Coeurl gains control of the engine room, the men must plan their responding attacks very carefully. As the Coeurl hurriedly creates a spaceship to save his race, he also has to defend himself against the atomic attacks of the men (22). By lowering his resistance fractions at a time, the Coeurl’s ability to withstand attack is lowered greatly. The battle ends as Coeurl gets into his ship and escapes into space believing he has won.

The sense of success is far from accurate for Coeurl, though. Coeurl is unable to complete his journey through Campbell’s stages because of something he never accounted for: the ship’s ability to stop acceleration in space compared to his own craft’s inability (24). The resulting panic of seeing the spaceship appear before him so confounds the Coeurl that he chooses suicide. Coeurl is then unable to bring the spaceship he created back to his home planet and secure the survivability of his race which signifies the end of his heroic journey according to Campbell; Coeurl will have no reemergence into his natural/ordinary world because he succumbed to hopeless and fear.

~LIz Hardy

References

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With a Thousand Faces (1949). Princeton, NJ: Bollingen, 1987.

Hobbs, Lee. “The Hero’s Journey (or the Monomyth)”. Illustration and definitions of terms based on Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth. Partly adapted from: Warren, Liz and Alan Levine. “The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps.” Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI): Maricopa Community Colleges. 19 Nov. 1999. 10 Oct 2007.

Van Vogt, A.E. “Black Destroyer.” Astounding Science Fiction. July 1939.