Summer 2011: Really? When's the break?

As you may have guessed, this summer has felt like anything but summer break. Maybe I try too hard in my classes, or maybe they really are super, incredibly demanding. I feel like ever since July began I've been struggling to keep up. We've had busier weekends in July than we did in June, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. But seriously, I need a real break before I go back to work...oh wait, that's a week from Monday. Great....


I'm sure I mentioned my hesitancy toward this new course: Science Fiction Lit of the 20th century. This genre is a complete unknown to me, and all I know is that I don't care for aliens in films, and I've never met one in literature I liked either (though I have been sure to not cross paths with many). As it turns out, the beginning of the course has been somewhat of a lightbulb: SF is not all about aliens. And, on the other hand, other-worldly creatures can be done well and made to be very interesting and engaging. Who knew!


We have a bajillion pages of reading each week, which makes me nervous and tired all at once every single Monday when I get the "Here's What We're Doing This Week" email. But I will say that our text called Masterpieces: The Best SF short stories... has provided an excellent introduction. We began with a few short stories that first week in July, and it enabled me to see that not all SF is dumb or kooky or ridiculous. It can actually look very closely in new ways at what it means to be human, the issues that humanity faces, and even so far as causing some personal reflections. Yeah, I wasn't really ready for that, but that's what I found!
We read a few critical articles about what makes something SF--so categorizing and compartmentalizing. In the end, however, we learned that there are two key elements of SF lit: 1) it will address change in some way; 2) it covers the idea/concept of "the Other" through examining how someone or thing is estranged (this part usually caused the reflection element). 


As of this week, we've read 3 novels:

• Asimov's I, Robot, which is actually a collection of short stories he later connected with some inter-chapter material. Though it didn't flow very well and some of the characters were really flat and the dialogue lame, his robots were super endearing. I wanted to know them. And it was a great launching point for the rest of the semester. I would recommend it to those who have never read any SF because the chapters are short (remember: short stories) and therefore pretty self-contained. You can take it in small chunks and think about why you should care at all, maybe discover why you do.
• Robert M. Miller, Jr.'s A Canticle for Leibowitz. I have a ton to say about this book. I just wrote a 12-page paper on it, but I'll try to limit my comments. Also written first as 3 very long short stories, it was just thrown together without any editing into a novel. And it works...very well. This novel taught me that SF doesn't have to be about robots or machines or technology at all in the way I was thinking about it. Here we have a post-apocalyptic world with the Catholic church still strong but cloistered away in monasteries and men in chaos, reverting back to the ways of our long-past ancestors: hunters-gatherers, warring tribes, barbarism. The book spans 1800 years and how men, after rediscovering knowledge, return to the same paths...nuclear war happens again. The characters are wonderful and most are deep. Many things about humanity, faith, doubt, religion, science, and responsibility are investigated from various angles. I want everyone I know to read this book. It made me think, made me reflect. 
• Ursula K. Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. I probably shouldn't say a whole lot on it, as I'm only 1/2 way through this novel (must be done by tomorrow!). It's the first "Other-Planetary" journey I've taken that puts me down in a completely new culture. Yes, I experienced culture shock in the first few chapters. She explores themes of gender and government, society and power relationships. It's fascinating and strange, in a good way. The "aliens" here aren't scary or weird; they are simply different. Again, like Miller's novel, it's so well-written that it's worth a read by anyone, even those who don't care for Star Trek, Star Wars, etc. It's different than you'd imagine.

What we have left for the course is Watchmen, the graphic novel that inspired the very graphic film of a few years ago. I'm not super excited about it, but next week is the one during which I  have to read it, so I guess it'll be over soon enough. After that, it's Red Mars, which I think is part of a series. 

Just so you don't think I'm crazy for saying how much work every week requires, let me tell you a little secret. In addition to reading a novel a week, we have one critical article and one short story, over which we have multiple discussions in our online class environment. For one novel, for example, there are typically around 150 comments. For one essay or short story, anywhere from 50 to 100. Reading everybody else's posts and trying to find new things to say about all of this is tiring. Yikes. In addition, we have one week in which we're responsible, with a partner, for leading discussion for one of those short stories, and another week for one of the critical essays. We also have 2 papers to write in our "free" time. I just about crashed and burned these last two weeks. In an effort to front-load my class work, to avoid being swamped when I go back to the Library in August, I ended up with all that reading, plus a paper, plus leading 2 class discussions between last week and this. Terrifying. I kind of hermitted myself away, but I have managed to get it all done (or I will have, by tomorrow). 

So that's my summer in a nutshell. I'm tired. 

When's my break?