[I was thinking about the syllabi for a couple of new preps that I'm teaching next year, when all of a sudden, my mind was taken over by an energy being...from the future! And this is what I wrote instead...]
INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSGLOBAL NOVEL I: FROM DANIEL DEFOE TO T’PETH
INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Lil Prawf
OFFICE HOURS: In-person hours MWF 1:00-2:00; online hours M 3:30-5:30; telepathic hours W 3:30-5:30. No telepathic contact outside of those hours, please.
ROOM: 109B Sarek Hall.
FEED: You can access the intergalactic feed for this course at channel X333921. If you have technical difficulties, please ping IT, not the instructor.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: There is a fierce debate in literary studies about whether or not long prose works from non-Terran cultures can be analyzed according to the same criteria as the Terran “novel.” (What can scholars of the genre do, for example, with the Cardassian novel, with its refusal of suspense and its outright embrace of what---to Terrans—seems to be boring repetition?) This semester will introduce students to novelistic genres from a variety of galactic cultures, reading them through the lens of what the Vulcan literary theorist Simalak calls zh’layan, or “transglobal interdiscursive nodes of narrative contact.” Readings from Terran, Vulcan, Klingon, Andorian, and Cardassian texts. One holodeck simulation, two papers, exams, interpretive dance quizzes. Fulfills the Early Transglobal Literatures to 2000 requirement. Prerequisite: Introduction to Literary and Three-Dimensional Media Analysis.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
- Simalak, The Theory of Transglobal Literatures: New Postgalactic Approaches, trans. Y. Ru Reedingthis (Luna UP, 2371)
- B’Spaq, The Errors, trans. Alexander Rozhenko (Harvard U at Qo’NoS P, 2385)
- Ch’rae Aran Zh’faiane, How Blue Were My Hills, Standard ed. (U of Chicago P—Global Literatures Division, 2362)
- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe, 238th ed. (Oxford Milky Way Classics, 2380)
- Marek, The Saga of Burnt Gul, trans. Chris Cross (New Horizons in Cardassian Literature, 2382)
- T’Peth, Look Skyward Lematya, Standard ed. (The Library of Vulcan Classics, 2371)
IMPORTANT NOTE:
It has come to my attention that students have been using codex editions of the texts instead of the standard digital editions. In addition to being impractical and bulky, codices are more likely to contain errors that cannot be corrected within the university’s mandatory timeframe (at least one day after notification). Moreover, codices are considered an Optional Expense under the university’s Credit Allowance Code (see Handbook of Student Policies, section 993.Z), and therefore use credits that you could otherwise put toward spring break trips to Risa. In general, it is much easier for all concerned if you come to class with your digital editions loaded on your PADDs.
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Two papers: 50 points each
- Holodeck simulation: 25 points
- Midterm exam (take-home): 100 points
- Final exam: 150 points
- Interpretive dance quizzes: up to 50 points
- Message board participation: 10 points
- In-class participation: 10 points
NOTE: There is no extra credit available for this course under any circumstances. Late work is not permitted; please contact the Department of Temporal Investigations if you need to use a rift in the space-time continuum and/or the Guardian of Forever in order to submit work on time. Interpretive dance quizzes must be performed on the day assigned, but may be transmitted via holographic feed, if necessary.
IMPORTANT NOTE IN RE: HOLODECK SIMULATIONS: Please make sure that your holodeck simulations do not result in property damage, holograms running amok, and/or the deaths of fellow students. You will be docked at least fifty points in the event of any serious injuries. For examples of what to avoid, I suggest that you consult the recently-declassified Enterprise NCC-1701-D archives, especially those under the heading of “Moriarty.”
CONTACT POLICY: I answer all e-mails within twenty-four standard hours on weekdays, and forty-eight standard hours on weekends. Off-planet students should check their galactic calendars and plan accordingly. Do not send me repeated e-mails asking why I have not responded; do not send me e-mails demanding responses before the twenty-four hour mark; do not send me e-mails asking if I have received your e-mails.
Telepathic and empathic students should not contact me via psi methods outside of stated office hours. Please recollect that Terrans do not normally communicate in this manner, and do not appreciate receiving random bursts of rage about grades whilst in the middle of baking cookies, driving holocars, or sleeping.
PAPER SUBMISSIONS: All papers must be written in Standard and uploaded to the appropriate dropbox at the stipulated time. It is your responsibility to see that your paper is correctly formatted in Milky Way Galaxy Language Association style (93rd ed.); if you don’t know the current guidelines, please use one of the citation generators available on the library homepage. Remember, late work is not allowed. “The sehlat ate my PADD” is not an excuse, nor is “I lost all of my books in a transporter malfunction.”
POLICIES ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: As per the Handbook of Student Policies (section 19,301), the following constitute a breach of the university’s regulations on academic integrity:
- Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism)
- Copying another student’s examination
- Using psi methods to obtain answers for examinations
- Using telepathic projections in order to distract an examination proctor
- Using pheromones to manipulate or distract instructors, administrators, or fellow students
- Engaging in any other form of mind control that interferes with academic integrity
- Teleporting into an instructor’s office to steal examinations
- Engineering transporter breakdowns in order to interfere with an examination session
- Programming holographic doubles and other AIs to produce coursework
- Using replicators to generate “original” creative works
Any violation of university policy will result in an automatic “F” in the course.
ELECTRONIC DEVICES: Students are required to bring PADDs to class. Communicators should be set to vibrate or turned off entirely; any beeping communicators will be confiscated immediately. Holovideo recording requires instructor’s permission. Unauthorized postings of any holovideos to the InterGalacTicTubes will result in a lawsuit, so don’t even think about it.
WEAPONRY: Due to several unfortunate incidents, Klingons and Romulans are politely requested to leave all knives, swords, axes, and similar gear at home. Active Starfleet personnel are permitted to bring one regulation phaser with them, but it must be turned off at all times. Using a phaser on an instructor or fellow student is grounds for immediate expulsion (see Handbook of Student Policies, section 1A.)
POLICY ON EXCUSED ABSENCES: Attendance is mandatory for students registered for onsite instruction. However, students are allowed an unlimited number of excused absences. Acceptable excuses include personal or family illness, religious holidays, transporter malfunctions, Borg attacks, unexpected aging and/or regression to childhood, temporary mind and/or body swaps, pon farr, encounters with members of the Q Continuum, being trapped on the other side of a wormhole and/or in an alternate universe, and injuries related to holodeck malfunction.
Just for the record, I loved every bit of this. My favorite bit, though, has to be this:
Telepathic and empathic students should not contact me via psi methods outside of stated office hours. Please recollect that Terrans do not normally communicate in this manner, and do not appreciate receiving random bursts of rage about grades whilst in the middle of baking cookies, driving holocars, or sleeping.
It's funny because, someday, it will be true.
Posted by: Dr. Koshary | June 09, 2012 at 11:40 AM