>Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 15:10:45 -0400
>From: Jen Hill <jh85@CORNELL.EDU>
>Subject: suggestions for teaching a short novel or short stories?
>I'm teaching a freshman writing seminar this autumn called "Science Writes
>Women/Women Write Science" which will start off with Frankenstein, look at
>19th c. theories of biology and evolution, look at careers,
>autobiographies, and writing of/by women scientists of the early 20th c.,
>and finally end with "a look to the future" with Donna Haraway's "A
>Manifesto for Cyborgs" and either a short novel or a few short stories by
>(a) female sf writer(s) in which technology and gender are prominent issues.
>My problem: I'm not terribly well read in sf and what I _have_ read (novels
>by Octavia Butler, Piercy, & LeGuin) are too long to teach in the two weeks
>left in my semester. Any suggestions? I have not read Elizabeth Vonarburg,
>although I've read some criticism of her which suggests that her work might
>be of interest for this class... (She's not represented in Cornell's
>library, alas.)
>[snip]
>Jen Hill
>jh85@cornell.edu
I enthusiastically second the nomination of "Bloodchild" by Octavia
Butler. This is a great story, and its biological theme of parasitism sounds
as if it might fit in well with your course.
In a similar vein, "James Tiptree"'s short story, "The Screwfly
Solution" is based on a straightforward extrapolation of biological pest
control measures projected onto the whole human race.
To ask a question of my own, why did you decide to only include science
up to the early 20C? It seems to me that you are missing a lot of good stuff
that way. For one thing, there weren't that many women in science at that
time. For another, a lot of fascinating work in the areas of gender,
reproduction, and evolution has been done in the last twenty years or so.
For example, why not include some more recent examples of evolutionary
thought about the role of reproductive strategies in human evolution, and the
implications that has for the meaning of gender? These ideas aren't hard to
understand, and while they may infuriate some, they are bound to stimulate
discussion. (I don't know any specific books on the subject, but you could
excerpt some chapters from Robert Wright's _The Moral Animal_ for starters.)
Your course plan sounds extremely interesting, but I feel a little
concerned that your students will be left with a misleading picture of what
science has to say about women.
I hope you will forgive my boldness in discussing your course; the best
of luck in teaching it.
Dan Krashin
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