English 016.402/Comp Lit 200.402/French 200.402The Fantastic Voyage from Homer to Science Fiction

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30-12:00 in 421 Williams Hall

InstructorScott Francis Office: 530 Williams Hallfranciss@sas.upenn.edu Hours: Wed-Thurs, 1:30-2:30

Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse(scan by Mark Harden)

Tales of voyages to strange lands with strange inhabitants and even stranger customs have been a part of the Western literary tradition from its inception. What connects these tales is that their voyages are not only voyages of discovery, but voyages of self-discovery. By describing the effects these voyages have on the characters who undertake them, and by hinting at comparisons between the lands described in the story and their own society, authors use fantastic voyages as vehicles for incisive commentary on literary, social, political, and scientific issues.

In this course, we will explore the tradition of the fantastic voyage from Homer’s Odyssey, one of the earliest examples of this type of narrative and a model for countless subsequent voyage narratives, to modern science fiction, which appropriates this narrative for its own ends. We will determine what the common stylistic elements of voyage narratives are, such as the frame narrative, or story-within-a-story, and what purpose they serve in conveying the tale’s messages. We will see how the voyagers attempt to understand and interact with the lands and peoples they encounter, and what these attempts tell us about both the voyagers and their newly-discovered counterparts. Finally, we will ask ourselves what real-world issues are commented upon by these narratives, what lessons the narratives have to teach about them, and how they impart these lessons to the reader. Though this course is primarily dedicated to literature, we will also watch several seminal film and television adaptations to determine how cinematographic techniques can inform narratives of fantastic voyage.

This course is meant not only for SF fans who would like to become better acquainted with the precursors and classics of the genre, but for all those who wish to learn how great works of fiction, far from being intended solely for entertainment and escapism, attempt to improve upon the real world through the effect they have on the reader. Readings and discussion are in English; an additional discussion group devoted to the original French versions of Cyrano, Verne and Boulle may be formed, as well, given sufficient interest.

1

Texts and Films

Available at Penn Book Center (34th and Sansom):- Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes (New York: Del Rey, 2001)- Karel Čapek, War with the Newts (North Haven: Catbird, 1990)- Cyrano de Bergerac, Journey to the Moon (London: Hesperus, 2007) [Available late

September/early October]- Homer, The Odyssey (London: Penguin, 2006)- Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels (London: Penguin, 2003)- Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas (New York: Oxford UP, 2009)- H. G. Wells, The Time Machine (Peterborough: Broadview, 2001)

Available on Blackboard:- Lucian of Samosata, “The True History”

Films available at Rosengarten Reserve (Van Pelt Library, Ground floor)- Planet of the Apes, dir. Franklin J. Schaffner (DVD 010 786)- Planet of the Apes, dir. Tim Burton (DVD 010 785)- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, dir. Richard Fleischer (DVD 015 225)- A Trip to the Moon, dir. Georges Méliès (DVD 004 016)

The episodes of Red Dwarf and Futurama will be shown in class.

Recommended reference and secondary works

These works are all available at Van Pelt, either in the Reference Section or at the Rosengarten Reserve, or online. While you are not required to read them for the course or to refer to them in assignments, you may find them useful. Bear in mind as well that this list is by no means exhaustive.

Reference

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Ed. John Clute and Peter Nicholls. New York: St.Martin’s, 1993. [PN3433.4 .E53 1993]

Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier. French Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror andPulp Fiction: A guide to cinema, television, radio, animation, comic books andliterature from the middle ages to the present. Jefferson: McFarland, 2000.[PQ637.F3 L64 2000]

Rosengarten

The Genres of Gulliver’s Travels. Ed. Frederik N. Smith. Newark: U of Delaware P,1990. [PR3724.G8 G46 1990]

2

Eric Greene. Planet of the Apes as American Myth: Race and Politics in the Films andTelevision Series. Jefferson: McFarland, 1996. [PN1995.9.P495 G74 1996]

Edward James. Science Fiction in the Twentieth Century. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1994.[PN 3433.8 .J36 1994]

Darko Suvin. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of aLiterary Genre. New Haven: Yale UP, 1979. [PN 3448 S45 S897]

Online

The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Ed. Edward James and FarahMendlesohn. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2003.

[Available online via Franklin]

Arthur Evans. “Functions of Science in French Fiction.” Studies in the LiteraryImagination, vol. 22, no. 1 (Spring 1989): pp. 79-100.

[http://jv.gilead.org.il/evans/function.html]

---. “Science Fiction vs. Scientific Fiction in France: From Jules Verne to J.-H. RosnyAîné.” Science Fiction Studies, vol. 15, no. 1 (March 1988): pp. 1-11.

[Available online via Franklin]

Olivier Jouslin. “Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655).” Trans. Claire Boulard.Seventeenth-Century French Writers. New York: Gale, 2002.

[Available online via Franklin]

Grading

Attendance and participation: 15%Weekly exercises: 15%Essays: 70% (2 x 15%, 2 x 20%)

Attendance and participation

Students are expected to attend every class meeting, except in the event of an authorized conflict (religious holiday, travel for varsity sports or clubs, etc.) or illness. If you must miss a class for any of these reasons, please inform the instructor as soon as possible. Unexcused absences will directly affect students’ grades for attendance and participation.

Students are expected to come to class having read the texts and watched the films, and to make relevant comments on them. Your grade is determined by the frequency and the quality of your contributions: if you have something relevant to contribute every class, you will receive full credit for participation in the course.

3

Additionally, students are expected to focus on the discussion at hand. As a rule, food and drink, as well as the use of cell/smart phones, iPads, laptops, or similar devices is PROHIBITED.

Weekly exercises

Every Thursday (except for Weeks 1, 5, 10, and 13), students must turn in weekly exercises. There are two parts to these exercises:

- The first is to select 5 words or phrases encountered in the week’s assignments and using them in sentences to demonstrate their meaning. Students may select whichever words or phrases they desire, but it is recommended that they select ones with which they were not previously familiar or that they thought were particularly striking or apt.

- The second is to identify ONE literary device/figure of speech in the week’s assignments and briefly explain how it functions and why it is significant to that particular text/film.

- For both parts, please identify the work and page number where each word/phrase/device is found.

Exercises will be reviewed and corrected by the instructor, but grades will be based solely on completion. So long as students complete each set of exercises according to the guidelines above and turn them in on time, they will receive full credit. Exercises are due in class on the indicated dates; hard copies only.

Essays

Students will be asked to write four essays over the course of the semester. For each essay, students will be provided with a list of potential topics, but will be free to devise their own.

The first two essays will be 4-5 pages in length, and the last two will be 5-7 pages in length. Essays must be double-spaced and written in Times New Roman size 12 font, with 1-inch page margins – no exceptions. Essays failing to meet these criteria will receive lower grades.

Additionally, hard copies of essays are due in class on the days indicated on the syllabus. Electronic copies will not be accepted, and essays turned in after the deadline will receive a deduction of 10 points out of a possible 100. If are unable to attend class due to an authorized conflict or illness as discussed above, you must turn in the essay during the next scheduled class.

A detailed set of guidelines and criteria for essays will be distributed and discussed in class. Students will also be asked to meet with the instructor before writing each essay to discuss their topics and writing strategies.

4

Plagiarism and Academic integrity

Students are expected to be familiar with the University of Pennsylvania’s Code of Academic Integrity, a clearly defined set of rules governing student conduct in terms of crediting the work of others, collaborating with others on coursework, and completing assignments in a proper fashion. The instructor will hold students to the Code, and any and all violations of it will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

The online version of the Code may be found here: http://www.upenn.edu/provost/PennBook/academic_integrity_code_of.

Some class time will be devoted to teaching students when and how to cite sources properly in both written and oral assignments, but a general set of guidelines may be found here: http://gethelp.library.upenn.edu/PORT/documentation/avoidingplagiarism.html.

In terms of collaboration among students, students are encouraged to discuss course materials or lessons with one another. Students may NOT, however, complete all or part of any assignment for other students or share their work with other students for exercises or essays.

Students should address any questions or concerns they might have about plagiarism or academic integrity to the instructor as soon as possible.

5

Program

I) Less or More than Human?

Week 1

September 6 Introduction: What is Science Fiction?

Week 2 September 11 Reading: Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes

Part One (chapters 1-17)

September 13 Reading: Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes Part Two (chapters 18-26)

Exercises due

Week 3

September 18 Reading: Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes Part Three (chapters 27-38)

Films: Planet of the Apes (dir. Franklin J. Schaffner) Planet of the Apes (dir. Tim Burton)

September 20 Reading: Karel Čapek, War with the Newts Book One: Andrias Scheuchzeri

Exercises due

Friday, September 21: Course selection period ends

Week 4 September 25 Reading: Karel Čapek, War with the Newts Book Two: Up the Ladder of Civilization

September 27 Reading: Karel Čapek, War with the Newts Book Three: War with the Newts

Exercises due

II) Nobodies

Week 5

October 2 Reading: Homer, The Odyssey Books 1-6

Essay 1 due

6

October 4 Reading: Homer, The Odyssey Books 7-12

Film: Red Dwarf, “Psirens” (1993)

Week 6

October 9 Reading: Homer, The Odyssey Books 13-18

October 11 Reading: Homer, The Odyssey Books 19-24

Exercises due

Friday, October 12: Drop period ends

Shipwrecked, Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned Land find themselves atop the Nautilus

(ill. Edouard Riou)

Week 7

October 16 Reading: Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas

Part One, Chapters 1-7

October 18 Reading: Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Part One, Chapters 7-13

Exercises due

October 20-23: Fall Term Break

7

Week 8

October 25 Reading: Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Part One, Chapters 14-24

Exercises due

Week 9 October 30 Reading: Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas

Part Two, Chapters 1-12

November 1 Reading: Jules Verne, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas Part Two, Chapters 13-23

Film: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Richard Fleischer, 1954)Exercises due

III) Journeys to the Moon: So Far, Yet So Close

Week 10

November 6 Reading: Lucian of Samosata, The True StoryEssay 2 due

November 8 Reading: Cyrano de Bergerac, Journey to the MoonFilm: A Trip to the Moon (Georges Méliès)

Scene from Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon (1902)

Week 11 November 13 Reading: Cyrano de Bergerac, Journey to the Moon

Film: Futurama, “The Series Has Landed”

8

IV) Less or More than Human, Part 2

November 15 Reading: H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapters 1-8

Exercises due

Friday, November 16: Last day to withdraw from a course

Week 12

November 20 Reading: H. G. Wells, The Time Machine Chapters 9-16

Exercises due

November 22-25: Thanksgiving Break

Week 13

November 27 Reading: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels “Advertisement” (p. 4), “A letter from Capt. Gulliver to his

Cousin Sympson” (pp. 5-8), “The publisher to the reader” (pp. 9 -10), Part One: A Voyage to Lilliput

Essay 3 due

November 29 Reading: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Part Two: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

Week 14

December 4 Reading: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Part Three: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg,

Glubbdubdrib and Japan

December 6 Reading: Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels Part Four: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

Exercises due

December 8-11: Reading Days

December 12-19: Final Exams

Essay 4 due in instructor’s mailbox in 521 Williams Hall by 5:00 PM on Friday, December 14

9