Essay Help

Hey all,

I need your help in trying to narrow/finalize my thesis for the final written assignment…..it was originally “good education standards are a product of any dominant civilization” and I was going to support this with historical examples. But I think this thesis is too broad…and I should narrow it down to something specific like “the USA-USSR rivalry and its relevance to how different standards of education affect technology/scientific advancement in both countries…” ? If you guys have any other ideas I would really appreciate it!

Thanks !

DB Week 04/19: Science Fiction & Socialism

Ok, this is more of a "ground-testing" of my final written assignment, which focuses on the socialist tint of the plot, characters and action in most SF seen today. I thought this would be a great opportunity to get some pre-draft thoughts from you guys, since I really hadn't finalized my thesis until middle of last week.

You may answer any (or all) of the questions below. If there's something related to this, but not covered in the questions below, please don't hesitate to air your opinions.

1. Does the extensive relationship between science and power spill over into the dynamic between science fiction and power?

2. Is there an ideal power structure advocated in SF genre? If so, of what kind is it: bureaucratic, aristocratic, socialist, capitalist, utopian or dystopian?

3. Is SF merely an outlet for futuristic technological speculations, or is the main purpose of SF to air your political/social views in an unbiased context?

4. What do you think ultimately resolves the conflict set up in works of SF? New technology, luck, act of God, change in power structure, protagonist's actions (bravery, sacrifice, maturity, etc.) [note: these are not mutually exclusive]. Are these really very different to other forms of fiction?

It would help if you'd post something before Friday (when my draft is due). I know I'm asking a little more than usual, but this is after all, the final DB week... so let's sign off with a flourish!

Star Trek: Episode viewed on Monday

In the Star Trek episode viewed in class on Monday how does Spock’s supposed character as a Vulcan compare to what his actions say about him? Why do you think Spock admitted guilt towards the end and asked to be arrested?

Science Power and Societal Perceptions

So as you all know we recently just finished (or if your like me your still working on) thhe second written assignment which if you decided to follow the prompt had something to do with science and power. As I was reading through my comments etc on my rough draft Something that Hasan suggested on mine was to discuss the way scientific knowledge affects our perception of other people/societies. Although I did not end up including this in my essay for lack of sufficient research time (thanks to my procrastinating self) I thought it was a really interesting idea and thought that maybe you all would like to discuss it here. So.......how does science affect our perception of other cultures?

Discussion Blog Week 3/15

We have read Basalla and MecLeod's articles about development of colonial science throughout the history. Basalla gives us a clear three-phase progress while MecLod argues that it involes politics. I just want to ask for everyone: which one do you think is more accurate in interperating the colonial science in the colonial period of the world and which one can be applied to current countries? Do you think it is the political factor or the economic factor that encourages the colonical science to develop?

Discussion Blog Week 3/8

So here is a question I now pose to everyone, we've talked about what makes good science fiction, we've talked about science and power and almost everything related to that. However, I am wondering whether or not you guys have any recommendations to me as far as science fiction goes. In terms of books or movie or tv shows it doesn't matter.

To actually post a question, however, I was wondering whether or not you all read into the scripts of shows or movies or in between the lines of text in order to find out a hidden meaning. If you don't normally do this...do you not enjoy doing it or have you not found anything that is intriguing enough?

I know for myself that I don't personally like reading into a story...but if its something that has an in depth plot line that I need to consider certain characteristics to understand the story then I will do so. Let me know your thoughts/if you have any questions

Discussion Post 5

Well we've all been reading and discussing about a whole lot of science-fiction (in-class and on this blog), both colonial sci-fi and modern, that is post-colonial sci-fi.

So let me ask you, what do you think makes good science fiction? Here I'm talking about books, movies, shows, etc. basically any science fiction artifact. How do we judge the quality of that artifact? By the realistic possibility of it happening? By the philosophical/scientific questions it raises? By the technology it depicts? By the depth of its plot and characters, like any other form of fiction? Or something else?

Here's a few snippets from really extraordinary science fiction I'm aware of, just to get you all thinking on what I consider great science fiction.

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (book)

Courtesy: www.littlebrown.co.uk

2. Star Trek (franchise)

Courtesy: Paramount Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment

3. Jules Verne (author)

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