4) C. J. Cherryh's Cyteen is one of the most complex portrayals of cloning in 20th-
century science fiction. What is the image of the clone that Cherryh presents?
M.A. seminar 2006/2007 – 1st year Extramural program Instructor: Paweł Frelik, Ph.D.
Great themes of science fiction SPRING TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Choose ONE of the topics. 1) What are the main preoccupations of Peter Watts’ Blindsight? Identify them, analyze them, and try to suggest what conclusions the novel presents, if it does. * * * 2) Why is William Gibson’s Neuromancer often hailed as an archetypal postmodern work? What features of postmodernism does it exemplify? Provide textual evidence where appropriate. * * * 3) What does Frank Herbert’s Dune say about the nature of authority and the influence power has over those who wield it? Provide textual evidence where appropriate. * * * 4) C. J. Cherryh’s Cyteen is one of the most complex portrayals of cloning in 20th‐century science fiction. What is the image of the clone that Cherryh presents? What does she say about cloning as a technology – does she present it as benevolent or harmful? * * ** * ** * ** * * Guidelines – READ CAREFULLY!!! All papers should be typed and delivered in the electronic form. No hand‐written paper will be accepted. Do not print out the paper – I have no use for the hard‐copy version and you will save a few trees. OK, twigs at least. The approximate length of the paper should be 5 pages. Longer paper will be accepted. Significantly shorter papers fail automatically. Use the standardized A4 paper size, all margins of 2,5 cm, double spacing, Times New Roman, 12pt. All quotations from the source texts should be followed by the bracket with the page number, e.g. “He didn’t know what to write about” (345). The argument presented should be structured and clearly organized. The final deadline for submission is June 24th at 23:59. Please send the paper as an attachment to
[email protected]. If you don’t make it on time, I won’t be able to read your paper in June and my signature will be left hanging until September. Please note that the completion of the course requirements is based on the acceptance (and not the submission) of the paper. Or, to cut the long rap short, the quality of the paper and the argument SIGNIFICANTLY influences the acceptance of the paper and the grade. This means it may happen that I will ask you to revise/correct the paper before signing this little book.
