Phone: 703-450-2506
Ext. 37198

Office Hours
by appointment at ELI or the Loudoun Campus

English 256, Literature of Science Fiction, will introduce you to the ideas, themes, characteristics, and trends of science fiction as a genre of literature from its beginnings to the present time.

Though there is quite a bit of reading in this course (one novel and 20 short stories), all of the assigned works belong on a list of the greatest classic science fiction of all time. I believe that you will find most, if not all, of these works fun to read.

Before you begin the course proper, please read over all of the information contained in the links below.

When you are ready to start the course, go to the Calendar of Activities, choose Week 1 from the menu, and Engage!

You must have successfully completed one of the following courses before you can enroll in Eng 256, Literature of Science Fiction:

• Eng 112, College Composition II
• Eng 125, Introduction to Literature
• Any comparable college level course on how to read, analyze, and write about literature.

If you are not sure whether you have the proper prerequisites, please email me.

If you successfully complete this course, you will be able to:

• Define the nature of science fiction as literature.
• Differentiate between science fiction and other literature of the fantastic.
• Apply a formal definition of science fiction to a variety of artistic works of popular culture.
• Identify plot, character, point of view, setting, and theme in a number of works of science fiction.
• Identify techniques used in science fiction to convey information about imaginary places and people.
• Explore the concept of extrapolation as it relates to science fiction literature.
• Describe, explain, compare, and analyze the development of common science fiction themes in a variety of works.

This course is being taught completely online. You must have access to a computer and the World Wide Web to participate in this course.

I expect you to:

• Do your own work and complete all assigned tasks in order.
• Check your VCCS email regularly for messages from me.
• Check the Blackboard Announcements regularly for additional information about any aspect of the course.
• Write clear, concise, well-organized, standard English prose.
• Use MLA (Modern Language Association) style documentation to cite all references to outside sources.

If you have a disability about which I should be aware for instructional purposes, please read the Students with Disabilities Disability Documentation Guidelines.

Next, please meet with a disabilities counselor at the Extended Learning Institute or at a campus location of your choice. After reviewing your documentation, the counselor will forward to me detailed instructions on how I should accommodate your disability.

Required reading will consist of one novel (Frankenstein), a number of short stories, and supplementary material and reading guides I have created myself and posted online.

The following titles are available for online purchase through the NVCC Campus Bookstores:

• Shelley, Frankenstein
• Le Guin and Attebery, eds. The Norton Book of Science Fiction
• Silverberg, ed. The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume I

Go to the Distance Learning Bookstore for ordering information. All of these texts are currently in print and may also be available in commercial area and online bookstores.

One additional short story is also available online

• Forster, E.M., "The Machine Stops" available free at http://emforster.de/hypertext/template.php3?t=tms

Consult the Fiction List for information on how to find a free online version of Frankenstein and for the complete list of the assigned stories.

All other reading material is available online.

You have been assigned a VCCS (Virginia Community College System) email address for use in this and other courses that you take through NVCC or other colleges in the VCCS system. The VCCS requires that you use this email account for any course-related email communication so that we can ensure your privacy as required by law.

Please check your email regularly. I will use your VCCS email to inform you of grades, approaching due dates, and all other course-related information. Although I will respond to email sent by you from any other account, I will use only your VCCS account to initiate any communication with you. Please remember to check this account at least once a week.

For information on how to obtain your VCCS email address and check for mail, go to Getting Started Online .

I am an adjunct professor of English at the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College. I normally keep office hours at the Extended Learning Institute. However, I also have a mailbox in the Communication and Human Studies Division (LR 304) at the Loudoun Campus and I can also meet students by appointment at the Loudoun Campus.

The easiest and most reliable way to contact me is by email.

Office Hours are by appointment only. You can arrange to meet me at the offices of the Extended Learning Institute or at the Loudoun Campus.

Voice Mail: 703-450-2506, Ext. 37198

Email: ataormina@nvcc.edu

I usually check email at least once a day Monday through Friday. Unless otherwise noted in the Blackboard Announcements, I will respond to email messages within two business days of receiving them. 

I try to check the Blackboard Forums at least once a day Monday through Friday. Unless otherwise noted in the Blackboard Announcements, I always respond to Forum postings within a week.

Allow at least one week from the date you notify me that you have taken an exam or posted an activity essay for me to receive and complete the grading of your work.

Your grade for this course will be based on the following criteria:

You will also have the opportunity to earn extra credits by choosing to complete activity essays that are worth more points because they require you to read an additional work or view a film or an episode of a television series.

No student may earn more than 100 total extra credit points.

I use the following grading scale:

There are five important course dates for you to keep track of. These are:

• Start date
• Refund date (also known as Last Refund Date)
• Drop date (also known as Inactive Students Dropped Date)
• Withdrawal date (also known as Last Withdrawal Date without F)
• End of Enrollment date

The quick start syllabus that you receive from the Extended Learning Institute will list these dates for you. These dates are not always the same as the dates for on-campus courses. Read (or review) ELI Policies and Procedures  before you begin the course.

To maintain satisfactory progress in this course, you must complete the work specified below by the date indicated or accept the consequences:

I send reminder emails to students before each of the above deadlines.

When you send me your introductory email, I will respond with a personalized schedule that will provide you with suggested due dates for each week's activities and the deadlines for the important course dates discussed above.

Please consult the full Calendar of Activities for a list of the specific tasks you will complete each week. You can also print out a full copy of the Calendar of Activities at Print Calendar.

There are two exams in this course.

Since ELI courses are self-paced, you take exams when you are ready. You must complete all the work required in the syllabus up to the point of any exam before you take that exam. You must take the exams at any one of the five NVCC campus Testing Centers. 

See ELI Policies and Procedures for Testing Center locations and phone numbers. Before you take an exam, please call the Testing Center of your choice to make sure it will be open and stay open long enough for you to complete your exam. Take along your EmplID, a photo ID, and the appropriate Exam Pass.

Exam Passes are available through a link from the Exams button in the course Blackboard.    

When you finish an exam, follow the instructions in the Calendar of Activities to let me know that the exam is available for grading. I will comment on and grade your exam, then upload it to your Gradebook (accessed through the Tools button) on the regular Eng 256 BlackBoard. Only you will be able to see your exam.

If you live outside the geographic area served by the campuses of Northern Virginia Community College, go to the ELI Policies and Procedures page for information about arranging for a proctored exam.

Details about the content of the exams can be found on the Assignments page.

I have created a web site--Beyond. . . --that you will use throughout this course.

On the Beyond. . . site are all the reading materials related to definitions and history of science fiction.

Also on the site are author profiles and reading guides for all the works you have been assigned to read.

You can browse for reading guides to assigned works on the Fiction Guides: Browse Fiction page