James Tiptree, Jr.

As a process distinct from its poured cousin, sprayed concrete involves using compressed air to propel cement with various chemical admixtures at a surface. Used in tunnelling for rock surface stabilization, and above ground for securing slopes and fabricating fake rockeries, its chimeric character ranges from the polished landscapes of skateparks and swimming pools to mimicking cast concrete in structural repair work. The origins of this industrial process lie with taxidermist Carl E. Akeley (1864–1926), who invented it during his pioneering work in the proto-photographic field of natural habitat dioramas at the Chicago Field Museum in 1907. Further cementing André Bazin's notion of photography as embalmment, Akeley also invented a unique 35mm cine camera during his time at the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The essay explores this historical intersection between photography, taxidermy and architecture, and its wider implications for thinking through photography's material contingency.

The class explored the idea of the ‘post-human’ in contemporary thought. Beginning with a discussion of one of its foundational and most influential texts, Donna Haraway’s ‘A Manifesto for Cyborgs’, the class first examined Haraway's controversial thesis that, in the cultural and technological conditions of the late twentieth century, the ontological separations between, firstly, humanity and nature and, secondly, humanity and technology can no longer be sustained. Further classes explored these thought-provoking concepts through an engagement with some contemporary sf texts: Daniel Keyes’ popular novel “Flowers for Algernon“ (1966), James Tiptree Jr.’s novella “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” (1974), and William Gibson’s influential novel “Neuromancer“ (1984). Throughout all these discussions, we travelled to the limits of the 'human' as traditionally understood, in order to probe the assumptions that lie behind, and the limits created by, this term.

In part because I'm now teaching at the alma mater of James Tiptree, Jr., I've decided to try something very different for me next semester. (...Also in part due to Chaucerian's Guilt?)

Course Description:

Some historians of science fiction would locate the beginnings of the modern genre in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but the space that would later come to be called "science fiction" was for many decades dominated by male authors, readers, filmmakers, and fans. In the early 20th century, the first science fiction pulp magazines printed short stories written almost exclusively by men, and the typical narratives of the time catered to a readership at least perceived to be almost exclusively male as well, rarely featuring women as characters in any role except that of the damsel-in-distress or villainous temptress. Even when Sarah Lawrence alumna Alice Sheldon began publishing overtly feminist science fiction under the pen name "James Tiptree, Jr." in the 1960s and 70s, some readers refused to believe that a woman could be behind the pseudonym. Today the ranks of science fiction authors are filled with female authors who have found the genre a unique tool for exploring women's issues and, often, for developing feminist ideas in an imaginative space, for example by positing the possibility of radically different social structures in the far future, or by pondering more fluid alien bodies and gender identities or the consequences of new reproductive technologies. In spite -- and in defiance -- of the historical and to some extent continuing identification of science fiction as a predominantly masculine or even "macho" field, our syllabus will consist entirely of female authors writing within or otherwise in close proximity to genre science fiction: not only Shelley and other earlier authors of so-called proto science fiction, but also major figures of 20th and 21st-century literature such as Ursula K. Le Guin, Joanna Russ, Octavia Butler, Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, and many more. We will also examine some of the perhaps unexpected convergences between feminist theory and science fiction, best exemplified in the works of Donna Haraway.

This thesis overviews conventional conceptual models of  TIME, as described by cognitive linguistics, as well as the novel extensions of conventional models of TIME found in science fiction. The first chapter presents an overview of conceptual metaphor theory and a discussion of conventional metaphorical models of  TIME,  such as the MOVING TIME  and MOVING OBSERVER metaphors. Chapter two provides an outline of conceptual blending theory, and presents a conceptual blending account of the structure of conventional models of TIME. The third chapter contains a discussion of the role of episodic memory, mental time travel, and conventional models of LOCATION and CHANGE OF LOCATION in the conceptualization of the MOVEMENT IN TIME,  the analysis of novel scenarios of MOVEMENT IN TIME in science fiction, in relation to the model of  NATURAL LOCATIONS of the  SELF that the particular scenario activates, the discussion of the possible clashes between the frames of MOVEMENT IN TIME and MOVEMENT IN SPACE in time-travel science fiction, and  a survey of several extensions of conventional models of CAUSATION, as related to the novel extensions of conventional models of  TIME  in science fiction. The analyses employ theoretical models provided by cognitive linguistics, notably conceptual blending theory and conceptual metaphor theory. The source texts discussed in the third chapter include science fiction stories by Terry Carr, L. Sprague de Camp, Henry Kuttner and James Tiptree Jr., as well as the novel The Time Machine by H.G. Wells.

Fixer Asach Quinn is bored and jaded on Makkasar. Librarian Colchis Barthes is winding down his career on Sparta. Governor Jackson is corrupt and scheming on Maxroy's Purchase. Seer Laurel Courter is young and determined. Splintered by distance, competing visions, and outside rivalries, New Utah is forgotten and alone in a remote backwater of Imperial space. Its residents, busy scratching a living from alien soil beyond the Coal Sack nebula, don't even know they've been designated as an "Outworld." A lot of them don't even know each other.

Thirty-five years ago, the Moties made first contact with the Second Empire of Man. Sentient, capable, and sometimes charming, they nevertheless proved to be enemies of humankind—--not by intent, but by dint of biology( Mote in God's Eye). The Fleet’s ability to block Motie access to human space now depends upon a shaky alliance with the horrifically prolific, technologically brilliant, three-armed Moties themselves ( Gripping Hand). Human and Motie shareholders have assumed joint control of industrial giant Imperial Autonetics, but the Empire still decides the fate of worlds. Those already possessing space-worthy craft may join as Classified systems, and enjoy the benefits of access to new technology, trading rights, and Fleet protection. Those less advanced may be parceled out as colonial concessions ( King David's Spaceship). Outworlds that refuse to join risk annihilation by zealous commanders intent on preserving the hard-won peace at any cost.

New Utah's fate depends upon meeting the Empire with one, united voice. Enter the Seer, the Fixer, and the Librarian. One way or another, everything is about to change.


"While faithful to the premises of The Mote in God's Eye, Outies takes a fresh look at that universe from the fringes of the Second Empire of Man."      --- Larry Niven

"With page turning action coupled to a stunning sense of place, Outies takes the notion of 'first cointact' to new levels."    --- Jerry Pournelle