SF novels that should be taught in schools
by Rob - January 21st, 2010.Filed under: Rollback, Wake.
SF Signal asked a bunch of experts for recommendations for science fiction books to be taught in schools. To my delight, Jack McDevitt recommended Wake and Prof. Paul Levinson recommended Rollback.
Visit The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site
and WakeWatchWonder.com
January 21st, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Studying hominids in a university SF course was actually how I was introduced to your novels. Enough issues are brought up that you could talk about it pretty much endlessly. That is what I'd like to use…
January 21st, 2010 at 6:37 pm
Cool, Zafri! Which university, and what subject, if I may ask?
January 21st, 2010 at 8:09 pm
It was for a second year science fiction course for English lit. We also read day of the triffids, a scientific romance, the time machine, Frankenstein, a few others. I think I saw a different book of yours in the reading list the year after I took it, as well, but I don't recall which one.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:37 pm
I had something similar when I studied at Brock about 10 years ago. For an English lit course on "Modern Fiction" we studied Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and Interview with the Vampire.
January 22nd, 2010 at 12:44 am
I recently taught a book at the University of Winnipeg called "i-Robot Poetry" by Jason Christie (published by EDGE): http://www.edgewebsite.com/books/irobotpoetry/ir-catalog.html
January 22nd, 2010 at 1:44 am
That's a pretty cool reading list. I'm unfamiliar with quite a few of them — but it's like the Amazon 'if you liked this, try these' lists.
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:08 am
McDevitt's got great taste. Omega's my favorite book by him. Wish humans were more like the Goompahs in politics.
Zafri, you forgot to tell Rob which university it was. :)
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:35 am
Thanks for the reminder, Snake. University of Ottawa. We also read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.
I took the course in my first year, 5 years ago, so the details are a bit hazy. I do know that I went on to buy humans and hybrids afterwards, among others.
January 29th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
On the first day of Grade 10 Chemistry our teacher gave us "The Black Cloud" by Fred Hoyle to read as a precursor to an introduction to and discussion of the scientific method and philosophy of science.