5 November 2003

Teaching Resources
Compiled by Diane Silver

Diane Silver is the editor of the Broadsheet.

Few writers complete their careers without teaching at least one course or workshop. For those of us whose day job doesn't put them at the front of a classroom, even a one-hour session can be daunting. The resources listed below cover teaching both the writing of science fiction and fantasy, and the study of SF/F as literature and should make your next teaching assignment a tad easier.

Writing

Writingworld.com Guide to Science Fiction
The most complete and up-to-date index on this list, this site includes links to numerous articles on writing, interviews with well-known authors and links to other SF/F writing resources.

Teaching Science Fiction Writing
A worksheet for Grades 5-8 created by Lisa Kihn, a math and language arts teacher at Nevin Platt Middle School in Boulder, Colorado.

Science Fiction and the Future
Course outline for Grades 7-9 Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute Detailed lesson plans for a class designed for gifted students.

Science Fiction and Fantasy
Although this is billed as a web page for teenagers, the site includes several articles that might be of interest to beginning writers and veterans faced with the task of teaching beginners.

Science Fiction Resource Guide (on writing)
A somewhat limited list of online resources for science fiction writers. Among the odd omissions is the workshop list, which includes a link to Clarion West, but not to Clarion.

On Teaching Science Fiction

Center For The Study of Science Fiction.
University of Kansas This site includes numerous lists of resources, including the essay Teaching Science Fiction by James Gunn.

Teaching Science Fiction: Unique Challenges, Science Fiction Studies
In this 1978 MLA Special Session, Gregory Benford, Samuel Delany, Robert Scholes, Alan J. Friedman and moderator John Woodcock talk about the difficulties of teaching science fiction at a university.

Definitions of Science Fiction
Site lists 52 definitions of the genre, ranging from Brian Aldiss to Donald A. Wolleheim.

Course Materials For The Study of Science Fiction
Detailed study guides by Paul Brians, a Washington State University English professor, on a variety of science fiction works, including War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin, Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Neuromancer by William Gibson. Brians also includes links to outlines for undergraduate and graduate-level courses.