Tue. 9/24 From A Certain Point of View pp. 3–92
Discussion Questions: Group One (Cameron, Luke, Adam)
For each cluster of stories we read in From A Certain Point of View, a small group will be responsible for writing five or six discussion questions. Your questions may voice interpretive assumptions about the text at hand, but try to develop open-ended queries that you don’t necessarily know the answer to, but that you feel strike in some way to the heart of the narrative under consideration. You may, of course, present questions that attempt to understand how the gothic helps us to better understand Star Wars and vice versa, but you might also want to consider narrative or aesthetic choices as well. Please post your questions to the “Discussion Questions Google Doc” no later than 5 pm the day before our meeting. Some points to consider when constructing quality questions:
- The question should be open-ended. Open-ended questions invite discussion and debate and lead to an informed position; close-ended questions can be answered with a simple yes or no. Good questions tend to generate more questions. For example, “Why does it matter that Han shot first in the original theatrical release of Star Wars? And how does Lucas’s editing in the 1990s that has Greedo shoot first impact Han’s character development?”
- The questions should build on what we have studied. They should engage the issues under the discussion in the class or the readings; they should use information and concepts understood by the other class members; they should explore ways of incorporating new information into what is already known. For example, Fred Botting argues, “The first decades of the twentieth century, preoccupied by the speed of technological and economic development, seemed to have little time for monsters. The all-too-real horrors of World War I pushed fantastic terrors aside. None-the-less, scientific innovation, mechanization and the rapidity of urban and economic life seemed to render things and selves less substantial: a sense of ghostliness pervaded the times and the techniques of innovative literary presentation” (13-14). To what effect does Star Wars blend monstrosity and modern warfare?
- The questions should be directed at the assumptions and conclusions of the discussed topic. They should challenge assertions and conclusions that are illogical or weak; they should illustrate a general refusal to accept easy answers to complex questions; they should always be directed to specific points of the subject under analysis. For example, Star Wars famously contradicts itself time and time again. In the story “Time of Death,” Obi-Wan Kenobi informs us that he is narrating from beyond the grave: “I am dead…This is happening…At least, I think it is” (333). Obi-Wan’s uncertainty here is troubling given his final declaration to Darth Vader that, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can ever imagine” (333). Should we question Obi-Wan’s knowledge of the force? Or is this a rumination on the mystery of death even for a spiritual master? What does such uncertainty teach us about religious faith? The Occult? Hauntings?
Thurs. 9/26 From A Certain Point of View pp. 93–196 & Imaginary Worlds Podcast, “Han Shot Solo”
(NOTE: The Imaginary Worlds Podcast is no longer freely available online, so this isn’t required listening; however, if you have access to Stitcher or Spotify Premium, then you may want to give them a listen)
Discussion Questions: Group Two (Carter, Aidan, Ted)
Please post your questions to the “Discussion Questions Google Doc” no later than 5 pm the day before our meeting.