1. Several of the works we have seen are concerned with love and human affection. They puzzle out what it really means to love another person, or they pose the question without answering it. It may seem odd that so many love stories appear in a genre like science fiction; but maybe there is something in the genre that allows writers to say things about love that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to say. For two of the works studied in this part of the course (but not two that were discussed on the same day), show how the specific SF “novum” in each story — that is, the “new thing,” the science-fictional aspect of the story — provides unique opportunities to say things about the love, friendship, romance and/or the human heart. Show how the stories are similar and different in this way. (NOTE: If you fail to connect the “novum” and the story’s attitude about love, you will lose points.)My topic : “The Wedding Album”–by David Marusek and “Her” (Film)2.Several of the stories we have read since the last exam raises the question of humanity and identity — Who are we? What does it mean to be a person or a human? How similar does another being have to be before we treat it as human? What are our ethical obligations to those who are different from ourselves? This is one of the central themes of science fiction because most science fiction writers are persuaded that either human beings will change in the future, or that we will be confronted by other beings that will force us to confront these issues. Choose two of the stories/films we have read since the last exam (but not two that were discussed on the same day), and show how these authors treat these questions of humanity and identity — what do they think the core questions are, and how do they begin to answer them? How are the stories similar or different in this way? My topic: “Adam and No Eve” by Alfred Bester, Compare to： John Varley, “Air Raid”. Octavia E. Butler, “Speech Sounds” Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake.（only choose one）
