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The principles and practices of general semantics can be taught to college classes within the context of quality science fiction writings. The works of A. E. van Vogt and Robert Heinlein are particularly useful in exemplifying the details of general semantics. These works and some other science fiction are based upon the Korzybskian principles of "time-binding," the "natural order" of evaluating and decision making, and "consciousness of abstracting from phenomena in constant flux." The intrapersonal and interpersonal environments described in these stories are embodiments of Alfred Korzybski's postulations. The teaching of general semantics is greatly facilitated by the classroom use of these works which illustrate the contemporary viability of such speech communication study. (CH)

The Quinmester course "The Outer Limits" involves an exploration of unknown worlds, mental and physical, through fiction and nonfiction. Its purpose is to focus attention on the ongoing conquest of the frontiers of the mind, the physical world, and outer space. The subject matter includes identification and investigation of unknown worlds in the physical environment (mountain, ocean, land, and space exploration), and in the frontiers of the mind (imagined worlds of man as seen through science fiction, and unexplained worlds of man as seen through parapsychology). It also involves the comparison of reasons for man's desire to conquer his physical and mental worlds and the prediction of new ways in which man will deal with his physical and mental worlds. Eight pages of resource materials are listed. (CL)

This issue of the "Arizona English Bulletin" contains 29 articles related to language teaching in high school English classes. Among the subjects covered are: grammar; signs, symbols, and metaphors; linguistic analysis in the teaching of composition; bilingualism; dialect study; semantics; generative rhetoric and the teaching of composition; science fiction and language study; nonverbal activities; tagmemic theory; language problems of Mexican-American students; transformational grammar; vocabulary development; the language of politics; using multimedia to teach the language of allusion; lexicography; and Biblical language and style. Some of the articles contain bibliographies. (DI)

Science fiction is discussed from the following standpoints: What Is Science Fiction?; The History of Science Fiction; and The Themes of Science Fiction. A list of films, books, and records about science fiction is given. (DB)

This junior high school study guide supplements Gore Vidal's "Visit to a Small Planet." Included are quizzes (with answer keys) and teaching suggestions on the presentation of the opus, oral reports, reading comprehension, various acts of the play, vocabulary and word analysis, sentence patterns and tranformations, language usage, composition, allusion, theme, and character analysis. Also provided are a pre- and post-test with answer keys. The guide is designed to provide students with an understanding of science fiction and drama, to enable students to recognize science fiction and drama conventions, and to enable students to read or view science fiction and drama critically. (HOD)

Science Fiction is interdisciplinary by its very nature, merging elements of science, fantasy, and popular art into an open-ended mythology shared by its creators and audience. The use of science fiction can help in making education more general, more flexible, and more relevant to possible future needs. Even at its most general level of information, in the most inept styles, science fiction can still give a personal immediacy to issues which statistics and discursive prose usually lack. To make adequate use of science fiction in the schools may require applications of the "open classroom" concept--that is, a classroom which would be "open" to the world, to the future, and to the individual student. However, interdisciplinary concerns can be introduced into many courses within the traditional curriculum, since bringing in the future can help liberate almost any subject matter. Thus, it may be possible to turn high school and college courses at all levels in the direction of relevance by making this form of literature serve extra-literary ends. (HOD)

As a supplement to Project Physics Unit 2, specially selected articles are presented in this reader for student browsing. Eight excerpts are given under headings: the starry messenger, Newton and the principia, an appreciation of the earth, space the unconquerable, "Is there intelligent life beyond the earth?," the life story of a galaxy, expansion of the universe, and Dyson sphere. Seven book passages are included under the headings of the black cloud, roll call, a night at the observatory, Kepler's celestial music, universal gravitation, a table of stars within twenty-two light years that could have habitable planets, and three poetic fragments about astronomy. The remaining articles include a preface to the books of the revolutions, Kepler, Kepler on Mars, laws of motion and proposition one, garden of Epicurus, a search for life on earth at Kilometer resolution, the boy who redeemed his father's name, great comet of 1965, gravity experiments, unidentified flying objects, and negative mass. Illustrations for explanation purposes are provided. The work of Harvard Project Physics has been financially supported by: the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the United States Office of Education, and Harvard University. (CC)

A critical symposium on science fiction, this book features essays (by Ben Bova, Frederik Pohl, George Zebrowski, Frank Herbert, Theodore Sturgeon, Alan E. Nourse, Thomas N. Scortia, Reginald Bretnor, James Gunn, Alexei and Cory Panshin, Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Anne McCaffrey, Gordon R. Dickson, and Jack Williamson) dealing with such subjects as: the role of science fiction; the publishing of science fiction; science fiction and the visual media; science fiction and a world of crisis; science fiction, morals, and religion; science fiction and man's adaptation to change; science fiction as the imaginary experiment; science fiction in the age of space; science fiction, new trends and old; the creation of imaginary worlds; and creation of imaginary beings; romance and glamour in science fiction; plausibility in science fiction; and science fiction, teaching, and criticism. A bibliography of books discussing science fiction is included. (LL)

Willowbrook High School (Villa Park, Ill.) senior social studies course offers nine-week unit in the effects of technological change on society. (JH)

An interview with Howard E. Smith, Jr., who edits science and junior books at McGraw-Hill, and with Thomas G. Aylesworth, who edits books for young readers at Doubleday. They discuss the selection of authors and subjects for books; science fiction and biography; characteristics of good science books; and foreign books. (LS)

This index to science fiction magazines includes all United States and British periodicals published from 1966 to 1970, and is a companion to the "Index to Science Fiction Magazines, 1951-1956." The entries are triple-listed by magazines, titles, and authors. A checklist of the magazines indexed contains the month and year, volume and number, page, size, number of pages, and cover artists. The addresses of the magazine publishers are also included. (RS)

Science Fiction appeals to young people and is suited for use in a wide range of classrooms. This handbook of Science Fiction for Teachers suggests ways of using Science Fiction to teach literature and English skills. Study guides based on two Science Fiction stories are presented, with activities such as individual papers and small group activities suggested. Included in the handbook are lists of publishers, professional magazines, amateur publications, conventions and organizations, and movies. Other compilations are Science Fiction for Girls, Critical Works, and an extensive list of recommended novels. (RS)

An expansion of the list published in "Extrapolation" between May 1970 and May 1971, this book contains approximately 800 entries of science fiction criticism. Divided into special categories, all items are annotated and explicitly discuss science fiction. The nine categories of science fiction criticism are Literary Studies; Book Reviews; the Visual Arts; Futorology, Utopia, and Dystopia; Classroom and Library; Publishing; Specialist Bibliographies; Checklists, and Indices; and The Contemporary Scene. (RS)

The future curricula of the humanities are discussed in relation to the inclusion of science-fiction as an appropriate subject. It is believed that the curricula of the future will have the following characteristics in common: (1) Although curricula will give due recognition to the contributions of the past, it will begin in the present and will focus on the present and future world. Emphasis on understanding the present will be essential for survival; (2) It will be interdisciplinary and will cut across or eliminate the narrow subject matter compartments into which education is now arbitrarily divided. Three science fiction books that embody these criteria are discussed. (DB)

Various theories about the purpose of myth are described briefly, and then the place of myth in modern life is explored. Modern man is found to still create his own myths, and his life is still influenced by mythical prototypes and images. Myths, mythical beliefs, and mythical thinking are discovered in socialist, Communist, and totalitarian thought, in entertainment and science fiction, in the behavior of young radicals, in advertising, in theology and modern folk belief, in sex, and in the workings of a scientific and popular imagination stimulated by the belief in an impending global catastrophe. Examples of myth in these areas are discussed. It is suggested that the United States needs to develop a myth of democracy for its present use. (Author/JK)

This volume is comprised of a collection of essays about the origin and development of the science fiction film, its relation to other kinds of film and to science fiction writing, and its aesthetic value. The essays are arranged in four groups: "Beginnings: 1895-1940s,""Popular Years: The 1950s,""Taking Stock: Some Issues and Answers," and "Moving On: The 1960s and After." The editor maintains that the science fiction film has evolved somewhat erratically, sharing a common origin with other kinds of fantasy film and making use of similar content, the same technical devices, such as special effects and artificial settings, and the same dramatic tones, such as horror and surprise. Science fiction films hinge on a change or changes in the world as known. The changes may be caused by man or may be outside his control, but they are intended to have a rational explanation. The changes often depend on displacements in space or time and on changes in man's environment and in man himself. A chronology juxtaposing developments in science with science fiction writing and films, a filmography, a bibliography, and an index are included. (Author/DI)

This annotated list of films focuses on fourteen subject areas: 1) Atomic Energy/Fuel/Power; 2) Automation/Computer/Data Processing; 3) Biochemical Research/Behavioral Sciences; 4) Communications/Transportation; 5) Concepts; 6) Ecology/Pollution/Weather Modification; 7) Education; 8) Food/Population Control; 9) Ocean/Ocean Sciences; 10) Sociology/Future Life Styles; 11) Space/Space Sciences; 12) Technology/Business/Industry; 13) Urban Planning; and 14) Science Fiction Films. Each entry contains the following information: Title, Year of Release, Rental Cost, Length of Film, Color or Black and White, Rental Source and Film Number, and a Brief Description of the Film. The range runs from full-length features to technical information films. (FDI)

The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which children's science fiction reflected adult concern with technology and its impact on human values. Two instruments were designed. The first measured thematic analysis and consisted of six theme categories. The second measured content analysis and consisted of three value categories: individualism, privacy and "others"; and three inclusions of technology: nuclear power, automation, and massification of society. Analysis of the data showed that children's science fiction does include aspects of individualism, privacy, nuclear power, automation and massification of society. Furthermore, 48% of the books read and coded reflected concern with technology's impact on values. Because of the nature of science fiction, it can be used to develop critical thinking and reading, and can be used in relation with social studies and the study of history and science. This study established that children's science fiction is an important and respectable genre of literature. (Author/DB)

For generations teachers have tried to teach the approved "classics" of our culture. Today, with the mass media claiming so much of students' time and interest, this approach is more than ever doomed to failure. A better plan is to focus on popular culture: comic books, popular fiction (westerns, horror tales, and science fiction), movies, and records. Students are involved with these genres to begin with. In fact, this popular culture is often only a simpler version of the high culture, and both are essentially manifestations of the human experience. As such, the themes of both cultures are invariably similar, and the major difference lies in the author's/artist's ability to articulate his ideas. In contrast to the other "pop" media, both television and AM radio are unoriginal and uninteresting. They only bastardize pop myths treated creatively by, for example, films and science fiction. In teaching popular culture, the aim is not to produce thousands of unemployed filmmakers but rather to show how this culture reflects and gives insights into contemporary life and mythology. (JK)

This collection of 40 articles and essays on English-language children's literature encompasses literary history and criticism, standards, changing tastes, the child's response to books, writers and their writing, illustration, and recent books. Most of the articles and essays were written in the 1960's, but a few important earlier contributions to the criticism of children's literature are included. Two new essays--one on science fiction and the other a capsule history of writing for children--were written especially for this book. The six sections of the book are: Books and Children; Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Animals; Historical Fiction; Some Writers and Their Books; Illustration; and The Modern Scene. Notes on contributors, a selected bibliography, and a subject index are included. (MC)

This book is intended (1) as a supplementary text in college courses in children's literature, (2) as a source of information for educators involved in curriculum development programs in the field of children's literature, (3) as a reference guide for schools and community libraries, and (4) as an aid to parents in guiding their children's reading. Included are the following chapters: "Experiencing Literature--Listening, Reading, Sharing, and Enjoying"; "Teachers Study Children"; "Teachers and Books"; "Meeting People through Literature"; "Laughter in Literature"; "Literature and Personal Growth"; "A Historical View of Children's Literature"; "Children Experience Poetry"; "Picture-Story Books"; "Fold Literature"; "Fantasy and Science Fiction"; "Adventure and Mystery"; "Biography";"Historical Fiction"; and "Organizing and Evaluating the Literature Program." Appendix A presents a guide to choosing books and Appendix B discusses awards and prizes in children's literature. (LL)

This book demonstrates how science fiction offers new insights into current social issues and helps students become more creative in their thinking about the future. Chapters begin with a discussion of science fiction through "what if" questions. From there chapters explore the concept of ecological balances through a combination of sciences fiction and fact; selected sciences fiction works which can be used to pose the problem of overpopulation; ways in which science fiction can be used to help students confront the love/hate relationship which exists between men and machines; the automobile as revealed through the extrapolations of the science fiction writer; the threat of nuclear destruction as treated in science fiction; ways in which science fiction has dealt with social order and control, and deviance and nonconformity, tolerance and compassion, economic principles, the decay of cities, and speculations on the future; and how science fiction may be used to approach the study of generation gaps. Student exercises and selected bibliographies accompany each chapter. (HOD)

This index is a companion volume and supplement to the "Index to Science Fiction Magazines 1951-1965," published by Erwin S. Strauss, and the "Index to the Science Fiction Magazines 1966-1970," published by the New England Science Fiction Association. This present volume includes all United States and British Science Fiction magazines published in 1971 and 1972. The index also includes anthologies which publish science fiction stories and which present all, or mostly all, new work as distinguished from anthologies which primarily reprint stories. The index includes citations by magazine or book, by title, and by author, as well as a checklist of the items indexed. The magazine checklist includes the month (or season) of the year, volume and number, page size, number of pages, and cover artists. The anthology checklist includes the series number (if any), paperback or hardcover publication, publisher, and editor. (DI)

Offered in this book is an Argentinian's view of the literary achievement of the United States. The beginning chapters discuss Mather, Edwards, and Freneau; Franklin, Cooper, and the historians; Hawthorne and Poe; and Whitman and Herman Melville. Other chapters are given to a discussion of three poets of the nineteenth century (Lanier, Whittier, Dickinson); the narrators (Porter, Crane, Anderson, Lewis, Dos Passos, Faulkner, and Hemingway); the West (Twain, Harte, and Norris); the expatriates (James, Stein, Fitzgerald, Pound, Eliot, and Miller); the poets (Masters, Robinson, Frost, Sandburg, Lindsay, Hughes, and Cullen); the novel (Bromfield, Steinbeck, Caldwell, Warren, Wright, and Capote); the theater (O'Neill, Wilder, Saroyan, Williams, and Miller); the detective story (Poe, Van Dine, Gardner, Queen, and Hammett); science fiction (Gernsback, Lovecraft, Heinlein, Van Vogt, and Bradbury); and the Western (Grey). The last chapter presents some oral poetry of the North American Indians. (HOD)

This collection of 12 critical essays--written for teachers, librarians, students, and parents--comments on the style, characterization, sense of wonder, and sense of reality in children's books. Specific subjects covered are (1) the fantasy worlds of Andersen, Beatrix Potter, Walter de la Mare, C. S. Lewis, Lewis Carroll, and J. R. R. Tolkien; (2) the craft of writing--sound in poetry, the sense of location and time in fiction, and the audience; (3) the heightening, through books, of the child's sense of the marvelous, and (4) the relationship of the author's life to his work, especially in the works of Wanda Gag and Eleanor Farjeon. (LH)

In an age which has seen the death of religion as an important influence on the intellectual and emotional life of western man, science fiction is the only remaining art form which appeals to the mythopoeic side of the human psyche. (Author)

Includes quotations by ninth grade students in reaction to reading the book. (RD)

A discussion of the implications of technology and the possibilities for the future" reflected in science fiction for children; based on the author's Ph.D. dissertation, A Study of the Impact of Technology on Human Values as Reflected in Modern Science Fiction for Children," Michigan State University, 1970. (Author/RD)