Sociology of Space Travel, Thursday, 6th Period

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

Grinning like a cheshire cat as she stood at the front of the room, Laura watched the students enter the classroom and sign in, then filter out to take seats. The SmartBoard behind her was illuminated, a navigation chart of her home star system visible. "Sign in and have a seat. We'll be getting started in just a minute. I'd like to give everyone a few minutes to get here."

Five minutes passed and she decided it had been long enough. There might be a few people left to straggle in -- it usually happened on the first day of classes as everyone tried to find new classrooms. Any latecomers would just have to miss a few things.

"Okay, we'll go ahead and get started," Laura began. She folded her arms across her chest and leant against the front of her desk, crossing her ankles. "Welcome, everyone, to Sociology of Space Travel. I'm Laura Roslin. As with many of you, I'm not from around here. As a matter of fact, I've done a bit of space travelling to be here with you today. What you see on the board behind me is a navigation chart of my home system."

Clicking a button on the remote, the chart zoomed out and tilted on its side, shifting. Finally, on reaching the Milky Way system, it zoomed back in, this time on Earth. The Colonial system was now a barely visible speck, blinking. She smiled. "We're not exactly neighbors. And yet I made this journey; lots of others have done the same, some from even farther out. So what is it that drives us to the stars? Why do we leave the relatively safe confines of our home planet and venture out into a cold, dark vacuum? And how do we react and interact when we get there?

"These are the questions we'll be asking a lot this term. We'll also be looking at how space travel is percieved in popular culture -- everything from books and comics to movies and television. But first--" Here, she paused, reaching behind her and grabbing a stack of index cards, complete with clipped corners "--we're going to get to know each other a little better."

Going to the front of each row, she handed out an alotment of cards. "Take one of these and pass them back. On the card, I'd like for each of you to write down your name; your year; the best way to reach you -- whether it be e-mail or phone; and other social science classes you've taken, whether they be history, politics, psychology, what-have-you. Drop them on my desk on your way out.

"Aloud, we're going to go around the room, and I'd like you to introduce yourself to me and to your classmates. Let us know your name, where you're from, and some little tidbit you don't mind sharing." She cleared her throat. "But let's not, ah, overshare, okay?"

The class led itself through the introductions. Toward the end, Roslin moved back to the front of the room, powering off the image of Earth. It was replaced with a simple white board. She picked up one of the electronic pens from the tray, and turned to regard the class, listening as the last students finished up.

"Next we move on to a little class content--" her eyes flitted to the clock "--albeit not much." Smiling, she scrawled on the board: Reasons, and underscored it. "So why do we travel in space? What possible reason could people have for attempting such a dangerous feat?"

Writing down each reason as they were listed, Roslin paused after a few moments, returning the pen to the tray. "Okay. A pretty good start. For homework, I'd like you to, at some point before next Thursday, venture out into a public place and adopt some noticibly strange or quirky behavior." A lopsided grin curved her lips. "I realize for some of you, this may not be a far stretch, so I would ask that you choose something out of the norm for you. Take some notes on the reactions you receive, and write, oh, let's say -- a page on the experience.

"Until then, I should have my office hours on Wednesday, and I'm listed in the directory if you need to reach me.

"Oh, and yes, I will have your syllabi next week. I had a few...distractions...this week. Now," she continued, slipping her glasses off, "get outta here!" Waving with a grin, she rounded the corner of the desk and began gathering her papers.



[OCD coming up! Have at! ]

Comments

Sign In

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

The sign in sheet waited on the front corner of the desk.

Re: Sign In

[janet_fraiser]

Janet Fraiser

Discussion - Introductions

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

"Aloud, we're going to go around the room, and I'd like you to introduce yourself to me and to your classmates. Let us know your name, where you're from, and some little tidbit you don't mind sharing." She cleared her throat. "But let's not, ah, overshare, okay?"

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[janet_fraiser]

"My name is Janet Fraiser. I'm from Colorado Springs. That's in the state of Colorado, in the United States of America, for those who aren't from this country, planet, or time period. I'm applying for the pre-med program at Harvard for next fall."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"Hi!" Kaylee said cheerfully. "I'm Kaylee and I'm from a planet really far away from here in the future. I'm a mechanic on the ship I live on back home."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[morpherboy.livejournal.com]

"I'm Marco, from Riverside, California and an interesting fact about me is...I'm really good at video games."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[chasingangela]

"I'm Angela Chase, I'm from near Pittsburgh --- Pennsylvania -- and I'm moving to New York for college next year."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

"My name is D'anna Biers. I'm from Leonis." She might have preened a little there since she didn't have to explain that for once. "And I'm an amazon-fighter frog fearer senior brain breaker a cheerleader."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

"My name's Maia Rutledge, I'm from Seattle. I was born in 1938 and I'm adopted."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"I'm Cameron Mitchell. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee," Cameron introduced himself. "And uh... I want to be a pilot."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"I'm Sam Carter, most recently from Colorado Springs, Colorado, but before that I spent some years in DC. Um...I have a serious need for speed."

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[ktarian-wildman.livejournal.com]

"I'm Naomi Wildman," Naomi said, "I'm from San Francisco, California in the year 2381 and I grew up on a starship,"

Re: Discussion - Introductions

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

"I'm Elizabeth Weir, I'm originally from Connecticut and I'm also applying to Harvard. Not for pre-med though."

Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

"So why do we travel in space? What possible reason could people have for attempting such a dangerous feat?"

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[janet_fraiser]

"Exploration. Discovery of new people and cultures." Janet shrugged. "Defense, maybe, or even to attack and conquer others."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[enginegirl.livejournal.com]

"Some people travel in space cause they just wanna see new places and meet new people," Kaylee said. At least that's the reason she traveled in space.

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[morpherboy.livejournal.com]

"Conquest, resources. Cinnamon buns."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[chasingangela]

"To escape," Angela suggested, half to herself. "To go beyond what everyone else does."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[dbiers.livejournal.com]

"To get from place to place." D said matter of factly. "I mean, why do people drive cars? We want to get somewhere and found a means to our end through space travel."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

"To visit friends and to have interplanetary alliance."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"Right now, I'd say it's mostly curiosty," Cameron said. "I can see that changing, though. If we need more room or resources."

Re: Discussion - Reasons for Space Travel

[carter-i-am.livejournal.com]

"To prove a scientific theory. To be where we've never been," Sam said, looking at the star chart almost wistfully. "To learn about and from new cultures we've never dreamed of. To defend ourselves from attack."

Index Cards

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

Go here (http://hera-rises.livejournal.com/8015.html).

Sidebar Discussions

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

Spaceman Spiff happens.

Re: Sidebar Discussions

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

Cameron was trying his best to pay attention, but he hadn't gotten much sleep so he had trouble keeping up with the rest of the discussions.

After Class

[hera-rises.livejournal.com]

The SmartBoard still fascinated her, so Laura took a few minutes after class to play with the programs a bit more.

Re: After Class

[notcalledlizzie.livejournal.com]

Elizabeth hesitated, waiting for the rest of the class to leave. "I owe you an apology, Professor," she said quietly.