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fandomhigh2007-01-18 03:21 pm
hera-rises.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2007-01-18 03:21 pm
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Sociology of Space Travel, Thursday, 6th Period
Students arrived, finding Professor Roslin leant against the front of the desk, smiling at them as they entered. Her arms were folded across her chest, and her glasses dangled from her right hand. The sign in sheet was on the corner of the desk, just beyond her glasses; an empty “IN” basket sat next to it, ostensibly for the homework assignment from last week.
“Okay, let’s get rolling,” she said as the clock ticked over. “Last week, we talked a bit about the reasons why we travel into space.” Keying a button on the remote, the SmartBoard came to life, showing the list collected during the previous class. “Over the course of the term, we’re going to be discussing a lot of these. Today, however, we’re going to be discussing ‘aliens.’”
She grinned as she moved to the board and cleared the screen. Using one of the electronic markers, she scrawled the word “ALIEN” in blue, capital letters. “We toss this word around a lot – ‘alien’ – an ‘alien’ planet, an ‘alien’ concept. What does it mean? And here, I’m not necessarily looking for a dictionary answer. I’m actually curious as to what it means to you.”
“That being said,” she continued after a bit of discussion, “let’s talk about your homework. You were supposed to go to a public place and act erratically, record the responses you got. What type of ‘alien’ behavior did you adopt? How did others react around you?”
They went around the room, listening to the stories as they were volunteered. It was an experiment Laura could remember having one of her high school psychology classes perform; the stories then were fairly amusing. She hadn’t been at all sure how the assignment would work here, in an environment where the odd was an everyday occurrence.
Finally, she nudged the conversation back to the topic at hand. “So last week,” Roslin said, “some of our reasons for space travel included discovery, exploration; meeting new people and seeing new things. So what happens when that new discovery or any new friends we make are ‘alien’ to us? How do you think we react? Why do we react that way?”
When this discussion drew to a close, the former president resumed her place, leaning against the edge of the desk. “Okay. Next week -- Terran space travel. After class, I’ll be having a few key episodes of From Earth to the Moon set aside -- chiefly those dealing with lunar orbit, the launch pad fire, and the moon landing. That’s about three hours worth of viewing, and you have about a week to take care of it. If you can’t get to the library, I happen to know it’s available for rental. Oh, and I strongly suggest you take notes.
“That's it from me this week. Now, get out of here, and have a good weekend.”
She waved them out of the classroom, then set about gathering her things.
[OCD threadscoming up. I'll also hunt up some links about the episodes Laura mentioned after I get home.]
“Okay, let’s get rolling,” she said as the clock ticked over. “Last week, we talked a bit about the reasons why we travel into space.” Keying a button on the remote, the SmartBoard came to life, showing the list collected during the previous class. “Over the course of the term, we’re going to be discussing a lot of these. Today, however, we’re going to be discussing ‘aliens.’”
She grinned as she moved to the board and cleared the screen. Using one of the electronic markers, she scrawled the word “ALIEN” in blue, capital letters. “We toss this word around a lot – ‘alien’ – an ‘alien’ planet, an ‘alien’ concept. What does it mean? And here, I’m not necessarily looking for a dictionary answer. I’m actually curious as to what it means to you.”
“That being said,” she continued after a bit of discussion, “let’s talk about your homework. You were supposed to go to a public place and act erratically, record the responses you got. What type of ‘alien’ behavior did you adopt? How did others react around you?”
They went around the room, listening to the stories as they were volunteered. It was an experiment Laura could remember having one of her high school psychology classes perform; the stories then were fairly amusing. She hadn’t been at all sure how the assignment would work here, in an environment where the odd was an everyday occurrence.
Finally, she nudged the conversation back to the topic at hand. “So last week,” Roslin said, “some of our reasons for space travel included discovery, exploration; meeting new people and seeing new things. So what happens when that new discovery or any new friends we make are ‘alien’ to us? How do you think we react? Why do we react that way?”
When this discussion drew to a close, the former president resumed her place, leaning against the edge of the desk. “Okay. Next week -- Terran space travel. After class, I’ll be having a few key episodes of From Earth to the Moon set aside -- chiefly those dealing with lunar orbit, the launch pad fire, and the moon landing. That’s about three hours worth of viewing, and you have about a week to take care of it. If you can’t get to the library, I happen to know it’s available for rental. Oh, and I strongly suggest you take notes.
“That's it from me this week. Now, get out of here, and have a good weekend.”
She waved them out of the classroom, then set about gathering her things.
[OCD threads
Re: Discussion 1 - What *is* alien?