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****************************************************************** Science Fiction at the Crossroads ****************************************************************** A Proposal to Advance Science Fiction Literature as Way to Help Teachers, Students, Librarians, Academics, Readers, Museum Visitors and Practitioners of the Art by David Brin and James Gunn Summary Science fiction films generate many billions of dollars in commerce and science fictional images fill our lives. Still, very little has been done to harness the art, ideas, and energy of this genre for public good, especially in service of students, educators, and new writers. A number of excellent projects have been launched, but these have floundered because of scattered effort or the distractability of well-meaning volunteers. After carefully examining this problem, an ad hoc group gathered to propose a solution: establishing a paid position of Coordinator of SF Projects. It is our belief that a part-time staffer, properly supervised, can provide continuity, organization, and other services that the extant pool of volunteers and enthusiasts need in order to leverage their dispersed efforts into real accomplishments. A dozen projects have been sorted by the likelihood that they will prove beneficial to youths, educators, writers, publishers, academics, museum visitors, and the general public. We believe that a half-time coordinator -- based at, and supervised by, the Center for the Study of Science Fiction at the University of Kansas -- will test the idea at very low cost. The potential benefits are great if even one of these projects succeeds. The Unrealized Potential of Science Fiction The genre of literature, film, and popular culture called Science Fiction has long captured the public imagination -- and especially the young -- by offering much broader horizons than daily life, extending our perspective into the deep past and far future, or beyond the borders of the Earth. These mental and artistic horizons allow readers, viewers, and others to explore concepts, hopes, fears, and wonders that might otherwise remain out of reach. They also help draw focus on real-world problems, offering ways to illustrate important issues of scientific and educational value. While the influence of science fiction has grown prodigiously at the level of popular culture, generating many billions of dollars of commerce in films and other media, very little has been done to harness this popularity for the public good. Issues are raised superficially in movies, without the public ever becoming aware of more sober and detailed appraisals available in many novels and nonfiction books. Millions of children and teens are barely aware that their favorite tales cast light on fascinating questions of science, history, or public policy. In other words, there is vast potential here for science fiction to give back to a civilization that brought the genre to its golden age. Although many efforts have arisen over the years, trying to fulfill this potential, these efforts -- mostly by groups of volunteers -- have been scattered. They have consisted mostly of helping a few schools here, developing a curriculum there, and training a few teachers or librarians how to energize youthful curiosity by using this most-energetic genre. The founding of the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle, with support of philanthropist Paul Allen, has spurred renewed interest among science-fiction professionals, readers, fans, and so on throughout the U.S. and the world in how to reach out. Some concepts that had seemed visionary seem attainable now that SFM has shown an example of what can be done. The question that many SF proponents, writers, academics, and enthusiasts ask now is how they can build upon this foundation to promote science fiction as a literary genre, help practitioners of this forward-looking art, and make its benefits more broadly available, especially to educators and students. The essential constituencies under discussion here are authors, readers, and publishers of science fiction, along with educators, educational and research institutions, their professional organizations, libraries, museums, students, and fans. Many of these individuals and groups are already active with websites, list-serves, and cadres of vigorous volunteers. In recent years, a growing number have demonstrated their deep sense of social responsibility by initiating charitable or pro bono efforts. Some endeavors have been aimed at using science fiction to promote literacy and reading, or using science fiction stories to illustrate principles in curricula ranging from science to ethics. Other efforts have concentrated on helping new writers or eliciting discussion of social issues that may loom over the next horizon. Unfortunately, only a limited amount can be achieved by volunteers, even when supplied with enthusiasm and a breadth of exciting ideas. Many of these efforts have sputtered or achieved limited results because of a narrow focus, or else dissipated by inefficiencies of small scale. Those who are experienced with such matters know that groups of volunteers are most effective when coordinated by a small corps of well-focused professionals who are skilled at breaking down goals into discrete tasks, tracking progress, and facilitating communications, then knitting individual contributions together for cohesive results. One organization within the genre that has demonstrated this principle is the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), which performs all the functions of a useful authors guild largely through the efforts of volunteers. Much recent discussion, triggered by the arrival of the Seattle-based Science Fiction Museum, has focused on determining which core projects might best accomplish the overall goals of helping students and educators, promoting far-seeing discussion of issues, stimulating interest in science fiction, and serving the needs of practitioners. A list of these core projects is given below. Results so far have been encouraging. A large cadre of volunteers appears to be poised to participate in these projects, with a good prospect for recruiting many more. Yet there is fear that -- once again ñ much of this volunteer effort will be scattered, duplicated, or otherwise wasted. How can we help focus this available pool of volunteer talent and energy so that it won't be dissipated, like many efforts in the past? What is clearly needed is a coordinating center with at least one paid staff member -- properly supervised -- who will leverage and empower volunteers to accomplish the greatest good, applying this stimulating genre to the needs of children, adults, teachers, professionals, writers, fans, and society at large. Proposed Projects for the Coordinator to Assist Let us discuss some of the range of potential projects that our committee has deemed most promising. We have categorized them below in order by the constituencies that might most benefit. However, any close reading will show that all of the constituencies will benefit from all of the projects described below. For Publishers Coordinate efforts to place key texts in libraries and classrooms. Publishers often contribute books to worthy causes when asked and send out examination copies to teachers. A survey of the teaching of science fiction will provide, for the first time, a better picture of what is actually happening in high schools and colleges, and the Coordinator will create a mailing list of teachers who would be interested in receiving additional information about teaching SF and possible texts. The Coordinator will organize such a survey, then solicit interest among educators and librarians for the addition of SF titles, and pass along to publishers the names and addresses of teachers who would like to receive further information or donated books. (Note that this correlates well with several other proposed projects already underway, such as a newly formed organization, "Educators for Science Fiction." A similar approach may be used to augment access to SF on the part of men and women serving in armed forces, both at home and abroad; this has proved a rich area for recruiting lifelong readers of the genre.) Another project with great potential is to coordinate authors and educational volunteers in creating Accelerated Reader quizzes for both SF classics and meritorious recent works. This addresses one of the till-now hidden crises that has loomed recently, threatening this genre and several others. As it comes into increasing use across the nation, the Accelerated Reader Program, which provides credit to primary-school students for passing computerized quizzes based on books listed by the program, has begun to control the reading choices of countless children and youths. The availability of an AR quiz can determine whether a book will be picked up or ignored by millions of young people. At present, the overall assortment of books that appear on the national AR lists -- and on special state or local lists -- is shocking to anyone familiar with science fiction. It includes many titles of inferior quality, while omitting at least 95% of the books that any aficionado of the field would call "core classics" or recent works best-suited to young readers. With many volunteers ready to take part -- and many authors ready to assist -- an effort to improve the presence of science fiction on Accelerated Reader appears to be time well invested. Also of potential interest to publishers, coordinating a project to distribute lesson plans for particular books or entire courses or getting SF books established as standard texts. (See below for the Short Course concept.) Finally, the effort described below -- aimed at connecting authors to speaking engagements in local schools and libraries -- offers publishers one more way of generating publicity for rising authors. For Authors and Educators Help to set up and maintain a much more vigorous speakers bureau of science-fiction people -- authors, editors, futurists, and teachers -- willing to make personal visits to classrooms, libraries, and other venues, either pro bono or for fees. Teachers, librarians, or community events coordinators who want a speaker for their class or locale will be able to find the nearest such people to their zip-code area via a convenient website that includes information about an author's books, topics, background, and possible fees. This bureau might also create opportunities for paid engagements that both generate income and spread concepts of a forward/future-oriented genre. A more ambitious project, but one that has already attracted a considerable amount of volunteer activity, is to create a short-course in the Teaching of Science Fiction. This short course, already taking shape, will offer university-accredited professional development credit for teachers, university students, and so on. It could take two forms:
An on-line version for credit, which librarians and teachers have enthusiastically requested, could be made available through a continuing education division. Speakers and programs also would be suggested and arranged for major professional conferences. Finally, and responding to an upswell of interest by teachers and librarians across the country, the proposed Coordinator will maintain the website, list-serve, and core functions of a new organization -- "Educators for Science Fiction" -- until such time as that group is able to manage on its own. Great synergies are possible by coordinating this group with the Speakers Bureau, the campaign to upgrade Accelerated Reader, the short course, and ongoing efforts to create and post useful reading lists and other teaching materials that are up-to-date and curriculum-ready. For Universities and Colleges A growing number of higher-education institutions are demonstrating interest in maintaining or developing expertise in science fiction. At present, these efforts -- for example at Temple University, the Merrill Collection in Toronto, the University of California at Riverside, Georgia Tech, Florida Atlantic, University of Liverpool, and others -- are at best loosely aware of each other, resulting in much duplicated effort. With minimal time and work, the proposed Coordinator can create core services for a consortium of these institutions, establishing lines of communication, a discussion group, a website, and opportunities to share ideas. Such a consortium might act in concert to represent science fiction in the highest levels of education, establish greater legitimacy and respect for the field, create and coordinate degree programs, and correlate collections. For Museums and Public Media Obviously, the availability of speakers, short-courses, and a university network will all be helpful resources to groups like the Science Fiction Museum or the revamped Griffith Planetarium and Science Center, seeking to reach the public with high-excellence programs mixing popular verve with genuine educational content. Whether the aim is to assist in connecting with the communities that are physically local to the Center, or creating outreach and awareness that is nationwide ñ even worldwide ñ these activities can only help. Also, the infrastructure we have described here has great potential usefulness to mass media, such as by linking television producers with appropriate people to interview in a wide range of future-oriented topics. By building and maintaining a website database where such resources are all made available, the coordinator will help build valuable network connections. Once this core effort is fully underway, with certain incremental results to show, it will clearly offer a way for museums or other institutions to gather resources and partners to apply for grant money from sources such as the NSF. By including the new networks of educators and universities as consultants, the grant proposals will gain respectability and receive greater serious attention. Above all, by creating and maintaining an exciting network of future-hungry volunteers, this project will offer many services down the road that are not mentioned here. *** The list of projects described here may seem -- at first sight -- impossibly ambitious even for several full time employees, not to mention one part-timer. But this presumption misses the point. First, there is considerable overlap in many of these efforts. Second, the principal aim is to coordinate a large number of volunteers who are already passionately interested, and who have already demonstrated this through efforts in each and every one of these proposed endeavors! Moreover, the projects are easily prioritized and can be tackled efficiently with proper supervision by experienced senior people at the Center for the Study of Science Fiction. Creating a Coordinator Position with Maximum Efficiency Such a staff position will be ineffective if it is created in isolation. Thus, we propose that it be established where there is already in place a corps of experts in this field, knowledgeable about all past efforts, with all of the contacts and experience needed for the coordinator to set to work with the foundations already in place. The Center for the Study of Science Fiction (CSSF) at the University of Kansas has volunteered to provide oversight, office space, and technology for such a position established by outside contributions. This position could begin with a half-time graduate student who is already attracted to CSSF programs, who would work nine months of the academic year for the going research-assistant rate of $10,000. It seems reasonable and prudent to make provisions for about $5,000 in expenses, bringing the total cost of the trial first year to $15,000. This extremely low projection is a result of several factors including use of available University infrastructure and overhead, voluntary supervision by CSSF researchers, plus low cost-of-living in the centrally located Lawrence, Kansas, area. Thus, the initial year's experimental effort can be run at very low risk, although a two- or three-year commitment will provide a sounder trial period. If it proves effective, the position might then be funded for more ambitious goals, employing a full-time facilitator. Core funding for a trial project has already put in place $7,000, composed of an endowment established by James Gunn, a grant from SFWA, and a contribution by David Brin. With this in hand, matching funds are being solicited from publishers, writers, fan groups, SF academic organizations, and universities for contributions of $500 -- 2,000. The Center for the Study of Science Fiction ñ along with a large network of volunteers - is ready to get to work. Signatories to This Proposal A partial list of those signing this proposal in support:
James E. Gunn, author, Emeritus Professor at University of Kansas, CSSF Director
Catherine Asaro, President, SFWA Andrew Burt, Vice President, SFWA Marianne Dyson Jeffrey A. Carver Jane Yolen Sean P. Fodera
Sheila Finch, Western Regional Director, SFWA Alexis Glynn Latner, South-Central Director, SFWA Deborah Ross, Secretary, SFWA Justin Stanchfield, Treasurer, SFWA Diane Turnshek, Eastern Regional Director, SFWA |