401-002: Space and New Mexico: From Aliens to the X-Prize Leslie Donovan ([email protected]) Group: Humanities COURSE DESCRIPTION New Mexico is a place steeped not only in vibrant cultural traditions and creative expressions of art and literature, but also in the technology, science, history, and literature of space, that place of satellites, galaxies and worlds unknown. In this course, we will examine past events and contemporary efforts to begin to comprehend why our state has such a rich connection to the stars and beyond. To accomplish this, we will study such topics as the women astronauts trained at Lovelace Clinic in the 1960s, consider the real and popular culture history surrounding the possible crash of an alien spaceship near Roswell, investigate the biographies of some New Mexico astronauts, visit the Spaceport near Alamogordo, witness video moments in the 2006 X-Prize Cup to create a space elevator, review scientist Robert Goddard’s development of early rockets, explore the site of the Very Large Array of telescopes near Socorro, read science fiction by New Mexico writers, among others. Our discussion of the role of space in New Mexico’s history and future will feature interdisciplinary explorations of materials from technology, social science, and physical sciences viewed primarily from perspectives of literature, history, and popular culture. In our efforts to comprehend our subject, we will work with two primary modes of examination: 1) Research and Analysis, using traditional academic methods and interdisciplinary source materials to develop papers and presentations that integrate ideas and methods; and 2) Imagination, in which students will be encouraged to envision alternative views of the connections between New Mexico and the stars through short exercises in writing and art. READINGS James S. A. Corey, Leviathan Wakes Joseph T. Page II, New Mexico Space Trail Loretta Hall, Out of this World: New Mexico's Contributions to Space Travel Melinda M. Snodgrass, A Very Large Array: New Mexico Science Fiction and Fantasy Thomas J. Carey and Donald R. Schmitt, Witness to Roswell, Revised and Expanded Edition FILMS, ETC. Students will also view film clips or television episodes in class or for assignments from an approved list that will include: Contact, After Earth, Roswell, Star Trek (various series), The Man Who Fell to Earth STUDENT REQUIREMENTS 1 research paper (8 pages minimum), weekly blog discussion (2 postings each week); 2 peer discussions on readings; 3 space workbook assignments; 1 final portfolio (10-15 new pages); attendance and active class participation. ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR Leslie Donovan is continuing Honors faculty and a UNM Presidential Teaching Fellow. She earned her B.A. in Creative Writing and M.A. in English from UNM and her Ph.D. in Medieval Literature from the University of Washington. Her publications include studies of J.R.R. Tolkien, Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon women saints, and Honors teaching.