Back To School -- At Vassar

Starting next Wednesday, I'll be returning to college life after a brief, two-semester hiatus. Now that I work at Vassar, I get to go to school and get my degree free of charge. (Well, technically not free... The class which would ordinarily cost $3,920 in tuition costs me a mere $25.00 fee, plus books)

Vassar, like a lot of liberal arts schools, has some really interesting classes on the schedule, and I decided to get myself into "the Vassar flow" by taking a class which would be near and dear to my heart, FILM215 - Genre (Science Fiction):

The course surveys the history of science fiction film from its beginnings in the silent period (culminating in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and The Woman in the Moon) to the advent of digital technologies. The “golden age� of the 50s, the emergence of a new kind of science-fiction film at the end of the 60s (Kubrick’s 2001, and the “resurgence/revival� of science-fiction film in the late 70s-early 80s (Star Wars, Blade Runner, Alien, The Terminator) are given special attention. Topics include subgenres (end of the world, time travel, space exploration/the “new� frontier, technology/robots/atomic energy), the relation of science-fiction films to their social context and their function in popular culture, the place of science in science-fiction, film’s relation to science-fiction literature (and issues of adaptation), the role of women and feminist criticism, and remakes. In addition to film history and criticism, a small amount of science fiction literature is read. While passing mention will be made to television science-fiction, the course focuses on film.

Man, how cool does that sound? I know it's going to be more than just watching movies all week long, but still -- seriously, that sounds hellishly cool. It's fun to see something that a lot of people (*cough* D! *cough*) mock mercilessly get a serious treatment as a genre of film, with an understanding of its place in the world.

It's going to be a crazy semester -- between working full time, taking a class, trying to work on the Second Edition of "The Book", and trying to have a social life with fiancee and friends -- but I think in the end, it will be so very worth it.