Beta Pieces: March 2014

Christie Herring Documentary Made Available Especially for YOU!!!!
Posted on: Monday, April 14, 2014
Robots! Your guest lecturer a few weeks back, the documentarian
CHRISTIE HERRING, has written in with a special link
so that you can screen her entire documentary--you are
welcome to warp one of the prompts to include Herring's
work if you see fit.
Here is here letter--if any of the links are broken, merely copy
them and paste them into the browser of your choice.
Hello!
So sorry for the delay here. A link to THE CAMPAIGN for you and your students.
LINK: https://vimeo.com/ 73247538
PASSWORD: Equality
This link will be good for two weeks - until Monday, April 28th. After that, they can soon view the film via DVD from your University Library.
I hope that your students will watch the full film and then that they will send comments and questions my way! They can send them directly to this email address. Although I warn you, I'll be out of town from April 29th to May 20th, and I anticipate having very little email access during that time. A good problem to have :)
I hope your students will consider signing up for our mailing list here: http://www. thecampaigndocumentary.com/ contact/
And they can like us on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/ TheCampaignDocumentary
They should also take a look at our Outreach Guide: http://www. thecampaigndocumentary.com/ get-engaged/support-our-work/
Thank you again for inviting me to your class! It was a fantastic experience. I also hope we get to meet in person as some point.
Very best,
Christie
Christie Herring
Producer/Director, THE CAMPAIGN
www.thecampaigndocumentary.com
email: christie@ thecampaigndocumentary.com
Twitter: @CampaignDoc
cell: 415-290-5812

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
more frantic emails hurtling into the INbox of your head Robot...
Posted on: Monday, April 14, 2014
Robots, Cyborgs, and Androids, Lend Me Your Ear... I keep getting random emails from student in the class
why there are questions on the list of prompts on works
we have not covered yet in class.
I addressed this clearly the day I released the questions--
however, that day being the last class date before
Spring Break, it occurred to me this morning at 5:41am
(actually it came to me in a dream, Freudians take
notes) that many of you MISSED that class and
did not get the message.
The message that day was simple: you are ready
to write about works that we have not read together
in class.
Usually, in undergraduate classes, you are tested
on what you have read and heard and (in too many
instances) you then faithfully regurgitate the professors'
ramblings, or her powerpoint, or something lifted
off wikipedia and move happily along.
Literature is not like that. True university-level
readings/screenings in the sister arts of literature,
art, cinema, photography, are not like that.
What this class about is a method, an attitude,
a knowledge that is not mine to give you but
for you to provoke to emerge.
If you have faithfully done all the work we
have given you this term (and some thought
on your own), you are ready to read a work
like Fuentes' AURA, do some research, and
then write a killer essay.
So write one.
A great one--one that takes the prompt
as a PROMPT, not a prison cell, not
a straitjacket, and that explores brave
new worlds of Robotic, Erotic, Electric
deliciousness!
You don't know how much we are looking
forward to reading your essays and learning
from your teachings!
Cheers,
Dr. William A. Nericcio
aka Bill, aka Memo
#roboticeroticelectricstudentsrock!
bnericci@mail.sdsu.edu
@eyegiene
ps: free cineTREK coming up!
at the rad new and cool San Diego public library auditorium:
When: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Central Library 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101
Description: Professor Bill Nericcio of San Diego State University lectures on Shakespeare’s 450th birthday and what Shakespeare means in the age of Prozac and the iPad.
"A 450 Year Old Bard Lies Down on a Couch with His Shrink... or William Shakespeare, Birthday Boy, with Siggy: 21st Century Speculations on British Literature in the Age of Prozac and the Ipad."
Look for more Shakespeare events in 2014 as the library participates in the worldwide celebration the of the birth of William Shakespeare. Contact: Central Library 619-236-5800

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Grades
Posted on: Tuesday, April 8, 2014
robots, i keep getting emails from you guys
asking me to post grades--we don't do
that in our version of engl220.
it is, however, rather easy to figure
how you are doing if you maintain
a file with all your returned, graded
work.
please carefully RE-READ or read
for the first time, these lines from
your syllabus:
Other Requirements!!!! WRITING AND EXAMINATIONS
You will be asked to write TWO Analytical Imagination Challenges, 3-5 page essays, during the course of the term. Please note that you will never be compelled to write about something you absolutely loathe. Please see me or your amazing GTA during office hours as brainstormings essay topics is totally cool. There will be an Imagination Challenge In-Class Festival (aka, the FINAL EXAM) on the last regularly scheduled day of class: Thursday, May 8, 2014. Your final is absolutely comprehensive; it assumes you have read all the books and screened all the movies that are part of our required work. If you do the work, the final is a breeze--even "fun" if you can believe it. If you slack off, you will find the Imagination Challenge In-Class Festival as enjoyable as a being a zombie's lunch (or a robot's victim!).
VIRTUAL CONTRIBUTIONS
One social media site for this class, Facebook-based, is located here. If you are a member of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg’s mad experiment, then you are expected to post class-related links, images, videos, articles, etc at least ONCE a month or 5 total for the whole semester. If you have not bought into Zuckerberg’s mad experiment and stay away from facebook like the plague, you have a second choice--you can directly submit a posting to the Robotic Erotic Electric Tumblr site. I, too, will be posting course-related materials to our Facebook and Tumblr sites from time to time—feel free to follow the page and make suggestions for additions/deletions. If both Facebook and Tumblr remain alien to your consciousness, you can send your suggested links/images/videos to me via email to memo@sdsu.edu; however, I don’t promise that I will post ALL of your forwarded materials. I will try, however, to see that some of them make their way to the fabulous internets.
QUIZZES, ATTENDANCE, and CINETREKS...
There will also be a couple of in-class Panic-Inducing Challenges otherwise known as check that you did the reading carefully and on time quizzes. You can expect these miserable quizzes from time to time, the number of quizzes depending on how many of you are nostalgic for high school. In other words, if everyone acts like a talented university student, we will enjoy FEW if any quizzes during our semester.
Coming to class for each seminar session is NOT optional--the whole point of this class is to work together, the idea being that we creatively and magicly convert our former-basketball-court-somewhat-high-tech classroom into a chaotic, unpredictable, and exciting intellectual laboratory. Missing class, you miss as well the whole point of the adventure. So please bypass no more than three classes during the semester--you are responsible for any work/notes you miss when you are absent and can PRESUME that what you missed that day was important! Miss MORE than three classes during the term and your grade will decay in an ugly way. EXAMPLES: your hard-earned A- will morph into a B-; your "gentleman's C" will appear on the webportal as a "D." Ditching this class too often will be as fun as a case of flesh-eating virus.  Also note from time to time we will NOT meet in the classroom—I am cancelling some classroom time in order to compensate for the 2 or so “cinetreks” you will be making this semester: more on these “ cinetreks” or “out of body” experiences to follow.

GRADING INFORMATION

33% Quizzes, In-class "Panic-Inducing Challenges", In-class participation, attendance, cinetreks, etc.
33% "Analytical Imagination Challenges" aka your two essays
33% Final Examination Festival
1% Chutzpah, ganas, will, and drive

OFFICE HOURS
Why 'office hours'? I expect you to visit me in office hours at least once during the semester. Additionally, you are encouraged and welcome to visit your GTAs. At SDSU, it's easy to fall through the cracks, to feel that you are nothing but a number or some warm pile of sentient flesh filling a seat. In order to underscore that the person teaching you is somewhat human, please make a point to take the time to introduce yourself in person. My office hours will be on Tuesdays before class from 9:40 to 10:40 and Thurs from to 12:30 to around 1:30 or so in Arts and Letters 273. If these hours are inconvenient, do not hesitate to call me at 619.594.1524 either to schedule an appointment or discuss your questions via telephone. My email address is: memo@sdsu.edu.

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
extra office hours...
Posted on: Tuesday, April 8, 2014
tuesday, april 8, 2014...
…in extra office hours till around 4:30 in Arts and Letters
273--if you are having paper
anxiety, drop on by…
cheers,
bill nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu
ps: great work in class today
from our gaggle of new cool
professors!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
new prompt available...
Posted on: Monday, April 7, 2014
one new prompt has appeared on your imagination challenge numero dos
page: http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/robotchallenge2.html
see you tuesday!
bill nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu
arts and letters 273

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
diary updates! new essay due date!
Posted on: Saturday, April 5, 2014
updates to your schedule! new due date for your essay! Tuesday, in class,
April 15, 2014.... I figured you needed more time
getting back into gear after your spring break... http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html

cheers,
bill

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Spring Break Interruption for Robotic Updates for Tuesday, April 8, 2014...
Posted on: Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Use your diary for the updates! http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
oops... PI Reading Lists...
Posted on: Thursday, March 27, 2014
Here's a link to your required reading that works!!!! sorry! Remember, you only have to read the required
works for the particular issue you purchased!!!!
http://bit.ly/1h1cSe7

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
as promised...
Posted on: Thursday, March 27, 2014
As I promised in class, here are your specific reading assignments, required, for your poetry
international Thursday, the week we get back
from Spring Break. You are only REQUIRED
to read these following works (it totally depends
on which of the four issues you purchased):
http://bit.ly/1iF65eg
Cheers,
Bill Nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Imagination Challenge Numero DOS now LIVE!!!!
Posted on: Thursday, March 27, 2014
hit the new and improved sign at the top of the page!!!!... http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html

cineTREK review...
Posted on: Tuesday, March 25, 2014
What are 'cineTREKs'? cineTREKS are off-campus and on-campus events
that you attend and write about. A cineTREK works
like "extra credit" does, but better.
Say you miss or blow a quiz, a cineTREK can
substitute for that shortcoming. cineTREK grades
are not averaged with quizzes or excessive absences,
they replace those grades. That 20/100 nightmare
F on your Murakami quiz can easily be exchanged
for that B+ you garnered on your TRIFLES review.
There will be more on campus, free, cinetreks
in April.
Tonight there is a 21+ cineTREK at the Soda Bar.
{21+ means you have to be 21 or over to enter the club}
1. Attend the event: http://www.sodabarmusic.com/calendar.php?event_id=1958
2. Take a picture of yourself at the event, maybe with the Robot in the background if you can do it without being a nuisance.
3. Write a 250-500 word review of the night. Be sure to incorporate information that you gain by prowling websites and (A+ possible) interviewing the artist!
4. Bring this piece with you to class on Thursday AND post it online to our facebook OR tumblr sites:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-220-Robotic-Erotic-Electric/464330593679066
http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com
remember how social media works, unless you like the robotic
Facebook page or follow the roboticerotic tumblr page, you are
likely to miss info/updates… OF COURSE, you are NOT
required to do either!!!!!
see you thursday,
bill nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Cool Fellowships for Graduate School
Posted on: Monday, March 24, 2014
Please forward to seniors and juniors you know--a magnificent opportunity:
-------- Original Message --------

Subject:	SOROS FELLOWSHIP INFORMATION SESSION
Date:	Sun, 23 Mar 2014 12:14:56 -0700
From:	Michelle Lopez <mlopez@mail.sdsu.edu>
To:	undisclosed-recipients:;

Dear Scholar,
The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans funds students pursuing graduate school in any field at any university in the United States.
Students benefit from a two-year graduate fellowship that provides tuition support, a $20,000 annual stipend, and co-curricular enrichment.
The Soros Fellowship defines a new American as "an individual who (1) is a resident alien, i.e., holds a green card; (2) has been naturalized as a United States citizen; or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens."
For more detailed information on this graduate fellowship opportunity, visit:
http://www.pdsoros.org/ overview/
At the time of selection, fellows must be college seniors or early in the graduate programs for which they request support.
If you are are interested in applying to graduate school, and meet the eligibility above, we welcome you to attend this information session next week:
Date: Wednesday, March 26
Talk: Soros Outreach
Room: Legacy Suite
Time: 2:30-3:30pm
All disciplines welcome!
Register below:
http://events.r20. constantcontact.com/register/ event?oeidk= a07e938mzn5de1c7ba0&llr= d9chscmab
Michelle Lopez, Assistant Dean

Division of Undergraduate Studies Website
Office of Academic Scholarships Website
Office of Undeclared Majors Website
San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive
San Diego, CA 92182-1623
Phone: 619-594-2871

Fax: 619-594-2049
Email: mlopez@mail.sdsu.edu
Fostering Connections to Success

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
minor updates...
Posted on: Sunday, March 23, 2014
minor updates --> http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
cineTREK this Thursday nite, March 13, 2014
Posted on: Thursday, March 20, 2014
new cineTREK!
1. go to the plays…
2. take a picture of yourself at the play, in the theatre, with an actor, your call
3. write a 250-500 word essay on either or both plays connecting them to something we have been up to in class (or on some other issue of deep concern to you)
4. post the picture and piece on facebook or tumblr AND bring a print out of your writing and picture to turn in IN CLASS next Tuesday, March 25!
on the plays
TRIFLES
Alexandra Linsky "Hi Professor Nericcio! I spoke with you briefly today about the student show I’m directing this semester. In more detail: I’m directing Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” which we’ve paired with another one act “Johnny Got His Gun” The show is funded by CASE and is free! We are in the Experimental Theatre and the show runs March 21-23. The 21st and 22nd at 7:30 and 2:00 on the 23rd. I see parallels between Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Trifles” both are written by women about women in a time when women and their opinions didn’t matter. Much like Gilman’s work my show focuses on female characters that are overlooked by the men in their lives. I’d like to post on the class Facebook about it and share my thoughts on the linkage and encourage my classmates to support their peers. The show in it’s entirety was designed, built, and performed by students and we’d love to have a full house every night."
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN
"Johnny Got His Gun" is a one act play that explores the horrors of warfare through the mind of a man caught in the blast of an exploding mortar shell on the last day of the First World War. He survives, but finds himself trapped in a fate worse than death. The play interweaves his memories and recollections with his slow realization of his terrible condition, and his attempts to take action. The performances are this Friday and Saturday at 7:30, and Sunday at 2, in the SDSU Experimental Theater. "Johnny" will be followed by another one-act called "Trifles". Admission is free. https://www.facebook.com/events/1476325309253536/

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
You, too, can afford a Doctor...
Posted on: Tuesday, March 18, 2014
{fixed link} {sorry for annoying reposting} SDSU Students! Don't ever scrimp on your own healthcare! The CSU wants you to know you have options! More info here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/coveredCA.jpg
and here: http://calstate.edu/coveredca/

Cheers,
Bill Nericcio
ps: the final deadline for LONDON 2014 has
been bumped to April 1, 2014--apply now
to study with LONDON ROCKS!
http://tinyletter.com/londonrocks2014/letters/updates-reminders-and-more-more-more

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates and deadlines!
Posted on: Saturday, March 15, 2014
update to your calendar! http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest ...and the last day to apply to study with us in the UK this summer: online applications and info here: http://tinyletter.com/londonrocks2014/letters/updates-reminders-and-more-more-more
your roboticPROF
Bill Nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
new cinetrek for next friday...
Posted on: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
new cinetrek for Friday, March 21, 2014: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=502611063184352&l=48959dd3f5
no need to be logged in or even a member of zuckerberg's universe to see this info!!!!
bill

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Christine Herring Notes | Final Countdown for London!
Posted on: Tuesday, March 11, 2014
All, Here is your assignment for Thursday from
your guest professor/documentarian Christine Herring:
"I will definitely talk about documentary as storytelling with
a particular focus on Point of View. The range from
THE HOMOSEXUALS to THE CAMPAIGN is a clear
POV shift, and there is much to delve into there.
CHICKENS IN THE CITY is loosely what I call a
"chicken's eye view," and it's a fun and short piece.
** Please encourage students to attend the screening of
THE CAMPAIGN, as I know you already are (flyer).
** THE HOMOSEXUALS: Watch some or all. Recap version
only is available online, full version is copyright-protected.
I have a copy and will show a few clips as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=n2UNcDHa5ao
Interesting background on Mike Wallace's work on it:
http://www.advocate.com/ politics/media/2012/04/09/ mike-wallace-and-homosexuals
This was the *first* national broadcast about Homosexuality, aired in 1967.
CBS and Mike Wallace spent two years preparing it, and the
broadcast arrived with much controversy. One of the key
interview subjects sued, saying they portrayed him
as ashamed. It is jarring, it is dated, it is very
strange in parts. And the 1967 versions of infographics
are wonderfully entertaining.
** CHICKENS IN THE CITY:
Student film of mine from film school.
http://www.pbs.org/ independentlens/insideindies/ shortsfest_2006/player.html? chosen=chickens
also! last call for LONDON ROCKS!
If you are digging Robotic Erotic Electric, imagine
studying London Visual/Viral Culture
peek at the class here: http://londonrocks2014.blogspot.com
The train is leaving the station
as the deadline to apply is March 15, 2014:
Here is all the key info if you are curious!

All,
I can confirm now that there will be a group flight! Details
to follow this Friday or next Monday!
REMINDER!!!! The deadline to submit your application
online to FIE is March 15, 2014!
If your passport is still in progress and your flight info
up in the air, go ahead and submit your application
leaving those sections of the application blank or
with the words "in progress" or "being processed"...
We must know SOON how many of you are really
going as slots for the program may be CAPPED if we
reach a population of 50 students. At that level, we may
have to shut down applications so it is OF THE ESSENCE
that your get your app in ASAP.
Here are the key links with the info you need now!

Lastly, if you have NOT done the surveymonkey poll, do it now!
DO NOT DO IT MORE THAN ONCE!!!
if the poll link is broken, cut and paste this in your browser:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/ s/8GHT3YX
I want to personally thank all of your for your
enthusiasm and support of London Rocks--we have
NEVER seen such focused interest in our study
abroad initiative and look forward to rocking the
UK like we have never done before.
London Rocks, but then, SO DO YOU!!!!
Yours,
Dr. William A. Nericcio, aka "Bill"!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
cineTREK this Thursday nite, March 13, 2014
Posted on: Monday, March 10, 2014
Go here for the details: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=501865076592284&l=7b71c088b1
no need to be a member of facebook nor to be logged in to see this link!!!!
cheers,
Bill Nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
last minute cineTREK for 2nite...
Posted on: Friday, March 7, 2014
no worries… there will be more cineTREKs on campus coming up…..
last minute cineTREK!!!!https://www.facebook.com/ events/1409701225951310/
1. go to the event in san ysidro
map: http://bit.ly/1lFSAOU
2. carefully survey the scene and the art; stop in front of the work of art that speaks most closely and intimately to your soul and take a selfie with it in the background OR have a friend take the shot!
3. post this picture on our class Facebook or Tumblr site along with 250-300 words, a page or so, wherein you describe the most interesting part of your adventure at the art show. (how you found parking does not count!!!)... ;-0
4. Due online by classtime Tuesday, March 11, 2014 — at Casa Familiar Arts & Culture Division.

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Extra Office Hours...
Posted on: Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Robots_Cyborgs_Androids_&_Aliens!!!!!
I will be IN today from around 3:30 to 5:50pm
for extra office hours if you want to drop by, call,
check-in, gripe, beg, ask, complain, or anything!
Arts and Letters 273; 619.594.1524
Cheers,
Dr. William A. Nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates updates....
Posted on: Tuesday, March 4, 2014
key updates ...with a sketch outline of the rest of the semester so that you can plan/get ahead/catch up!!! see you soon! bill nericcio

ps: several of you wrote in to ask why I was away last week! that crazy book i am making you read, textmex, has been transformed by curators into a traveling museum exhibition called mextasy and i was away lecturing/installing the exhibition at the university of illinois urbana-champaign (where it was 16 below zero! ack!)--if you are curious about what professors do when they are called away to lecture, you can see some of this stuff here and here. i want to warmly thank my amazing GTAs for filling in and taking our assembled masses of robots, cyborgs, and androids to brave new worlds! i am in their debt!
pps: the deadline is coming up to make the call, pull the trigger, and come study with sdsu in the UK for LONDON ROCKS! Sign up info here: http://tinyletter.com/londonrocks2014/letters/queen-elizabeth-is-calling-plus-tons-of-useful-info Note that while the deadline for leaving a deposit is still March 15, 2014, the payment deadline has been extended until the end of May! Jolly good show!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Reminder and Clarification!
Posted on: Monday, March 3, 2014
Robots, Androids, and Cyborgs! I am getting many emails asking me if direct quotations
and scholarly research is required on the essays due
the end of this week.
The short answer is yes; please read the essay
assignment carefully--especially this paragraph.
A-level imagination challenges will aggressively
play with the prompt AND incorporate direct
quotes and scholarly research either from a
trip to Love Library (la biblioteca de amor) or
gleaned from Project Muse and/or JSTOR.
Links to all of these research portals are
right on your assignment page.
Yours,
Bill Nericcio
headROBOT

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Updates! Assignments, Paper Due Dates, More work!! ack!
Posted on: Tuesday, February 25, 2014
...a wee-bit more work on the horizon... keep ahead on your readings!!!!!
enjoy your surprise today! and be generous,
supportive, imaginative, and engaged!
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Major Imagination Challenge Updates!
Posted on: Monday, February 24, 2014
My genius GTAs have gone and hit a home run--authoring intellectual madlib prompts that blow my meager efforts
out of the water!!!! Check the updates out here! NOTE ALSO
that the 'Invent your own prompt' option has been updated!!!!!
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/robotchallenge1.html
plaintext sans key links:
ANALYTICAL IMAGINATION CHALLENGE NUMERO UNO
Welcome to "Analytical Imagination Challenge Numero Uno." The writing you will turn into us based on the prompts below should be no longer than 3-5 pages in length--images do NOT count toward your final page count so illustrate at will (if you have to go over a page or two in length, don't sweat it; also please do not turn in a paper that focuses on an illustrated and/or filmed text without also turning in visual evidene!).
Your imagination challenge numero uno will be cleverly titled, double-spaced, have 1-inch margins top and sides and be carefully proofread; additionally, it will be chock-full of active verbs and, in general, have syntactic variety so as to avoid the dangers of the "IS" VIRUS (use the sample grading sheet opposite as a checklist of what NOT to do. Lastly, please use MLA or University of Chicago-style works cited pages. Your works of genius are due IN-CLASS March 6, 2014--you will walk into class on time and drop your paper into the decorated receptacle that corresponds to your specific section (there will be one other bag with my name on it as well for those who want to brave the challenge of my grading!). Late papers will not be accepted. Early papers, in most cases, will be cherished lovingly.
All "A-grade" level imagination prompt responses will integrate selected direct quotations from the primary texts and will avoid ALL of the quicksand-like bad habits noted here on the gradesheet above--click it to make it readable. Additionally, "A-grade" grades will be awarded ONLY to crafty undergraduates who make use of scholarly research discovered either by prowling the stacks (the shelves and shelves of books that fill Love Library, aka the "Library of Love") or that you can gather off of JSTOR or PROJECT MUSE--be sure to CITE THESE WORKS CAREFULLY. In general, avoid research garnered from the internet--any use or adaptation of material from Spark Notes, Cliffs Notes, Barron's Notes, etc (and especially essays that rely on wikipedia) will likely be returned to you ungraded.
One last bit of advice, do NOT plagiarize ANY material from an online source or 'paper mill' ; unCITED material = PLAGIARISM; also, as noted above, if you are going to analyze a key element from an illustrated or filmed work, do please go to the bother of xeroxing the image and incorporating it INTO your essay with captions and with a notation in the Works Cited to let your readers know where you got it from.
Last hint? Have a blast with this paper! Try things you have NEVER tried before! Test the limits of your imagination! Good luck!
This IMAGINATION CHALLENGE is slightly different from other writing assignments you may have completed as an undergraduate (for example, please leave everything you learned to loathe in RWS 100 or 200 at the door--unless your instructor was a genius in which case use your best judgement). For this Imagination Challenge Numero Uno (Number One), you will fill in the blanks provided below and then complete the essay you have started making sure to provide specific textual evidence to sustain/defend/illustrate your clearly stated views! FINISH only ONE of the following challenges... Note that some of the blanks below are meant to be filled with authors' names whilst others should be filled with specific phrases/theses; read the prompts carefully to make your final determination.
One last thing. Try to finish your paper a DAY BEFORE it is due. Print it out and lay it on a desk in your room. A day later, wake up early and take this printed work and go to a room/library/cafe you don't usually go to--go there with a big old printed dictionary, you should own one and you can get good ones for cheap at old book stores like Adams Avenue Books, DG Wills Books, Bluestocking Books and other area book shops. Take your paper to this special place, this Editing Pod 2.0 and 'edit' your paper. We really don't have the power to carefully edit a document on the screen where it was composed. You must switch media, going from screen to paper, from photons to ink, to see errors your reader will trip over! Cool. Go for it! Here are your prompts!
1. Kafka, Crumb, and Mairowitz Go For a Walk With Dickens
Robert Crumb's mesmerizing work splashes across the pages of Kafka written by David Mairowitz. While Kafka's ideas had their genesis in Prague, they are also quite useful when applied to the complexities of literature. In the pages that follow, I will use both the words of Kafka (as adapted by Mairowitz) and the illustrations of Crumb to explore Lars and Real Girl, directed by Craig Gillespie with a screenlay by Nancy Oilver. By doing so, I hope to illustrate how _____________________....
2. Psychology & Sexuality (with some cool secondary research)...
A provocative psychological film by writer Nancy Oliver and director Craig Gillespie, Lars and the Real Girl challenges its readers to explore the ______________________ of human sexuality--to be more specific, Oliver and Gillespie take viewers on a tour of ___________________ introducing characters that ______________________. Recently, specific critics have focused on eroticism and sexuality in American cinema--typical among these is _____________________ written by _____________. I am not totally content, however, with Professor _________________'s study of the psychology of sexuality in American cinema. In the paragraphs that follow, I will briefly illustrate my problems with his/her work and suggest better ways to explore Oliver and Gillespie's project.
3. Ira Levin and Craig Gillespie Enter the Literary Boxing Ring
Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives introduces us to a world where women are expendable, a bizarre near future where men have the power to build their domestic female partners. Similarly, Craig Gillespie's screenplay for Lars and the Real Girl also introduces us to a main character, Lars, played by Ryan Gosling, who also builds his love and soul mate using a technological manufacturing process--this time via the Internet. At first glance here the stories seem identical, but of course they are not. In the paragraphs that follow I will unfold the key differences between these two minor American masterpieces and I will do so with specific emphasis on ____________________________________________ and ____________________________________________.
4. Technologies of Love
Spike Jonze's Her, Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives, and Lars and the Real Girl all reveal artists obsessed with the nexus, the matrix, of love and technology. This essay seeks to probe further into this curious dialectic arguing specifically how____________________________________________...
5. Comparative Literature: Kafka and Dickens
The best literature is merely a vehicle for studying the contours of the human mind. In Gregor Samsa and Stephen Blackpool, writers Franz Kafka and Charles Dickens introduce readers to men who are trapped, men who endure, but also to men who are, in a sense, failures. Or are they? I will use the next few pages to creep carefully into the minds of these two memorable characters from literature in order to explore how ____________________________________________... In order to add complexity our understanding of Kafka and Dickens' achievements, I will review recent essays (after 2008) by _________________________ and _____________________________ that probe the imaginative depth and psychological complexity of these two memorable characters.
6. Philip K. Dick versus Spike Jonze
The conclusion of this essay appears here in the introduction: Spike Jonze's Her and Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep have nothing to do with each other. I know what you are thinking. "How can that be" or "this writer is crazy." After all, both works, the movie and the novel introduce us to future worlds where technology directly impacts upon the human animal. But I intend to argue something opposite. That when you look closer Jonze and Dick actually emerge as adversaries, as antagonists, and that the recent film and classic novel are ____________________________________________.
7. Double Double
In both "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Ira Levin's "The Stepford Wives", we encounter two variations on a similar situation: the main character is replaced with a double who looks identical on the outside, but whose interior metamorphosis is drastic and dramatic. These seemingly seamless transformations are both so moving and disturbing because _____________________________________. In this essay I will discuss the implications that the act of replication and replacement may have for their (and our) identities, but I will also focus on the key differences between the alterations these women undergo, such as __________________________________ and ________________________. In particular, I will use a third work, Phillip K. Dick's masterpiece "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?", to elucidate these differences, comparing the robots in Levin's work with PKD's Replicants, and contrasting them with Gilman's "Women in the Walls." I hope to demonstrate that although each version of the "identical impostor" is unique, they each share certain key characteristics.
8. All the women are white, all the “crazies” are women, but some of us are brave
At first glance, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper, ” Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives, and Charles Dickens’ Hard Times seem to have little to say to one another. They take place in wildly different times and places, and appear to be about extremely different subjects. But take a second look. After all, isn’t the main character of each text a middle-class white woman who, arguably, descends into “madness”? Each character’s madness is precipitated by many different factors and characterized in many different ways. Jane’s is ___________________, ____________________, and __________________; Joanna’s is ___________________, ____________________, and __________________; and . Louisa’s is ___________________, ____________________, and __________________. Still, the similarities are undeniable. This essay will argue that, taken together, the texts point to ____________________, ______________________, and ________________________, which seem to be features of white, middle-class womanhood that have remained oddly stagnant over time.
9. OS ♀
Samantha, in Spike Jonze's Her is part of a long line of fictional female robots, cyborgs, and androids created for a utilitarian function. In fictional texts, female robots are most often designed for pleasure and domestic labor. One thinks of Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives, or Rachel from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, or __________, etc. But Samantha is different from these other fembots. She’s _________, and also _________. The conflict of Her is not whether Samantha will achieve self-actualization; she already has. The conflict is whether something as ____________ as Samantha could be happy with a human being who is so ____________. With Samantha, the audience is free to create a new kind of female science-fiction organism: the kind that doesn’t view__________ and ___________ as its ultimate goals. In this paper, I will compare Samantha to _______________, a female character from _____________, in order to answer the following questions: What does it mean for Samantha to be a “female” OS? How is her artificial intelligence gendered? Is Samantha more self-interested or progressive than _____________ from _______________, and what does that suggest about their womanhood? How does Samantha challenge the attitudes towards women during the time of _______________ from _______________? How does she challenge our current culture’s view? {Be sure to incorporate recent essays on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics etc as you craft your essay}
10. INVENT YOUR OWN FILL IN THE BLANKS PROMPT
Develop and refine your OWN independent fill in the blanks prompt--it must make use of at least two works from the 1st half of the semester (this includes Philip K. Dick and Tex[t]-Mex. It also includes adaptations of the prompts 1-9 listed above. You MUST bring your proposal to me by Tuesday, March 4 , before OR after class (typed, please) or email your proposal to me at memo@sdsu.edu. You are also welcome to run it by me in person during office hours or by appointment. Have fun!
Write unto others as you would have them write for thee!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Free Tutoring from the Department of English and Comparative Literature...
Posted on: Friday, February 21, 2014
...a deal at half the price! our price? FREE!!!! ---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mary Garcia <mmgarcia@mail.sdsu.edu>
Date: Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 9:06 AM
Subject: English Tutors are available starting Monday; Feb. 24, 2014.....
To:
To all English and Comparative Literature faculty:

Beginning Monday, February 24, 2014, and continuing through the last day of class, May 8, 2014 the department will have drop-in tutoring available for students in your classes who need assistance with their writing.  The tutoring center is located in AL 232.

Flyers will be posted and distributed in your mailbox.  Please encourage your students in need to take advantage of this great service.  Contact me if you are interested in additional  flyer copies.

Here is the schedule:

M               12:30  --    4:00pm
T                 9:00   –b   11:00am
W             12:00  --     2:00 pm
Th             1:30   –;      4:30pm
F                 Not Available
It would help the tutor to have a copy of your assignment and any specific suggestions  for improvement  from you.

Thank you for publicizing this terrific service!

Mary Garcia
-- Mary Garcia Graduate Program Department of English & Comparative Literature San Diego State University Phone: (619)594-5443 Fax: (619)594-4998 AL 226A MC:6020 http://literature.sdsu.edu

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Office Hour Reminders: Robotic Erotic Electric
Posted on: Thursday, February 20, 2014
Office Hour Reminders: Robotic Erotic Electric Here are reminders of all of our office hours and contact info... I am leaving my office at 1:00pm for a meeting, but should be
back in Arts and Letters 273 by 1:45 and will be in till 4:30
or so today!
Michael Edmiston
[The ROBOTS--Abugabara thru FOSTER]
Office Hours are in AL 276, and I am hoping to hang out there Tuesdays from 12:30 till 1:30 or 2. email me at: medmiston42 AT gmail DOT com

Ryan Kelly
[The CYBORGS--FRIEDBERG thru MORENO]
Office Hours are Tues/Thurs 12:30-1:30 in AL 264--students can reach me rfk.ish AT gmail DOT com

Stephany Farley
[The ANDROIDS--MORGAN thru ZIEGLER]
Office Hours and contact info: I am available from 12:30-1:30 Tuesdays and Thursdays in AL 244 and they can reach me at SFARLEY AT rohan DOT sdsu DOT edu

Uriel Murillo pedagogy intern/aide
Office Hours and contact info! I am available to meet with students on Tuesday's from 3:30 to 5:00. Starbucks at West Commons works. Students can contact me at umurillo23 AT gmail DOT com

Dr. William Nericcio
Office Hours before class on Tuesdays and after class on Thursdays in Arts and Letters 273--write me at memo AT sdsu DOT edu to schedule an appointment!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Good News...
Posted on: Thursday, February 20, 2014
Your 1st essay prompts just went live--hit the NEW AND IMPROVED link at the top
of your DIARY page...
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html
Don't even think about starting to write until
you've read the whole page carefully. Be
sure NOT to read the assignment on a
'smart'phone and to follow ALL the hyperlinks--
you will be glad you did.
Yours,
Robotnericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
not everyone's cup of tea but you are invited...
Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
all, i got invited last minute to talk about my background in academe and how
to succeed while at university--i guess there
are not that many mexicano English
professors running around the planet...
in any event, you are invited--it is at 4pm
in the new SDSU Presby Student Union building,
2nd floor in the Tehuanco Room...
órale, Dr. Bill "Memo" Nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Last Easy and Convenient for YOU hours to get your required Poetry International textbook....
Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
In April, we will be doing a session on the "Literary Journal"--hence your required reading of the SDSU Press journal: POETRY INTERNATIONAL.
These are the LAST convenient hours JUST FOR YOU to pick up
your copy of the journal...
read carefully:

Jenny Minniti

8:02 AM (1 hour ago)

to Bill

Hello Bill!
I have confirmed staffed office hours this Thursday, February 20, 2014 and next
Tuesday & Thursday, from 12:30-3 pm. Also, next Monday, from 12:30-1:30 pm.
Thanks
Jenny
Confused? Read your class syllabus: here is the key info:
One note about a text NOT shown on your textbooks lists above--for this section of 220 (220.03 to be exact) you are required to purchase a copy of POETRY INTERNATIONAL for the class. POETRY INTERNATIONAL is edited and published by San Diego State University Press and is run out of the SDSU English Department. I have made special arrangements to let you select any ONE from four different issues of Poetry International, either issues (4, 11, 12, 13/14). We have arranged for you to pay only $6 for your issue (a HUGE savings), but you must buy it direct from the Poetry International offices, Arts and Letters 262 (CASH OR CHECK ONLY)!!!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
New Required Reading...
Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Read this posting--it is REQUIRED reading... by Ray Kurzweil, a writer whose work you
should know about....
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493802090731916&l=2cd070e132
{you do NOT have to be logged in or even a member of facebook to follow this link}
Over and out, your headROBOT, Bill Nericcio
ps: remember there is a meeting today for info on studying
in LONDON with me this summer.... London Rocks and so
do you.

pps: To the two students who walked out of class during

lecture yesterday before class was over... do not come

back to class before coming to speak to me about what

was going on... unless there is an emergency, you are not

welcome to come and go as you please during lecture!

This does NOT apply to the 3 cool folks who walked up

to me before class to let me know there might be an

issue/emergency call/illness... stay classy san diego!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
headsup...
Posted on: Tuesday, February 18, 2014
beware androids, robots, and cyborgs who use a skateboard... there seem to be
ticketings going down on campus today!!!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates to the class day to day diary...
Posted on: Tuesday, February 18, 2014
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
cineTREK 2, FREE (but @ UCSD)...
Posted on: Wednesday, February 12, 2014
cineTREK 2 is now LIVE... 1. Attend the lecture below @ UCSD--it is free.
2. Take a picture of yourself at the lecture.
3. Post the picture of yourself at the lecture on our Facebook or Tumblr site
4. Write a 250 word rant/soliloquy/piece/essay that connects some specific moment of the lecture with ideas we are toying with in class
5. Post this essay along with the picture you post!
Here's the scoop:
Gregory Hampton: “Racing and Sexing Robots: Analysis of the Boundaries Between 21^st Century Robots and 19^th Century Slaves”
Thursday, February 13, 2014
4:00-5:30pm
Literature Building Room 155 (de Certeau) de Certeau Room Named after Professor Michel de Certeau, this room is located in the Literature Building, first floor room 155.
Directions
Nearby: Parking Lot P665
With the technological advances over the past few decades it is inevitable that the creation and dissemination of robots and similar technology will become commonplace in the households and imaginations of the American populace. Japan has already produced humanlike robots that can sing and dance. What is more interesting is how these robots are assigned both race and gender as identity markers. Why does a machine need such a complex identity, if that machine is designed to only complete the mundane labor that humanity wished to forgo? One plausible response is that the robot is being designed to be more than an appliance but less than a human. In other words the technology of the 21^st Century is in the process of developing a modern day socially accepted slave. Karel Capek’s play R.U.R. produced in the year 1921 in Czechoslovakia was not merely a science fictive fantasy; it was a prophetic look into humanity’s destiny. The employment of the robot remains at the center of the literary genre of science fiction and is inextricable from the discourse of slavery and the African American. Unfortunately, if such a machine happens to take root in the American social system founded on the notion of slavery, the results will yield an abysmal circumstance of hierarchy. This essay will consider the boundaries and borders that occur in the evolving discourse of robots and slaves.

Gregory Hampton holds the title of Associate Professor of African-American Literature and is the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at Howard University. Dr. Hampton holds a B.A. in Economics and African-American Studies from Oberlin College; an M.A. in African-American Studies from Yale University; and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Duke University. He has published articles in the English Journal, the CLAJ (College Language Association Journal), Children’s Literature in Education: An International Quarterly, Obsidian III, and Callaloo. His most recent courses have been invested in the problematic of the black body and its portrayal in both literature and film as well as literature across cultures (African, British, Native American, Caribbean, and Asian). His book Changing Bodies in the Fiction of Octavia Butler: Slaves, Aliens, and Vampires (Lexington Books) is the first monograph of literary criticism invested in examining the complete body of fiction produced by Octavia E. Butler. In addition to African-American speculative fiction, Hampton’s fields of interest include 19th and 20th Century American and African-American literature as well as gender studies.

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates on upcoming readings...
Posted on: Wednesday, February 12, 2014
upcoming texts are noted now on your tumblr site.... spend time there looking around
at the cool stuff your colleagues have been
posting... and post things there yourself!
over and out,
robotbill

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
don't be shy! your GTAs are waiting!
Posted on: Tuesday, February 11, 2014
don't be shy! your GTAs are waiting!...go here or to your facebook page for more info...

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Greetings Robots...
Posted on: Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Good Afternoon, Would the young man who left the auditorium early today as we were wrapping up come see
me in A&L 273--I am in till 3:45pm. It is
somewhat urgent.
Dr. William A. Nericcio

ps: if you cannot attend, send me an
email right away. thanks.

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Mondays...
Posted on: Monday, February 10, 2014
Mondays are always a good day to check out your assignments--don't come to class without your book, Dickens, as you may be asked to leave if you
don't come with your basic tools.
Remember to read your assignments page on a desktop or laptop--you
may miss something if you rely on your 'smart'phone.

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
cineTREK one!
Posted on: Monday, February 10, 2014
cineTREK one!
pulp fiction screening: details--> https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=489660284479430&l=85cc979e6c {you do not have to be a member of facebook or logged into facebook to peruse this link...}
English 220, Robotic Erotic Electric
cineTREK extra-credit assignment #1
Attend this special screening of Quentin Tarantino's PULP FICTION. Write a 500-word brief, lively, cleverly titled piece of writing that connects some aspect of the film to ideas/issues we have been discussing in class. Your writing must be typed and turned in to my TAs IN CLASS, on Tuesday, February 25, 2014. Please also post your review here as a cut and paste job from your word processing document... OR on tumblr if you do not have a facebook account... your tumblr submit site is here: https:// www.arclightcinemas.com/ movie/ arclight-presentspulp-ficti on?lid=1005
This is kind of a costly cineTREK... know that there will be more coming....https:// www.arclightcinemas.com/ movie/ arclight-presentspulp-ficti on?lid=1005
{note you must attach your ticket from the screening to your paper--it's just not the same seeing it on the small screen}
what are 'cineTREKs'?

these are out-of-class lectures, events, screenings that you
attend and write about. there purpose? they represent a chance
for you to make up blown quizzes and excessive absences
in class. say you get a 30/100 on a quiz--do a cineTREK and
write a good piece and that 30/100 can easily become an
85/100... a B is much better than an F anyday!
cheers,
Bill Nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Tons of New Updates to Your TUMBLR and FACEBOOK pages!
Posted on: Sunday, February 9, 2014
greetings robotic subjectivities, your tumblr and facebook class pages
have been updated! remember the easiest
way to get updates on these pages is
to like it (on facebook) or to follow it
(on tumblr). security conscious robots
of course will do neither and merely
lurk silently watching our doings
from afar!
http://bit.ly/roboticeroticelectric class facebook!
http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com/ class tumblr!
updates coming to the diary page in an hour or so!!!
over and out, happy sunday,
head robot! bill nericcio
ps:join us this summer for more fun in london http://tinyletter.com/londonrocks2014
my class is ALL field trips, look at what we did in a month in 2012 here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2012/summer/londonrocks/index.html 2014 will be radder!
listen to testimonials from fellow students here:
http://vimeo.com/channels/654741

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Bad News
Posted on: Thursday, February 6, 2014
Class, Your performance in seminar has been outstanding
so far, so it really pains me to share this email
but I must.
One of you turned in a quiz today filled with
profanities and hate speech. Please identify
yourself to me in the next half hour and explain
your "joke" or I am going to have to report
this to the University Public Safety, Academic
Affairs, and the SDSU Office for Students'
Rights and Responsibilities. The university
takes these matters seriously, and it may
lead to being asked to leave SDSU.
Additionally, one or more of you was rude
to my TA when asked to take leave of using
your phone. You best identify yourself
to me now and save yourself some grief.
SDSU is a safe community and our
classroom is part of this experiment
called higher education. We will not
tolerate actions that distract from
our collective project.
Yours,
Dr. William A. Nericcio
Dr. William Anthony Nericcio
Director, Master of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences (MALAS)
Professor, English & Comparative Literature
San Diego State University | MC 6020 | A&L 273
San Diego, California 92182-6020 office phone: 619.594.1524 This email is a natural product. All noted variations in
spelling and grammar enhance its individual character
and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or
defects. As such, please do not forward this missive without
asking permission in writing.
links: cyber-index @eyegiene textmex@facebook blog tumblr
Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
revision, not so key...
Posted on: Wednesday, February 5, 2014
just a reminder to always mark these messages i SEND unread if you use your
smartphone to get email. You are likely
to not scroll and miss key info when you
survey your class messages on your
smartphone appliances.
On another note, I am starting to update
your GTA contact pages with email addresses
and office hour meeting places and times...
note that your GTA contact info appears online
coded to stifle spambots stealing emails for
spam sendings. for instance, my email
will appear there as MEMO AT SDSU DOT EDU
or bnericci AT mail DOT sdsu DOT edu
replace the word AT with @ and DOT with .
and all will be magic! cheers,
your head robot, Bill

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Key Diary Updates!!!!
Posted on: Friday, January 31, 2014
robots!!!!! be sure to refresh your cache (reload your page) so you get the latest updates!!!
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest

over and out
cyborgnericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
good news and last chance to easily pick up your required textbook POETRY INTERNATIONAL
Posted on: Friday, January 31, 2014
more apologies as PI staff again let us down today!!!!... BUT, to the RESCUE...
the editor in chief blew a gasket
and now... more hours to exchange 6 george
washingtons for paper and joy:
read for details!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Jenny Minniti- Shippey <jmshippey1@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jan 31, 2014 at 2:36 PM
Subject: Re: Poetry International Problems
To: "memo@sdsu.edu" <memo@sdsu.edu>
Hi again,
Booksellers coming to your class Tuesday, and the office will be open 11-3 Monday and 12:30-3 Tuesday.

Jenny

T hanks, Jenny!!!!
Bill

Dr. William Anthony Nericcio
Director, Master of Arts in Liberal Arts & Sciences (MALAS)
Professor, English & Comparative Literature
San Diego State University | MC 6020 | A&L 273
San Diego, California 92182-6020 office phone: 619.594.1524 This email is a natural product. All noted variations in
spelling and grammar enhance its individual character
and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or
defects. As such, please do not forward this missive without
asking permission in writing.
links: cyber-index @eyegiene textmex@facebook blog tumblr
Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
this and that...
Posted on: Friday, January 31, 2014
androids! robots! cyborgs! reminders that you have to 'like' our robotic erotic electric facebook
page in order to get class updates--
you can do that here. remember that
facebook pages archive outside
posts on a different page here--
this is in case you are worried
that your posting did not go
through.
also, i am seeing posts on social
media with links telling you
where to see HER online free.
setting aside ethical matters, it
is JUST NOT THE SAME to
see a movie on a computer
and in the theatre. in terms of
brain science, it's an other
experience altogether.
there are great matinees
tomorrow and sunday
at fashion valley--a trolley
trip away for those of you
stuck on campus! believe
me, Jonze's opus is worth
7 bucks!
updates to your page diary
in an hour or two...
bill nericcio
head robot

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
have a great weekend...
Posted on: Thursday, January 30, 2014
robotic humanoids, thx for a great week of classes.. I learned so much
from your contributions and feel really lucky to be
part of such a great mob of students...
wanted to let you know I am giving you a little more time for
your readings, with crumb/mairowitz due for Tuesday and
LEVIN's Stepford novella for Thursday... do try to have at least
half of Levin read by Tuesday if can or wish!
updates will be LIVE on your diary page
tomorrow...
lastly, take a peek at our day to day
'syllabus' from london rocks in 2012/
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2012/summer/londonrocks/index.html
mas info here: http://malas.sdsu.edu/LondonRocks2014
sign up for more info here:
OPEN TO ALL MAJORS AND TO YOUR
BUDDIES IN THE UC SYSTEM, COMMUNITY
COLLEGES, AND MORE.
over and out,
Bill Nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Reminder!
Posted on: Thursday, January 30, 2014
I am in office hours right now in Arts and Letters 273 till around 3:30 today...
usual office hours are
drop on by and let me know if
I am screwing anything up with
our crazy class!
cheers,
bill nericcio
ps: regular office hours: http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/officehoursspring2014.jpg

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Apologies
Posted on: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
One of your classmates wrote in to let me know that she and her roommate were
confused by the assignment for tomorrow--
with good reason, the writings was horrible:
both unclear and choppy!
I have revised your diary--be sure to hit
your refresh button or you are likely to
re-see my mangled ungainly prose!
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html#latest
good night!
bill nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
REMINDER REMINDER
Posted on: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
I just received this email from the managing editor of POETRY INTERNATIONAL... please
come to class with what you need to ease
the process (exact change!)...
Remember, you only need ONE issue--
you pick from four provided according
to your tastes in lit/poetry... this book
is a required text for the class!
Here's her email:
---------- Forwarded message ----------

From:

Jenny Minniti
<jmshippey1@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jan 29, 2014 at 3:54 PM

Subject: Re: specific issues of PI?

To: Bill Nericcio <memo@sdsu.edu>

Hi Bill,

just confirming: I have two staffers coming to your class from 10:45 to 11 tomorrow morning to sell books! They can accept cash or check, $6. They're bringing about 100 books, so hopefully that will assuage the masses clamoring for poetry. The office will be staffed Thursday from 12:30 to 3 pm also.

Thanks again,

Jenny

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
minor update to your robotic erotic electric class diary...
Posted on: Wednesday, January 29, 2014
please note the update to your class diary giving you
extra time to screen HER for
class!!!!!!
be SURE to refresh your
cache (reload your webpage)
when hitting this link... if you do
not, you may not see updated
information
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
update on poetry international...
Posted on: Tuesday, January 28, 2014
from PI with their apologies for today's mixup! Poetry International is for sale in AL 262, from 11-3 pm Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, and various hours during the following weeks. PI will also be for sale before class on Thursday, Jan. 30th, in Peterson Gym at 10:45 am. The cost is $6, payable by cash or check. You may choose to purchase issue 4, 11, 12, or 13/14. Thanks, and enjoy your poems!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
reminder--bring infosheet filled out with details to class tomorrow...
Posted on: Monday, January 27, 2014
reminder--bring infosheet filled out with details to class tomorrow...if you absolutely CANT draw, yes you can paste in a picture!!!!
link: http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/roboticINFOSHEET_1.pdf

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
diary updates!
Posted on: Monday, January 27, 2014
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
home page updated!
Posted on: Monday, January 27, 2014
many of you have been writing with queries regarding your required
book, POETRY INTERNATIONAL--
I have updated your homepage to
reflect new info--it appears below
along with the issues you can
select from... Poetry International
Staff will be coming to class tomorrow
to sell copies--bring your 6 bucks!!!!
One note about a text NOT shown on your textbooks lists above--for this section of 220 (220.03 to be exact) you are required to purchase a copy of POETRY INTERNATIONAL for the class. POETRY INTERNATIONAL is edited and published by San Diego State University Press and is run out of the SDSU English Department. I have made special arrangements to let you select any ONE from four different issues of Poetry International, either issues (4, 11, 12, 13/14)? We have arranged for you to pay only $6 for your issue (a HUGE savings), but you must buy it direct from the Poetry International offices, Arts and Letters 262 (CASH OR CHECK ONLY)!!! (for now). They plan to have staff there daily between 11 and 3pm the week of Janurary 27 to January 31st. Pick the issue that most closely mirrors your interests; here are your choices--pick ONE:

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Who is Driving this Crazy Spaceship!????
Posted on: Monday, January 27, 2014
Bios are now live for your robotic board of directors!!!
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/GTAs.html

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates to your tumblr
Posted on: Saturday, January 25, 2014
robots! -------------------------------
i changed the look of your tumblr and added multiple posts here: http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com
-------------------------------
summary of all previous blackboard emails
to the class here: http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com/post/74349271389/all-prior-posts-to-the-class-pre-jan-25-2014
read all the stuff here if you just crashed to bring
yourself up to speed!
-------------------------------
class main website here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/

-------------------------------
over and out, head robotNericcio
ps: one of the books we are reading this
semester (a strange one!) Textmex, has
a blog that updates/reflects the book in
real time! you can see that here:
http://textmex.blogspot.com

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
very cool conference coming up @ ucsd...
Posted on: Friday, January 24, 2014
robots, cyborgs, and androids!!!! who is up for a cinetrek roadtrip!?????!!!!!! read the description and then answer the poll below... Gregory Hampton: “Racing and Sexing Robots: Analysis of the boundaries between 21^st Century Robots and 19^th Century Slaves”
Thursday, February 13, 2014
4:00-5:30pm
Literature Building Room 155 (de Certeau)

With the technological advances over the past few decades it is inevitable that the creation and dissemination of robots and similar technology will become commonplace in the households and imaginations of the American populous. Japan has already produced humanlike robots that can sing and dance. What is more interesting is how these robots are assigned both race and gender as identity markers. Why does a machine need such a complex identity, if that machine is designed to only complete the mundane labor that humanity wished to forgo? One plausible response is that the robot is being designed to be more than an appliance but less than a human. In other words the technology of the 21^st Century is in the process of developing a modern day socially accepted slave. Karel Capek’s play R.U.R. produced in the year 1921 in Czechoslovakia was not merely a science fictive fantasy; it was a prophetic look into humanity’s destiny. The employment of the robot remains at the center of the literary genre of science fiction and is inextricable from the discourse of slavery and the African American. Unfortunately, if such a machine happens to take root in the American social system founded on the notion of slavery, the results will yield an abysmal circumstance of hierarchy. This essay will consider the boundaries and borders that occur in the evolving discourse of robots and slaves.

Gregory Hampton holds the title of Associate Professor of African-American Literature and is the Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at Howard University. Dr. Hampton holds a B.A. in Economics and African-American Studies from Oberlin College; an M.A. in African-American Studies from Yale University; and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Duke University. He has published articles in the English Journal, the CLAJ (College Language Association Journal), Children’s Literature in Education: An International Quarterly, Obsidian III, and Callaloo. His most recent courses have been invested in the problematic of the black body and its portrayal in both literature and film as well as literature across cultures (African, British, Native American, Caribbean, and Asian). His book Changing Bodies in the Fiction of Octavia Butler: Slaves, Aliens, and Vampires (Lexington Books) is the first monograph of literary criticism invested in examining the complete body of fiction produced by Octavia E. Butler. In addition to African-American speculative fiction, Hampton’s fields of interest include 19th and 20th Century American and African-American literature as well as gender studies.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6KTX5HX
on the poll, do not say YES you are going unless you are SURE you are committed to this odyssey!!!!...

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
get in the groove fast...
Posted on: Friday, January 24, 2014
after reading "The Yellow Wallpaper" hop onto the net and dig up cool stuff on Charlotte Perkins Gilman and
share it... no, she was not a groovy go-go dancer!
share your findings after you 'like' your home
away from home, the robotic erotic electric
social media mothership @ facebook.com:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/English-220-Robotic-Erotic-Electric/464330593679066
remember to carefully read these two pages:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/home.html
and
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/passport.html
yours
Robot Nericcio
ps: come to london with us--it will blow your circuitboards, robots! infolist

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
all emails to the robotic erotic electric class appear here...
Posted on: Thursday, January 23, 2014
robots! I just posted a massive posting to your tumblr site that archives ALL the emails
I have sent to the class since early this year:
http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com/post/74349271389/all-prior-posts-to-the-class-pre-jan-23-2014
cheers,
bill nericcio

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
update/main webpage link...
Posted on: Thursday, January 23, 2014
thx for the support today--i think our literary/robotic experiment is going to rock!
key link: http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/
bill nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu
http://textmex.blogspot.com

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
updates to the roboticeroticelectric mothership...
Posted on: Thursday, January 23, 2014
sdsuROBOTS (aka Engl 220.03 citizens) you can expect updates to this page all the time--it is YOUR responsibility
as a member of our band of literary
cyberpirates to check this page at least
three or four times a week! your smartphone
is NOT the best way to study this
page--you will likely miss something
important if you use that little technological
gem exclusively...
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html
yours,
dr. bill nericcio
ps: with 40 to 50 people trying to crash
this section it is going to be a long shot,
but if you know a friend totally into art,
cinema, theatre, literature, etc. who is
NOT a full-on slackersaurus, bring them
along today!

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
Get ahead on your work for English 220 @ SDSU...
Posted on: Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Get ahead on your work for English 220 @ SDSU...
Read CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN's THE YELLOW WALLPAPER before the first class on Thursday, January 23, 2014--also, cinetrekONE... screen Spike Jonze's HER
at a theatre of your choosing BEFORE January 31, 2014...
see you Thursday! if you know an artsy film, art, theatre major dying
for a won't-put-you-to-sleep class, bring them along to try to crash
the class on the 23rd!
yours,
dr. bill nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu
{especially if you are on hotmail, be sure to add
bnericci@mail.sdsu.edu and memo@sdsu.edu as
contacts--otherwise, my emails to you are likely to
end up in your spam box!}...

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
just a quick note ...
Posted on: Thursday, January 16, 2014
if you are seeing this, you are signed upfor english 220.03 @ SDSU this spring...
the day to day 'diary' for our class is
not ready for primetime--you are welcome
to look at it, but the assignments listed
there are not finalized...
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/index.html

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
note...
Posted on: Thursday, January 16, 2014
if you are signed up for my english 220 class, i added you to an online
list of present and former students
who i hit with intellectual/cultural
emails from time to time--feel free
to unsubscribe if your in-box overfloweth.
you'll hear more about this in class, but
I am hosting a summer class in london
this summer! here's some info on that
adventure--sign up for the london
info-elist here: http://tinyletter.com/londonrocks2014
more info here: http://malas.sdsu.edu/LondonRocks2014/
------------------------------------------

Prospective Student Travelers,

Professor Wiese, Melissa Bolthouse, and I can talk until we
are blue in the face about how special the London Rocks program
is and how amazing life in London will be.
Ultimately, however, it is our alumni who can best talk about their
unique experiences--as Nicole Best did on our London Rocks
facebook page (see it here as well as a screengrab if the FB
link is uncooperative).
Here, though, better yet, and straight from the students
themselves, are four video commentaries, filmed at our
going away reception with Professor John Makey, Summer
2012 at the Imperial College student pub:
https://vimeo.com/channels/654741

Happy New Year from SDSU London Rocks 2014!!!!
Yours,
Dr. William A. Nericcio
memo@sdsu.edu

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
english 220 social media links...
Posted on: Tuesday, January 14, 2014
English 220heads!
if this is the first email you have received, your
class syllabus lives online here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/

the home page with the course description
and list of required works is here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/home.html
your specific rights and responsibilities
for the class live here on your 'passport' page:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/passport.html
your day to day assignments will appear here soon:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/diary.html
Also, a quick note that you will be posting updates to the class facebook page here:
http://bit.ly/roboticeroticelectric
Be sure to 'like' that page in order to
receive key updates--folks who hate
facebook and avoid Zuckerberg's invention
like the plague can still 'see' the class updates
there as the page is public.
if facebook makes you sick, you can
make use of the class tumblr site
here: http://roboticeroticelectric.tumblr.com/
numerous class-related postings are already
live on both these sites!
yours
dr. william a. nericcio
http://malas.sdsu.edu/textmex

Posted by: William Nericcio
Posted to: ENGL220-03-Spring2014 English 220.03 Robotic Erotic Electric
41 students on the way to 216...
Posted on: Saturday, January 11, 2014
Sorry to interrupt your nfl or vacation pleasure--this is just a test email/announcement
for english 220 @ sdsu, spring 2014...
your syllabus (and more) lives online here:
http://eyegiene.sdsu.edu/2014/spring/roboticerotic/
if you have friends who are unabashed, unashamed
artsies who love books, film, theatre, photography,
and art, invite them to add this section of 220!
cheers,
Dr. William A. Nericcio, aka "Bill"
http://malas.sdsu.edu/textmex

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Email Review | English 220 Robotic Erotic Electric