Lesson Plans for Postmodernism

THROUGHOUT THIS GUIDE TO THEORY, I have attempted, when possible, to draw from my own experiences teaching students the various theoretical approaches. The following two plans were implemented in a science-fiction class taught at Purdue U in 1999. The class was composed mostly juniors and seniors (including a small group of honors students). I have in the past found science fiction to be especially useful in helping students understand the basic tenets of postmodernism. It also doesn't hurt that much science fiction actively employs (or inspires) postmodern thinking. One need only cite William Gibson's cyberpunk fiction or Samuel Delaney's implementation of contemporary theory into his tales. Even popular Hollywood films such The Matrix make a nod to theorists like Jean Baudrillard (both quoting his work and having Neo at the beginning of the film hide a hacker program inside a hollowed-out copy of Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation).