Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy vol.1 (2018) © 2018 by Alfredo Mac Laughlin. ISSN 2573-881X This class schedule, © 2018 by James Rocha, is published as companion material to James Rocha's "Teaching Firefly," JSFP vol.1 (2018). Published 2018 December 28. Original publication under a CC-BY-NC License by the Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy. The following schedule was used for a sophomore level philosophy course that was populated mostly by non-majors. The original idea for the course was to develop a popular culture philosophy course that would attract students from all over campus, which was meant to both introduce them to multiple philosophical ideas and theories and hopefully convince some of them to major or minor in philosophy. The course was quite successful at drawing Whedon fans from across the university (after a certain amount of advertising through posters and social media). Students were very engaged with both discussions of episodes and the readings. Date Show Episode Class Topic Reading M Week 1 Angel 2.15 "Reprise" Intro W Week 1 Angel 4.22 "Home" Intro The Syllabus M Week 2 Angel 5.4 "Hell Bound" Ethics W Week 2 Angel Ethics Grinnell, Jason. 2011. "Aristotle, Kant, Spike, and Jayne." In The Philosophy of Joss Whedon, 88-102. Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. M Week 3 No Class Holiday W Week 3 Angel 5.11 "Damage" Torture M Week 4 Angel Torture Sussman, David. "What's Wrong with Torture?" Philosophy & Public Affairs 33.1 (2005): 1-33. W Week 4 Angel 5.12 "You're Welcome" Death & Happiness M Week 5 Angel Death & Happiness Aristotle. 1999. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett. Read Book I (skip Chapter 6). W Week 5 Angel 5.14 "Smile Time" Rationality and Ethics M Week 6 Angel Rationality and Ethics Kant, Immanuel. 2012. Groundwork. Edited by Mary Gregor and Jens Timmermann. Cambridge University Press. Read Section 1. "Teaching Firefly": Companion Material Class Schedule for a Course on Joss Whedon and Philosophy by Professor James Rocha, Fresno State Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy Vol. 1: 2018 2 Date Show Episode Class Topic Reading W Week 6 Angel 5.15 "A Hole in the World" Choices M Week 7 Angel Choices Le Guin, Ursula. 1993. "The ones who walk away from Omelas." W Week 7 Angel 5.21 "Power Play" M Week 8 Angel Reading Catch-Up Day W Week 8 Angel 5.22 "Not Fade Away" Anarchism M Week 9 Angel Anarchism Goldman, Emma. 1911. "Anarchism: What it Really Stands for." New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association. W Week 9 Dr. Horrible Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog Ethics M Week 10 Dr. Horrible Ethics Kowalski, Dean. 2011. "Plato, Aristotle, and Joss on Being Horrible." In The Philosophy of Joss Whedon, 71-87. Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. W Week 10 Firefly 1.2 "The Train Job" Responsibility M Week 11 Firefly Responsibility Camus, Albert. 2007. "The Guest." In Exile and the Kingdom. Vintage. W Week 11 Firefly 1.7 "Jaynestown" Political Philosophy M Week 12 Firefly Political Philosophy Lackey, Mercedes. 2004. "Serenity and Bobby McGee." In Finding Serenity: AntiHeroes, Lost Shepherds, and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, 63-73. Edited by Jane Espenson. Dallas: BenBella Books. W Week 12 Firefly 1.8 "Out of Gas" Frontier Thesis M Week 13 Firefly Frontier Thesis Sturgis, Amy. 2011. "Just Get Us a Little Further." In The Philosophy of Joss Whedon, 24-38. Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy Vol. 1: 2018 3 Date Show Episode Class Topic Reading W Week 13 Firefly 1.13 "Heart of Gold" Philosophy of Sex M Week 14 Firefly Philosophy of Sex Szabo, Tait. 2011. "Companions, Dolls, and Whores." In The Philosophy of Joss Whedon, 103-116. Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. W Week 14 No Class Holiday M Week 14 Firefly 1.14 "Objects in Space" Existentialism Zynda, Lyle. 2004. "We're All Just Floating in Space." In Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds, and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, 85-95. Edited by Jane Espenson. Dallas: BenBella Books. W Week 14 Firefly Existentialism Baggett, David. 2011. "Firefly and Freedom." In The Philosophy of Joss Whedon, 9-23. Edited by Dean A. Kowalski and S. Evan Kreider. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press. Tue. Finals 5:30 pm Final Exam Fr. Finals 5 pm, term paper due .