discussion-2-179
Overview
In this Discussion, we ask you to think about the “Earth Chronicle,” as portrayed in the short story “In the Year 2889” and compare it to how we portray journalists today.
Task: Write a 400 word essay in which you answer ONE of the prompts below:
1. Analyze the significance of how much (or how little) Fritz Napoleon Smith depends on technology (as imagined in the story) as he carries out his daily duties as editor of the “Earth Chronicle.”
2. Analyze the significance of having the narrator equate Fritz Napoleon Smith to the role of “king” of America in the fulfillment of his editorial duties. Does Smith see himself that way from what evidence we can glean in the story?
Assigned Reading
1. Verne, Michel. (France), “In the Year 2889 (Links to an external site.),” Project Gutenberg e-book [14 pages, there’s not much plot but read to find echoes to our present-day technology]. Click here for info on Jules Verne (Links to an external site.) (dad).
2. Evans, Arthur B. “The ‘New’ Jules Verne.” Science Fiction Studies 22.1(1995): 35-46.
3. Evans, Arthur B. “Jules Verne’s America,” Extrapolation 48.1 (2006) 35-43.
Assigned Viewing
Project Information Literacy (PIL) Major Findings from new study (2 min 35 secs)
