This wiki is devoted to Paolo Bacigalupi's 2009 Nebula Award-winning science-fiction novel The Windup Girl. Teams of 4 to 5 classmates at West Chester University have created wiki projects that both provide background information about and interpret the themes of the book. The goal of the project was to research the cultural contexts of the novel and to show how they inform the plot, characters, setting, themes, symbolism, or other literary techniques.
"Veneration" (Image of Ayutthaya), Photo Credit: Thailand Photo (Some Right Reserved) http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhtglobal/1372705986/sizes/z/
The Projects:
Here are links to the projects that were developed by the students.
biotechnology: genetic modification (GMOs), cloning/stem cell research
environmentalism and/vs. economics: agribusiness, invasive species and biological diversity, climate change, the disappearance of non-renewable resources
political and social history: Thailand and Southeast Asia (Burma/Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, China) West and East (imperialism), global trade (open markets vs. protectionism), Orientalism (stereotyping of the mysterious, feminized “East”)
philosophy, intellectual history: Buddhism, Darwinism/evolution, the ethics of scientific research
sex trade: geisha culture (companion vs. concubine), human trafficking and human rights, sex clubs/shows
literature/science fiction: trope of artificial life (another heir of Frankenstein), “steampunk” technology, “biopunk” science fiction, ecocriticism, Bacigalupi (author biography, interviews, reviews of The Windup Girl, and other works such as the two “Windup Stories”: “The Calorie Man” and “The Yellow Card Man”)
labor history: factory labor and human rights, labor issues in the developing world
Photo Credit: Wikimedia (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TeaAutomatAndMechanism.jpg), Public Domain
Working on the Wiki:
We devoted class time in the last two weeks of the semester to becoming familiar with the team and the wiki functions, as well as starting to design and develop the wiki. However, students also were expected individually and as a team to devote considerable time to this project between the assignment and the final exam period. Team and individual grades were assigned, and team members evaluated their own and other team members’ contributions to the project.
Responding to Another Wiki:
Teams were assigned another one of the wikis to which they responded, both with comments at the wiki itself and in a critique turned in to me (a rubric was provided).
Photo Credit:空っぽ。kiraisuki.tumblr.com
Overview
This wiki is devoted to Paolo Bacigalupi's 2009 Nebula Award-winning science-fiction novel The Windup Girl. Teams of 4 to 5 classmates at West Chester University have created wiki projects that both provide background information about and interpret the themes of the book. The goal of the project was to research the cultural contexts of the novel and to show how they inform the plot, characters, setting, themes, symbolism, or other literary techniques.
The Projects:
Here are links to the projects that were developed by the students.
Some Contexts that were Suggested for Research:
Working on the Wiki:
We devoted class time in the last two weeks of the semester to becoming familiar with the team and the wiki functions, as well as starting to design and develop the wiki. However, students also were expected individually and as a team to devote considerable time to this project between the assignment and the final exam period. Team and individual grades were assigned, and team members evaluated their own and other team members’ contributions to the project.Responding to Another Wiki:
Teams were assigned another one of the wikis to which they responded, both with comments at the wiki itself and in a critique turned in to me (a rubric was provided).Timeline for Project.