The New Semester, It Draws Nigh!

Hi there! Happy Friday, everyone!

1. Tremendous thanks to all of you who took part in my poll about my October posts. (It's still open, if you wish to participate.) I really appreciate your feedback! My countdown will indeed be appearing here in October, and I truly hope you enjoy it.

2. Students from five different continents are enrolled for my "Science Fiction, Part 1: From Modern Beginnings through the Golden Age" course for Mythgard Institute, and I couldn't be more thrilled! Registration is still open for this class, and it's also still open for my one-time live lecture event on "The Hunger Games and the Science Fiction Tradition."

3. Happy early birthday to roo2, darthsindel1981, ceosanna, amygrech, dormannheim, super_chik, dement1a, and funkyturtle. May all of you enjoy many happy returns of the day, my friends!


The Fall 2012 semester begins for me next week, so I feel the need to get my ducks in a row.

What I'm Teaching - Fall 2012

• "Science Fiction, Part 1: From Modern Beginnings through the Golden Age" for Mythgard Institute


• "100 Years of Literature about Single-Sex Worlds" for Lenoir-Rhyne University

Where I'll Be - Fall 2012

• "The Hunger Games and the Science Fiction Tradition," a live "Looking Back on Genre History" HoloDeck lecture sponsored by StarShipSofa, online event


• 2012 Free Minds Film Festival at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
  Talk: "The Trail of Tears: They Knew It Was Wrong and The Soviet Story" (appearing virtually)


• The McConnell Center at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky
  Talk: "The Trail of Tears through Cherokee Eyes"
  (Also directing student seminars on 1) "The Politics of The Hunger Games" and 2) The Road to Serfdom)


• Potterfest 2012: A Harry Potter Celebration at Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, North Carolina
  Talk: "Finding Dumbledore's Mother: Harry Potter's (Native) American Context"


• Catawba County Executives Club Meeting in Hickory, North Carolina
  Talk: "'I Take My Life in My Hand': A Tale of Two Cherokees and the Trail of Tears"


• Broken Arrow Senior High Homecoming in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (receiving the Great Graduate Award from The Broken Arrow High School Alumni Association)

"If you saw a heat wave, would you wave back?"
- Steven Wright