English 192: The Gernsback Continuum Discussion Questions

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“The Gernsback Continuum” by William Gibson

What does it mean for something to become an episode?
What slice of Americana fascinates Dialta Downes?
What is the future that never was? Do you recognize this future?
How is this related to science fiction? Star Trek? Religion?
Why does the public want the future?
What does it mean to see a flying wing?
What is unsettling about the children of the future the narrator sees?
What are they like, and how do they live?
What kind of future is theirs? Who and what does it leave out?
How does it relate to real history?
What is the antidote to these semiotic visions?
What does it mean to live in a “human near dystopia”?
What does this story have to say about the history of the future?
What does it mean to have a history of the future?
What kinds of futures do we imagine now?
What are semiotic ghosts? Where do they come from? Have you seen any?

[edit] See Also

• English 192 Syllabus - M. Stevenson Summer 2001