Lesson plan

Patternist series

) The Patternist series (also known as the Patternmaster series or Seed to Harvest) is a group of science fiction novels by Octavia E. Butler that detail a secret history continuing from the Ancient Egyptian period to the far future that involves telepathic mind control and an extraterrestrial plague. A profile of Butler in Black Women in America notes that the themes of the series include "racial and gender-based animosity, the ethical implications of biological engineering, the question of what it means to be human, ethical and unethical uses of power, and how the assumption of power changes people." Butler's first published novel, 1976's Patternmaster, was the first book in this series to be released. From 1977 until 1984, she published four more Patternist novels: Mind of My Mind (1977), Survivor (1978), Wild Seed (1980) and Clay's Ark (1984). Until Butler began publishing the Xenogenesis trilogy in 1987, all but one of her published books were Patternist novels (1979's Kindred was the exception). Butler later expressed a dislike for the novel Survivor, and declined to bring it back into print.

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Article summary

) The Patternist series (also known as the Patternmaster series or Seed to Harvest) is a group of science fiction novels by Octavia E. Butler that detail a secret history continuing from the Ancient Egyptian period to the far future that involves telepathic mind control and an extraterrestrial plague. A profile of Butler in Black Women in America notes that the themes of the series include "racial and gender-based animosity, the ethical implications of biological engineering, the question of what it means to be human, ethical and unethical uses of power, and how the assumption of power changes people." Butler's first published novel, 1976's Patternmaster, was the first book in this series to be released. From 1977 until 1984, she published four more Patternist novels: Mind of My Mind (1977), Survivor (1978), Wild Seed (1980) and Clay's Ark (1984). Until Butler began publishing the Xenogenesis trilogy in 1987, all but one of her published books were Patternist novels (1979's Kindred was the exception). Butler later expressed a dislike for the novel Survivor, and declined to bring it back into print.

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1976 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  2. publication date: 1977 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  3. publication date: 1979 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
  4. publication date: 2007 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1976". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. The record states that the publication date is "1977". What evidence would count against this claim?
  4. The record states that the publication date is "1979". What evidence would count against this claim?
  5. The record states that the publication date is "2007". What evidence would count against this claim?
  6. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  7. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1353540600

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.