The Time Machine
After reading The Time Machine, students explored the various differences and struggles between the two distinct classes in the novel, the Eloi and the Morlocks, as well as time travel, and other social issues from the novel. Dr. Chris Vuille, a professor of physics at Embry-Riddle and author of his own work of science fiction, helped instruct students on Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity and the various obstacles that prevent us from developing time traveling machines.
Time Travel
Students developed pages on time travel, whether it is feasible, and how else it is used in Science Fiction.
Syed Abbas researched theoretical writings by Einstein and Stephen Hawking to determine whether time travel is possible or just a myth.
Christopher Adams compared time theories and related them to the possibility of time travel.
Banin Jafri investigated the feasibility of time travel, specifically black holes and wormholes.
Gavin James explained the concept of the Mandela Effect and how the concept of many worlds and other dimensions work with The Time Machine.
Christopher Leirer looked at the possibility of time travel, as described in different works of science fiction, given what we know from modern physics.
Class Struggle
Here, students created pages in which they analyze the class struggles found in the novel.
Devin Edwards explored how science fiction relates to modern day economics.
Tina Isenard researched class separation in the novel and how it relates to historical instances of class divisions.
Dan Jones contrasted class division issues with real-world governments and religious views on economic classes.
Jake Kim, examined multiple works of science fiction to explain the inevitability of major class conflicts.
Aditi Korat considered how the novel helps us better understand theories of colonization, class systems, and future economies.
Zachary Lietzau examined how the theories of Marx and Engels comes across in the novel and how those theories relate back to the earlier work of Robert Owen, a utopian socialist.
Social and Political Impact
In these pages, students explore political and social parallels to The Time Machine, from communism to social darwinism.
Julian Avila explored the concept of gaslighting, as manifested in The Time Machine.
Celine Bounds researched the psychology of the Time Traveler and how he is able to survive his experiences.
Daniel Bussey investigated revolutions in various works of science fiction and when the many stop fearing the few.
Dustin Gibson explained the ways in which evolution and macroevolution play important roles in The Time Machine.
Eric Heines considered how The Time Machine covers issues of gloabalization, including the economy, diversity, classicism, and global conflicts.
Kevin Lim explored fear of the darkness in the novel and why humans have developed that fear.
Dillon Piotrkowski showed how The Time Machine dealt with themes from the industrial revolution and the new social classes it produced.
Alex Ursuti used The Time Machine to better understand the nature of the human mind, perceptions, and the formation of true and false memories.
The Destruction of the Earth
These students examined Wells's description of the Earth in it's final days, and analyzed the feasibility of this as portrayed in The Time Machine.
Jamey Combs investigated the many possible ways in which our world could come to an end.
Matt Da Silva looked at the literary legacy of H.G. Wells, including its depictions of the end of the world.
Logan Farrell examined ways in which the world ended in the novel and what we currently know about the science behind those possibilities.
Savanah Fulbright analyzed the dystopic future portrayed in the novel and real possibilities for the downfall of society and the destruction of the world.
Anuj Suresh analyzed the geological accuracy of science fiction in The Time Machine, After Earth, and Interstellar.
Jack Strange investigated reasons why the Earth would be warmer than it is now, as it is depicted by Wells in the novel.
Course designed and taught by Dr. Ashley Andrews Lear at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, 2017.