Map of the Universe - Dirié & Suhr

Map of the Universe

Travel across the universe on the Calypso!

4.Trending Interpretations

2.Ink of Identity

7.Give Credit Where It’s Due

3.Living Map of Calypso

1.Langmead’s Argentine Reading List

6.My Body, My Choice: Learning from Rochelle

5.Beyond the Page: Calypso in the World and Media

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Signpost 1 - Task

Read two or three biographies about the writer of the selected book. Then answer briefly: 1. If the writer of this book visited your country, which three pieces of news would s/he read? Why? Use the information you have read about him/her to back up your answers in a 100-to-150 word paragraph.

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Signpost 2 - Task

Design a tattoo for the main character. Describe it in a 150-to-200-word paragraph.

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Signpost 3 - Task

Design a creative, interactive activity to reconstruct the plot of this story. This must contain 8 to 10 central events and you can’t create a True or False exercise or provide students with a set of questions. Briefly describe the procedures, main objectives, and expected outcome(s) for this activity. Don’t forget to provide the key.

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Signpost 4 - Task

Include three hashtags to discuss (alternative) interpretations of the ending of this story. Choose one and explain it in detail. Write your answer in an 80-to-100-word paragraph.

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Signpost 5 - Task

Find a text-to-world and a text-to-media connection. Copy and paste the links to the (audio)visual material (less than four minutes) you’ve chosen for your two connections. Explain each of them in a 100-to-150-word paragraph. Include a juicy question to spark off debate in class for each of the options.

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Signpost 6 - Task

Design an original task based on one of the central themes in this book with the aim of integrating Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in a specific teaching scenario. Briefly describe the context (level of education, proficiency level, and learners’ needs), procedures, main objectives, and expected outcome(s) for this activity. Reflect on the importance of your task to help these students and teachers protect their health, well-being, and integrity. Use 200 to 250 words to write your answers.

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Signpost 7 - Task

Make a list of the references consulted using the 7th Edition of APA Style.

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Objectives

Event Cards

Answer Key

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Procedure

Objectives

Reflection

References

CONICET. (n.d.). Finalizó la histórica campaña submarina liderada por científicos del CONICET que emocionó a millones de personas a través del streaming. https://www.conicet.gov.ar/finalizo-la-historica-campana-submarina-liderada-por-cientificos-del-conicet-que-emociono-a-millones-de-personas-a-traves-del-streaming/ COPITEC. (2025, June 5). Microsatélite argentino irá a la Luna con la NASA. https://www.copitec.org.ar/blog/2025/06/05/microsatelite-argentino-ira-a-la-luna-con-la-nasa/ Cosmoknowledge. (2023, April 11). This Is How We Can Make Mars Habitable [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg9P7GcNOqU Langmead, O. K. (2024). Calypso. Titan Books. Langmead, O. K. (n.d.). Oliver K. Langmead – Author. Retrieved from Oliver K. Langmead's official website: threads.com+15oliverlangmead.com+15lancaster.ac.uk+15 Latir cifrado: Nace El Aura, una revista digital gratuita de poesía y artes visuales. (2025, August 30). La Nación. https://www.lanacion.com.ar/cultura/latir-cifrado-nace-el-aura-una-revista-digital-gratuita-de-poesia-y-artes-visuales-nid30082025/ StarTalk. (2022, October 18). Terraforming Mars, A Wasted Goal? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5D-0xrhwbR8

Task

Reflection

We consider that this task is important because it translates the speculative dilemmas in Calypso into real-world issues of well-being. Protecting students’ health and integrity is not limited to biological knowledge; it also requires emotional literacy, empathy, and the ability to resist harmful pressures. Rochelle’s decision to resist bodily enhancement becomes a springboard for students to reflect on their own rights to autonomy and consent. By framing this within a creative and literary activity, learners engage deeply with concepts often abstract in health education. Writing identity pledges allows students to define their personal boundaries in a supportive environment, which is vital for developing confidence and self-respect during adolescence. Teachers also benefit, as the activity provides them with a structured yet flexible tool for addressing CSE topics in a safe, non-threatening way. The circle-sharing dynamic strengthens peer respect, helping students recognise diversity of experiences and choices. In turn, this supports a culture where consent and bodily agency are openly discussed rather than silenced. Finally, the task fosters resilience, healthier relationships, and greater awareness of the interconnectedness between personal decisions, societal pressures, and ethical responsibility. This task not only combines literature, creativity, and CSE, but it also ensures that both students and teachers gain meaningful strategies to safeguard students' well-being and integrity.

Living Map of Calypso

Task

Instructions:Students will receive Event Cards that represent the ten central moments of the story. These cards will be hidden around the classroom, transforming the space into an interactive timeline. Working in small groups, students must search for the cards in sequence. Each time a card is found, the group must loudly announce the event and then create a ten-second Freeze-Frame followed by a 30-second improvised scene that dramatises the moment. After that, they will decide on the order of the events and stick the cards on the blackboard the chosen sequence. At each event, students must also recall one defining line or moral dilemma connected to that event, ensuring fidelity to the story.

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Beyond the Page: Calypso in the World and MediaText-to-world connection

Task

For the text-to-world connection, we selected Neil deGrasse Tyson’s short video “Terraforming Mars, A Wasted Goal?” In this clip, Tyson questions the practicality and value of investing resources into colonising and terraforming other planets, emphasising that humanity may simply repeat its mistakes elsewhere. This scepticism directly connects to Calypso, where Mars has already been reshaped into a “mirror of Earth,” yet the same social issues, such as inequality, waste, and disillusionment, emerge. Arthur Sigmund’s reflection on “homeless people living on Mars” and “seagulls adapting to Martian landfills” mirrors Tyson’s concern that planetary colonisation does not guarantee progress but risks reproducing old failures. In summary, both the video and the novel push us to reflect on whether striving for new worlds truly secures humanity’s future, or whether our focus should instead be on solving the crises we face on Earth.Debate Question: If problems like homelessness still exist on Mars in Calypso, should humanity really try to colonise new planets for survival, or will we just repeat the same mistakes from Earth?

Task

My Body, My Choice: Learning from Rochelle

For this task, a high school group of students aged 15–17 with a B2 level of English is the teaching scenario. At this stage, learners benefit from discussing identity, bodily agency, and ethics—areas strongly linked to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). One of the central themes in Calypso is bodily autonomy versus technological enhancement, embodied in Rochelle’s refusal to surrender her integrity. Building on this, students will design “identity pledges” that express their personal stance on autonomy and consent.

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Objectives

The main objectives of this activity are to reconstruct the narrative sequence, to encourage embodied understanding of the novel’s central themes, and to promote collaborative interpretation of key conflicts. Regarding the expected outcomes, these include an accurate recollection of events, deeper insight into the characters’ motivations, and creative expression of crucial turning points.

Beyond the Page: Calypso in the World and MediaText-to-media Connection

Task

For the text-to-media connection, we selected the video “This Is How We Can Make Mars Habitable” by Cosmoknowledge. This science video explains step by step how Mars could be transformed into a habitable planet, using techniques such as atmospheric manipulation, ecosystem creation, and large-scale engineering. It makes complex scientific ideas visually accessible, showing how popular media translates futuristic projects for a general audience. This connects directly with Oliver K. Langmead’s Calypso, which explores similar planetary engineering processes through poetry; in the novel, the mission of the starship Calypso is to “birth a whole new world,” involving bioengineering breakthroughs, nanite systems, and even “violent seeds” that reshape continents and oceans. In summary, both the video and the book bring scientific imagination to life, making this a clear example of how media and literature reflect shared cultural fascination with terraforming.Debate Question: If science media makes terraforming look exciting and possible, could it push people to support these projects without considering the ethical and social problems shown in Calypso?

Main Objective

The main objectives are to increase students' awareness of bodily autonomy, foster respect for diversity, and enhance empathy through literature. Expected outcomes include students articulating personal boundaries, developing confidence in expressing consent, and experiencing a supportive classroom environment.

Ink of Identity

Task

We designed this tattoo for Rochelle, the main character in Calypso, which is a stylised circular engineer’s glyph that blends elements of machinery and nature. At its centre, two semi-spirals unfold: one of them is made of intricate metal circuitry, while the other one is composed of intertwining leaves. These spirals meet and merge, with the metallic lines gradually fading into organic forms, symbolising Rochelle’s inner struggle between the technological demands of engineering the ship and the possibility of natural rebirth through the forest ecosystem. Around the outer rim of the circle, faint embossed runes spell out her prayer, a subtle yet powerful reminder of her faith and spiritual resilience. The tattoo would be inked along her forearm, stretching from wrist to elbow, making it visible and ever-present in her daily life. In our opinion, this tattoo, more than body art, visually narrates her dual commitment: to sustain human integrity in the face of transformation and to act as the moral compass on Calypso’s divided mission. In this way, the tattoo becomes both a personal anchor and a symbolic emblem of her identity.

Image generated by ChatGPT. Prompt:Generate a picture of a tattoo with this description: A stylized circular “engineer’s glyph” merging gears and vine – inside the circle, two semi-spirals: one of metal circuitry, the other of intertwining leaves. The metal half fades into organic life. On the outer rim, faint embossed runes spell her prayer, tying to her faith. Inked on her forearm (wrist-to-elbow).

Procedure

The procedure begins with reading Rochelle’s rejection of augmentation and a guided class discussion on bodily integrity. In pairs, learners write a short poem or text starting with “My body is…” to reflect on autonomy, choice, and respect. They will then decorate their pledges with symbolic imagery related to Calypso (such as vines for nature or circuits for technology). Finally, students read and explain their pledges in a respectful circle, listening to diverse perspectives.

Trending Interpretations

Task

Hashtags:

• #RochelleTheSaviour
• #NatureWins
• #FaithInHumanity

From our point of view, the most compelling interpretation of the ending of Calypso is reflected in #FaithInHumanity. Rochelle’s refusal of technological enhancement and her moral steadfastness highlight a renewed hope in the human condition. By rejecting both the extremes of posthuman transformation and the cult-like worship of technology, she embodies integrity and humility as guiding values. This ending suggests that progress is not about dominance but about moral responsibility, emphasising the power of a single conscience to guide humanity’s future even in a fractured, posthuman world.

Task

Langmead’s Argentine Reading List

If Oliver K. Langmead visited Argentina, three news stories would likely capture his attention. First, he would read about the Argentine Artemis II mission (1), since his residency with the European Space Agency and the central role of space travel in Calypso show his fascination with exploring the cosmos. Second, coverage of Argentine scientists exploring Argentina’s sea floor to look for native flora and fauna (2) would resonate with him, as both his writing and ecological concerns reflect a deep engagement with humanity’s relationship with nature. Finally, the launching of a local digital magazine about poetry and visual arts (3) by Libros del Zorzal in the province of Buenos Aires would be of great interest because Langmead often chooses verse novels as his medium, and Calypso itself is written in poetic form. These three stories would connect directly with his professional background and creative identity, making them both personally and artistically meaningful.

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Answer Key:

The correct order is 1 → 10. At each event, students must also recall one defining line or moral dilemma connected to that event, ensuring fidelity to the story. Order: Prologue – Earth farewell (1) - Departure - Cryostasis - Awakening alone - Meeting Catherine & Sigmund - Discovery of factions - Planet landing - Moon-colony reveal - Final confrontation - Rochelle’s decision (10)