Intersections of History, Culture, and Science Fiction (10/8/02; SFRA, 6/26/03-6/29/03)

The Science Fiction Research Association 34th Conference

Speculating Histories:
Remembering Yesterday, Experiencing Today, Predicting Tomorrow

June 26 - 29, 2003
University of Guelph,
Guelph, Ontario, Canada

The focus of SFRA 2003 is on the intersections between history and speculative fiction. Speculating on the themes and events of history past, present, and future, and on theories about that history, is what authors of science fiction and fantasy do when they write in the genre; speculating on the continuing evolution of the genre and its impact on society is the task of scholars who study and teach it. Writing, reading, studying, and teaching speculative fiction provides a way of looking at where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.

The Guest of Honor is Geoff Ryman, author of _The Warrior Who Carried Life_, _The Child Garden_, _Was_, _253_, and _Lust_. Other guests include Candas Jane Dorsey, Phyllis Gotlieb, Nalo Hopkinson, Robert J. Sawyer, Karl Schroeder, and Peter Watts, as well as plenary speaker Farah Mendlesohn on Children's SF. We are expecting Special Guest Cliff Gates to demonstrate Fakespace. In the planning stages is an excursion to the Royal Ontario Museum, which is also convenient to The Merrill Collection, BAKKA Books, the Gardner Ceramic Museum, and the Bata Shoe Museum as well as to shopping and dining.

Given the theme of SFRA 2003, topics may include (but are certainly not limited to) Cosmologies and Eschatologies and Everything In-Between; (D)Evolution in SF; Origins of the Genre; Forebears of SF: Shelley, Wells, Verne, et al.; Frankenstein's Monster: Ancestors and Descendants; the Golden Age of SF; Space Opera and American History; Pioneers in Space; SF and War; Films Look at SF: the Fifties and Beyond; Generation Starships; Historical Fantasy/Fantastical History; What If?: Alternate Histories; Tales of Many Cities: Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and Urban Fantasy; Futures Near and Far; Time Travel; The Decline and Fall of Galactic Empires; Intersecting Genres: Science Fantasy; Changing Paradigms of Race and Gender; the History of SF Scholarship; Theories of History/History of Theories; The SFRA, Past, Present, and Future. Papers on any of the guest writers are also most welcome, as are papers on any other aspect of science fiction.

Proposals to read a paper (maximum 20 minute reading time) or to organize a panel should be received by October 8, 2002. Electronic submissions are both welcome and encouraged; please copy-n-paste the submission into the email rather than send it as an attachment. Send a brief paragraph, including title of the paper and contact information for the presenter, to:

cemains@shaw.ca
Christine Mains
Department of English
University of Calgary
Calgary, AB Canada T2N 1N4

doug.barbour@ualberta.ca Douglas Barbour Department of English University of Alberta Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 0B9