Panel

ALIENS AND OTHERS: CONVERSATIONS IN POSTCOLONIAL SCIENCE FICTION

A Panel Discussion

Thursday, April 18, 2013 12:00-2:00 p.m. Humanities Gateway 1030

Participants:

Sherryl Vint, Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies, UC Riverside

Jonathan Alexander, Chancellor's Fellow and Professor of English, UC Irvine

Gregory Benford, Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy, UC Irvine and SF Writer

Vandana Singh, Assistant Professor of Physics, Framingham State University and SF Writer

Anil Menon, SF Writer

Patrick Sharp, Chair and Professor of Liberal Studies, CSU Los Angeles

Moderated by Kavita Philip, Associate Professor of History, UC Irvine

How has Science Fiction historically represented Aliens and Others, and how is a new generation of writers from former colonial sites contesting and changing the conventions of SF? Writers and critics engage in a discussion about the representational challenges and political possibilities of speculative fiction. The audience is invited to join in an extended conversation about SF and the history of science, postcolonial politics, and the future of public engagement with cultures of technology.