Everything is (in) a world.
“To be a work [of art] means: to set up a world,” Martin Heidegger remarked in his 1950 essay “The Origin of the Work of Art” (2002, 22). Heidegger’s approach opens up ways to begin to understand the ways in which we become immersed in—and engaged with—sf universes.
The conference “Worlding SF: Building, Inhabiting, and Understanding Science Fiction Universes”, which will take place December 6 to 8, seeks to explore these three thematic clusters—(a) world- building, (b) processes and practices of being in fictional worlds (both from the characters’ and readers’/viewers’/players’/fans’ points of view), and (c) the seemingly naturalized sub- textual messages these fantastic visions communicate (or sometimes even self-consciously address).
Conference highlights include:
Dec 6, 12.30 pm, Meerscheinschlössl:
Keynote by Mark Bould (University of the West of England, UK):
"The Great Clomping Foot of Nerdism Stamping on the Human Face–Forever: World-Building and Contradiction"
Dec 7, 5 pm, HS 11.01:
Keynote by Cheryl Morgan (Independent Scholar and Hugo Award-Winning Publisher, UK):
"Systems of Sex and Gender"
Dec 8, 11.30 am, AULA:
Keynote by Gerry Canavan (Marquette University, USA)
"Worlding Crisis, Crisising Worlds"
Dec 8, 1.30 pm, AULA:
Special presentation by the Austrian Space Forum: "Distant Worlds: Science Meets Fiction"
Ancillary events (all free) include:
Dec 4, 7 pm, UniGraz@Museum:
Reading by the Austrian horror, science fiction, fantasy, and crime author Andreas Gruber
Dec 7, 7 pm, Murinsel:
A screening of the Austrian science fiction film 1. April 2000 (1952)
Dec 10, 6 pm, UniGraz@Museum:
Lecture by Gerry Canavan (Marquette University, USA) titled "Transitional Power: Superheroes vs. The Climate"
Check out www.worlding-sf.com for the full program, directions, etc., and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to direct them to contact@worlding-sf.com