Speculative Fiction
Contributors are invited to submit critical works that consider speculative fiction in its many forms—print, film, television, etc. In keeping with this year’s conference theme, this panel is interested in the role of narrative in speculative fiction. How does it reflect, challenge or create narratives about humans and their place in the universe? How and why have these narratives changed over time? How do the narratives of speculative fiction differ from other types of fiction and other cultural discourses? What is the role of these kinds of narratives in the 21st century? Possible topics (though contributors are not limited to these) may include:
- Alternate histories
- Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives
- Fan communities
- Fantasy, science-fiction, and horror
- Future histories
- Gender and sexuality
- “Genre” fiction
- Mythology and history
- Postcolonialism and race
- Role of non-human characters
- Speculative fiction in the Academy
- Utopias and dystopias
