[ecrea] Call for papers – (Un)Ethical Futures: Utopia, Dystopia & Science Fiction

*/(UN)ETHICAL FUTURES: UTOPIA, DYSTOPIA & SCIENCE FICTION/*

*16 & 17 December 2017*


Hosted by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia

Organised by Monash University and the University of Warwick with 
funding provided by the Monash Warwick Alliance


*CALL FOR PAPERS*

*Deadline: 13 August 2017*


/(Un)Ethical Futures/ is a two-day interdisciplinary conference 
exploring the ethical concerns of utopia, dystopia and science fiction. 
As we find the world in a state of significant social and political 
uncertainty, representations of more (or less) ethical futures can help 
us understand the impulses driving society today, and our hopes and 
fears for the future. The conference will feature keynote addresses, 
interactive workshops and concurrent panels.

Keynote speakers: Andrew Milner (Monash University & University of 
Warwick) and Jacqueline Dutton (University of Melbourne).

Workshop leaders will include: Sascha Morrell (Monash University) and 
Meg Mundell (author of /Black Glass/ & /Things I Did for Money/).

The conference will engage with a wide range of disciplines across the 
humanities, arts, and social sciences, including literary studies, media 
studies, history, philosophy, and cultural studies. The conference 
themes also span multiple genres and modes, from science fiction (sf) 
about the near or distant future, to alternative histories about better 
or worse presents, to fantastic stories about utopian or dystopian 
societies. The conference’s focus on ethics allows for a range of 
topics, including environmental ethics and climate change, human 
bioethics, animal ethics, the ethical use of technology, ethics of 
alterity and the ethical treatment of others, as well as related issues 
of social justice.


Possible areas of engagement include, but are not limited to:

  * Environmental ethics in speculative climate fiction (“cli-fi”)
  * Bioethical issues in sf, including biopunk and cyberpunk
  * The treatment or representation of animals, artificial intelligence,
    aliens or other posthuman or non-human entities in utopia, dystopia
    and sf
  * Historical and literary attempts at creating real or fictional
    utopian communities
  * Utopian and dystopian dimensions of Indigenous literature and 
traditions
  * Critiques of colonialism, racism, sexism and institutional abuses in
    utopia, dystopia and sf
  * Philosophy, ethics and the utopian impulse
  * Politics, activism, social justice and ethics in sf and its fan
    communities
  * Ethics, alterity and literary form in speculative fiction


We invite the submission of proposals for 20-minute papers. We also 
welcome proposals for panels (three 20-minute papers) and readings of 
original creative work, including short fiction and poetry (up to 20 
minutes’ duration). Proposals should comprise a title, abstract (200–300 
words), and a brief author bio (100 words).


Please submit proposals via email to *(utopias-conference /at/ monash.edu)* 
<mailto:(utopias-conference /at/ monash.edu)> by *13 August 2017*.


Following the conference, convenors will circulate a call for 
submissions for a special issue of /Colloquy: text, theory, critique 
<http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/colloquy/>/, which will publish 
research peer-reviewed articles, as well as creative writing and book 
reviews, arising from the conference proceedings.


For more information, visit the conference website: 
http://sites.google.com/monash.edu/utopias

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