[Commlist] Imagining Alternatives - Speculative Fiction and the Political (Call for Papers)

*_Imagining Alternatives - Speculative Fiction and the Political_*


11th Annual Conference of the Gesellschaft fuer Fantastikforschung (GFF) 
in cooperation with the German Popular Culture Studies Association (GPCA)


*September 10-12, 2020, University of Augsburg, Germany*


Author Ian McEwan’s recent claims that Science Fiction is not political 
enough are not only elitist, but also could not be farther from the 
truth. After all, any Speculative Fiction, no matter if it is Science 
Fiction, Fantasy, the Gothic, Horror, or any other variation of the 
fantastic, has always been political in that they make it possible for 
us to imagine alternatives to the lives we live – whether it is the 
warnings of dystopian works such as George Orwell’s 1984 or more 
recently, Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and its adaptation into a TV 
series that have resonated at times of #metoo and Trump. Alternate 
histories such as Man in the High Castle continue to keep audiences 
similarly engaged, while Harry Potter’s allegory on fascism has served 
as inspiration for political protest against right-wing voices, 
particularly for the millennial generation that has grown up with it. 
Star Trek’s humanist utopia is still going strong after 50 years, and 
its most recent installment, Star Trek: Discovery may in many ways be 
its most political yet – particularly given the controversies its spiked 
for its strive for diversity, bringing to the forefront larger issues 
surrounding certain sections of SF fans that want to claim the genre(s) 
as mere escapism without political ideology.


SF has also been used for political (Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged) or 
religious (scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s works or Tim La Haye’s 
Left Behind series) propaganda, further showing the cultural capital of 
speculative fiction. Jurassic Park has warned us of the ills of 
consumerism driving science, Tolkien’s works are not just ecocritical 
but also anti-fascist, and Doctor Who’s titular character continues to 
not only fight the Daleks, a thinly-veiled Nazi allegory, but has also 
recently visited Rosa Parks. Additionally, the recent surge in Climate 
Fiction, a genre originally advanced by hard SF writers, has built up 
optimism about the ability of popular culture to not only portray but 
also ignite eco-political engagement.


This conference thus calls for papers on all forms and genres of 
speculative fiction and their engagement with the political, be it 
novels, film, television series, or immersive media such as games or 
theme parks.


There is generally an open track to submit papers on any SF-related 
topic, however, we specifically welcome discussions of such issues as:


– political ideology in works of SF, incl. fan-produced content based on 
them

– the relevance of works of SF for resistance movements

– utopia, dystopia, and the continued project to imagine the future

– depictions of minorities in SF and their political implications

– general debates surrounding the politics of SF, transnational 
differences/similarities


Please send abstracts (in English or German) of 300 words plus bio 
blurbs of 150 words to (gff2020conference /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(gff2020conference /at/ gmail.com)> by January 15, 2020.


The GFF will offer travel grants of 250 Euros each for two (graduate) 
students attending the conference. Please let us know if you want to be 
considered when applying.


A conference homepage with more information will follow over the coming 
months, the conference Twitter handle is @GFF_11th.

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