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Herewith is my schedule for Chicon 8: The 80th World Science Fiction Convention to be held in downtown Chicago September 1-5.
Introducing Speculative Fictions
Michigan 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022, 2:30 PM CDT
Your friend just saw Dune, and loved it. Your sister can't get enough of Lovecraft Country. Your dad just rediscovered The Lord of the Rings films. You know that these are all film and TV adaptations of literary works, and that there are more books out there that they'd love. What works do you suggest first to an interested newcomer to speculative fiction?
Space Westerns
Michigan 1 Friday, September 2, 2022, 2:30 PM CDT
While Westerns are still being filmed and written, the genre has waned over the past fifty years. But in science fiction, many of the themes and ideas of the Western are still going strong. Can you explore the "final frontier" without the baggage of the colonialism and imperialism that marked America's frontier period?
Systems of Governance in SFF
Virtual - Airmeet 2 Saturday, September 3, 2022, 8:30 AM CDT
For a genre that is supposed to imagine alternatives and look to the future, science fiction seems to spend a lot of time dealing with empires, kings, and other regressive forms of government. Let's talk about how humans organize societies, how technological advances can change the way we govern ourselves, and about authors such as Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Ada Palmer and Ursula K. Le Guin who have explored different ways that people can work together to share decision-making power within a society.
Introducing Speculative Fictions
Michigan 1 Thursday, September 1, 2022, 2:30 PM CDT
Your friend just saw Dune, and loved it. Your sister can't get enough of Lovecraft Country. Your dad just rediscovered The Lord of the Rings films. You know that these are all film and TV adaptations of literary works, and that there are more books out there that they'd love. What works do you suggest first to an interested newcomer to speculative fiction?
Space Westerns
Michigan 1 Friday, September 2, 2022, 2:30 PM CDT
While Westerns are still being filmed and written, the genre has waned over the past fifty years. But in science fiction, many of the themes and ideas of the Western are still going strong. Can you explore the "final frontier" without the baggage of the colonialism and imperialism that marked America's frontier period?
Systems of Governance in SFF
Virtual - Airmeet 2 Saturday, September 3, 2022, 8:30 AM CDT
For a genre that is supposed to imagine alternatives and look to the future, science fiction seems to spend a lot of time dealing with empires, kings, and other regressive forms of government. Let's talk about how humans organize societies, how technological advances can change the way we govern ourselves, and about authors such as Nnedi Okorafor, Malka Older, Ada Palmer and Ursula K. Le Guin who have explored different ways that people can work together to share decision-making power within a society.
