It's been a busy and exciting time for AboutSF. With the gracious help, guidance, and training of Rob Hamm, Nick Simmons and I have been working to debut an entirely new AboutSF site. Not only will the site have better navigability and a new aesthetic, it will also include several new features.

We will have a forum for alumni of Reading Science Fiction courses on which people can meet up, chat, and reminisce about their experience in class. We'll also be adding a new SF Poetry section, featuring selections from our poetry contributor Scott Green that will be updated periodically (how many of you have an extensive reading knowledge of SF poetry? I know I'll be excited to see this!) Our upcoming events will be displayed in a new calendar format for greater visibility and ease of use--that way you can attend the AboutSF event nearest you. Finally, we hope to have an excerpt from China Mieville's excellent talk given at KU last September, which covers topics from his newest scholarly book.

I'd also like to encourage every science fiction scholar to come to the Spencer Research Library at KU to explore the papers of Donald Wollheim, world-famous SF writer and editor, which were recently donated to the collection. More information about its holdings will be coming soon.

Finally, our fabulous volunteer librarian Bruce Sherwood has been steadily unpacking and organizing the CSSF science fiction library, located at Wescoe 3040 at the University of Kansas. If you're local, stop by and chat with me or Chris McKitterick about what the library has to offer.

Samantha

Texas A&M University opened an exhibit of its science fiction and fantasy collection March 12, and I had the opportunity to make opening remarks there. I’ll post them on the Center for the Study of Science Fiction site soon, but here I wanted to comment on the outstanding job Hal Hall has done over the years in putting together one of the outstanding collections of SF and fantasy materials in the country, and Cushing Library’s support for his efforts. I was impressed not only by the collection (which I helped dedicate a quarter century earlier) but by its position—in a prime position on the main floor, just off the lobby. The ceremony filled the reading room and included participation by the Dean of Libraries and the Director of Cushing Library and a message from the TAMU president—himself an SF fan—who could not be present in person. Anyone in the College Station area should pay a visit.


I also had the opportunity to meet Elizabeth Moon and Michael Moorcock, who live within driving distance. Both distinguished writers were impressive and cordial. And Hal Hall had good words to pass along about AboutSF: “AboutSF is a valuable site for the field. As it continues to add content, it will increasingly become a ‘go-to’ resource for anyone interested in the study of science fiction and fantasy.” He also mentioned comments from Rob Latham, associate professor of English at the University of California, Riverside (which has what may be the largest collection of SF materials, the Eaton Collection, and offers the first Ph.D. in science fiction), who added the following: “…a very impressive site—-I use it several times a week.”



Jim

My name is Samantha Bishop Simmons, and I am pleased and excited to introduce myself as the new Aboutsf Volunteer Coordinator. I have been a long-time admirer of the CSSF, and I’ve watched Nate Williams make the program flourish during our friendship. I feel confident that I will be able to contribute meaningfully to the website and its mission during my tenure.
A little bit about myself: I am working toward my MA at the University of Kansas, where my focus is the dissemination of science in literature. I also teach composition and fiction courses at KU and have worked extensively in both public and university library systems. It is through these experiences—along with my life-long love of speculative fiction—that I have come to be passionate about educating all interested audiences about science fiction.
In my time holding this position, I intend to implement a few new programs and expand the programs which have already been established and are working successfully. Although Aboutsf.com is already quite a successful website, with 4 million hits in a year, I’d like to explore promotion through online mediums, such as Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, in a much more prominent way. We will be launching the new, redesigned website in the summer, which will feature both blogs by the coordinator and by other contributors, as well as original poetry by Scott Green and other poets. We’ll also be focusing on promoting the site’s resources through new venues, such as library and secondary school presentations, as well as the usual conventions.
My mission as coordinator is two-fold. First, I want to ensure that the site is the first choice for finding services for those who can already be assisted by its resources. Secondly, I want to discover and explore niches that are not yet considered when selecting and creating pedagogical materials, with the intent of determining and meeting their needs. Hal Hall, SF librarian at Texas A&M, has said “AboutSF is a valuable site for the field. As it continues to add content, it will increasingly become a "go-to" resource or anyone interested in the study of science fiction and fantasy.” And Rob Latham of UC-Riverside says “It's a very impressive site--I use it several times a week for some task or other.” The site is a valuable resource and has the potential to become even more so as we launch our new site.
I am thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to such an important project . Please sent me your comments and suggestions for what we should be doing and how we can do our job better.
Best regards,
Samantha Bishop Simmons

The Center for the Study of Science Fiction is still taking applications for the next AboutSF Program Coordinator. If you're a University of Kansas student, see http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/AboutSF1.htm for a job description and requirements. Materials must be emailed to Chris McKitterick at cmckit@ku.edu by 4:00 pm on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010.

On a personal note, I've been honored to work as the AboutSF coordinator for over the last two years. I'll be glad to answer questions about the position via email to natew59@ku.edu. AboutSF is a fantastic program that has accomplished much and has more to do.

Many of you know I'm stepping down as AboutSF's program coordinator. I thought I'd share the letter I sent to AboutSF's Advisory Board two weeks ago. It's fairly long, but it sums up my thoughts about the program, its enormous potential, and my wonderful experiences...

For over two years, I've had the honor of serving as AboutSF's program coordinator at the University of Kansas. Beginning in the spring semester of 2010, I'm stepping down from the position. I wanted to let all Advisory Board members know formally and, in the process, reconfirm my support of AboutSF's ongoing mission.

I'm leaving at this time for two reasons. First, I have a rare opportunity to work as the research assistant on one of my dissertation committee member's upcoming scholarly monographs. Unfortunately, school regulations prevent me from working simultaneously on this new research job and as a student-hourly worker for AboutSF. Second, leaving AboutSF now means that I'll still be around to help a new coordinator get. As I finish school and enter the job market later this year, I may not be as available to ensure a smooth transition.

AboutSF has accomplished a great deal in the past two years. We've held multiple successful sessions of "Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop," a project that has evolved from an day-long educational event with just three presenters (Mary Rose-Shaffer, James Van Pelt, and myself) to a much larger and more adaptable event, as seen at the recent, bilingual workshop arranged by Dave Anderson and many others at Montreal's Worldcon this summer. Speculation Speakers had 12 new applicants last semester and generates anywhere from two to five speaking engagement inquiries a month, and new libraries continue to sign up for donations via our site. An improved AboutSF website is still in the works. Over the past eight months, we have had two different volunteer developers involved on it, and we are currently arranging to have a third group finish the job this semester. The new site will make it easier to search for educational materials, will provide a faster database for our speakers service, and will feature several new, ongoing content areas.

I still plan to participate in AboutSF's projects on a volunteer level. I'll still see many of you at the Campbell Conference, SFRA conferences, one of many SF cons, or perhaps an upcoming Portable Workshop. AboutSF's mission to facilitate volunteerism in SF and to provide a resource for using SF in education is still something I passionately believe in, and I look forward to being a part of AboutSF for a long time to come.

AboutSF has accomplished a lot, and it still has a great deal more to achieve. Thank you for your part in those achievements and for giving me a chance to be part of them as well.

Sincerely,


Nathaniel Williams
University of Kansas

Are there any would-be volunteers with teaching experience or organizational skills interested in participating in AboutSF's Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop? Several AboutSF volunteers in the Baltimore area are in the planning stages for another workshop at Balticon on Friday, May 28, 2010.

Our volunteers successfully presented teaching strategies and materials at last year's Balticon. We're hoping to expand on that previous event. The portable workshop presents a full-day of materials, presentations, and collaborative activities designed to facilitate the teaching of science fiction (in both literature and science courses).

If you plan to attend Balticon (or would be willing to travel to present), email info@aboutsf.com and I'll put you in touch with our organizers.

I'm posting this for any AboutSF supporters who are doing scholarship in American SF. American Literature will be hosting a special issue soon. See the Call for Papers below for all info:

American Literature (Duke University Press)
Special Issue on SF, Fantasy, and Myth
http://www.duke.edu/~gc24/americanliterature.html

DEADLINE: 31 May 2010

More than one commentator has mentioned that science fiction as a form is where theological narrative went after Paradise Lost, and this is undoubtedly true…The form is often used as a way of acting out the consequences of a theological doctrine….Extraterrestrials have taken the place of angels, demons, fairies and saints, though it must be said that this last group is now making a comeback.
—Margaret Atwood, “Why We Need Science Fiction”

Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible.
—Rod Serling

In this work I am attempting to create a new mythology for the space age. I feel that the old mythologies are definitely broken down and not adequate at the present time.
—William Burroughs (on the Nova trilogy)


From revolutions in communications technology and transportation to encounters with space travelers and aliens, from leaps in human evolution to new dimensions of existence, from creation stories of the past to speculations about the future, science fiction, fantasy, and myth have variously captured the far reaches of the human imagination, making the familiar strange and the strange inevitable. From the vantage point of the twenty-first century, it is fascinating to watch the rapid innovations in science and technology overtake their fictional anticipation and to return to our most speculative and fantastical literature to see how perceptively it anticipated the social and geopolitical transformations—and challenges—these innovations would inspire. We can, moreover, look through these fictions and recognize in them a prolonged engagement not just with the transient social anxieties of their individual moments, but also with the timeless drama of human contact with the divine, the transcendent, the otherworldly, and the sublime.

This special issue brings together these genres with their divergent but intersecting histories and asks why they might be particularly relevant to study in the contemporary moment. While science fiction has garnered increasing attention in recent years in the academy (and increasing recognition in mainstream publications), the status of fantasy is even more controversial—and the line between them itself a subject of debate. Myth, by contrast, has long been a source of scholarly fascination, although the term typically emerges in the study of American literatures in its pejorative sense. Yet, myth plays a seminal role in the genres of science fiction and fantasy, so much so that science fiction and fantasy can arguably exceed the category of genre to contribute to what William Burroughs calls “a new mythology for the space age.” The issue seeks to move past the definitional debates—beyond, for example, determining the distinction between science fiction and fantasy or the precise definition of myth—to explore broadly the relationship of these genres and modes (individually or in combination) to American literatures and cultures. How, for example, might a focus on science fiction, fantasy, and/or myth change our understanding of literary history? Of literary engagements with scientific and technological innovations as well as with the most pressing political concerns of the moment? How might we use these literary forms to understand genre as a historical repository? The role of mythology in modern culture? What social and geopolitical conditions might produce a genre or mode—or perhaps a critical category that newly classifies certain literary conventions as genres? What themes or questions surface when we read more canonical works through the lens of science fiction, fantasy or myth? Conversely, what happens to these categories when we take seriously, as scholars such as H. Bruce Franklin have done, their early appearance in American literary history? This issue will explore the insights that emerge when we consider the various imaginative engagements that characterize science fiction, fantasy, and myth as central concerns of American literary history and cultural production.

Special issue editors: Priscilla Wald and Gerry Canavan. Submissions of 11,000 words or less (including endnotes) should be submitted electronically at www.editorialmanager.com/al/default.asp by 31 May 2010. When choosing a submission type, select “Special Issue.” Please contact us at 919-684-3948 or am-lit@duke.edu if you need assistance with the submission process. Please direct other questions to Priscilla Wald (pwald@duke.edu) or Gerry Canavan (gerry.canavan@duke.edu).

I owe several thank you's to volunteers who've helped AboutSF in the past few weeks.

Thanks to Thomas Del Greco, Matthew Candelaria, and Mike Mathews for their help bug testing the soon-to-be-released AboutSF Drupal site.

Also, thanks to Samantha Bishop-Simmons, who created our latest Heinlein reader's guide and may do a few more.

Finally, many thanks to Jeff Welch who filmed China Miéville's lecture at KU a few weeks ago. We hope to edit this and post some key sections on our site's Videos section. (What a great speech it was, too!)

Please join me in thanking these hard-working volunteers.

AboutSF received a generous donation from Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention. Our "Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop" program went over successfully at Denvention last year, and the Denvention staff thought we were a worthy cause.

Many thanks to Mem Morman and the wonderful Denvention 3 staff who approved our proposal for the workshop and who presented us with the gift! Every donation helps continue our mission.

Only two weeks until "Teaching SF: A Portable Workshop" at this year's Worldon in Montreal! - Nate

I have the full schedule for the AboutSF's teaching workshop at Worldcon in Montréal. It's posted below. Please help spread the word. Admission is free for the workshop. Interested parties can sign up by emailing aboutsfworkshop@gmail.com. - Nate

AboutSF's Teaching Speculative Fiction: A Portable Workshop
Anticipation, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention, Montréal, Québec
Thursday, August 6, 2009 at Worldcon - at the Palais des congrès de Montréal
Two Tracks of Programming - Presentations in English and French Running Concurrently

Schedule of English-Language Events (Francophone track listed below)

9:00 – 10:00 - Empower Your Students: Teach Them Science Fiction, Too – Keynote
Award-winning science fiction author and science educator, Julie E. Czerneda, begins the educator program with a frank discussion of how the creativity and reasoned speculation of science fiction are essential tools for scientific literacy and full citizenship in the future your students will inherit.

10:00 – 12:00 Science Fiction and Scientific Literacy – mini workshop
Assess scientific literacy (yours and your students) and learn how to put science fiction to work in your science classroom to develop key components in this hands-on workshop with Donna Young, Lead Educator for the NASA Chandra X-Ray Center EPO Office, and award-winning SF and astronomical illustrator, Jean-Pierre Normand. Materials for classroom use will be provided.

½ hour break to pick up lunch

• Les Jardins food court (level 7), with its variety of fast food selections (deli, salad bar, pizza, prepared dishes), offers fast and efficient service at affordable prices. An adjacent outdoor terrace is open during the summer.

12:30 – 13:30 Brown bag lunch
Join Julie Czerneda for a romp through SF films as she shows examples of “Science, Scientists, and Other Bizarre Notions.” Warning: there will be laughter as well as some surprises.

13:30 – 14:00 – Introducing AboutSF – Presentation
AboutSF provides the foundation for the Anticipation workshop. A special DVD/CD with over a hundred files goes home with workshop members as a resource. David-Glenn Anderson is the tour guide.

14:00 – 16:00 – Stretching the mind while thinking outside the box – mini workshops/presentations
Cathy Palmer-Lister, Lynn E Cohen-Koehler, Lindalee Stuckey, Maaja Wentz, Sharon Rawlins, Eric Choi, and Susan Fichtelberg explore reading, writing and everything else within a classroom. A question may be asked: You have read H. G. Wells Invisible Man. Would you like to be invisible? Why? Why not? A smorgasbord of books, movies, arts, social science and other subject will be covered.

16:00 – 17:00 – Final words -- Open discussion and evaluation
Graduates without Anticipation membership may purchase a $25 special membership to attend Anticipation. Tour the art show, browse the dealer’s room or attend after 5 pm programming.

Schedule of French-Language Events

L'enseignement et la science-fiction : un atelier exploratoire
Anticipation, le 67e congrès mondial de science-fiction, Montréal, Québec
le jeudi 6 août 2009 au Palais des congrès de Montréal


10h30 – 11h30 - La place de la science-fiction à l'école – Table ronde Georges Henri Cloutier, Julie Czerneda, Jean Pettigrew, Daniel Sernine
La SF mérite-t-elle une plus grande place à l'école au Québec? Dans quelle mesure pourrait-elle faciliter l'accès à la lecture pour les garçons, ou l'apprentissage des sciences? Est-il possible de l'enseigner dans le cadre des programmes actuels? Peut-elle enrichir l'enseignement d'autres sujets? Le projet "About SF" peut-il être transposé au Québec ou au Canada francophone? Ou le travail a-t-il déjà été fait?

11h30 – 12h - La science-fiction au secondaire – Présentation Éric Gauthier
Comment parle-t-on de la science-fiction au secondaire? Un auteur expérimenté explique comment on retient l'attention des écoliers du secondaire en les introduisant aux concepts fondamentaux du conte, de la narration et de la science-fiction.

pause d'une demi-heure pour aller chercher à manger

12h30 – 13h30 - Repas – Films (facultatifs; en anglais)
Dans l'autre salle, Julie Czerneda présente une série de films de SF afin d'illustrer la représentation de la science, des scientifiques et autres bizarreries incomprises de Hollywood.

13h30 – 15h - La science-fiction au primaire – Présentation Philippe Collin, Michèle Laframboise
Comment parle-t-on de la science-fiction au primaire? Deux intervenants aguerris discutent de leurs méthodes pour présenter la science-fiction aux plus jeunes en fournissant quelques exemples.

15h – 16h - Les auteurs à l'école – Table ronde Jean-Pierre Guillet, Danielle Martinigol, Francine Pelletier
Comment les auteurs font-ils, en une heure, pour présenter à la fois la science-fiction et leurs ouvrages? La science-fiction est-elle bien accueillie à l'école?

16h – 17h – Conclusions -- Discussion générale et bilan

Les participants à l'atelier qui ne sont pas inscrits à Anticipation ont droit à un rabais de 25$ sur toute inscription (pour une journée, pour la fin de semaine ou pour les cinq jours). Visitez l'exposition de tableaux, magasinez dans la salle de ventes ou assistez aux tables rondes. Restez le jeudi ou passez toute la fin de semain.

Tags: worldcon science fiction teaching