about_sf

Looking for Balticon Volunteers in 2010: Teaching Workshop News

2009-12-29T15:40:56Z

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.

Call for Papers at American Literature

2009-10-23T19:21:59Z

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).

Thanks to Volunteers on New Site and Filming

2009-10-15T21:58:52Z

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 Receives Grant from Denvention 3 (2008 Worldcon)

2009-07-23T21:07:15Z

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

about_sf @ 2009-07-15T09:11:00

2009-07-15T14:41:07Z

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.

AboutSF Server Change Complete

2009-07-15T14:02:36Z

During the first week of June, AboutSF moved to a new server in Lawrence, KS. Thanks to Ben Trafford for assisting in the database backup and to Eric Kerner for volunteering his new server and his programming expertise.

The site should look the same; it's just being brought to you from a new location.

More changes are coming. We don't have FTP service for the next week, so no updates will be made to the site for the time being. Until then, I'll post essential updates (about the Worldcon Teaching Portable Workshop, for example) to this LiveJournal page and elsewhere. - Nate from AboutSF

Montreal Worldcon Update -- Teaching SF Portable Workshop

2009-07-06T15:59:14Z

Anticipation, the 67th World SF Convention, has added a link to their site for AboutSF's Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop. There is still space available for the day-long teacher training on Thursday, August 6th.

Take a look at http://anticipationsf.ca/English/SFWorkshop.

- Nate from AboutSF

Volunteers Needed - Web Code "Cut And Paste" for Drupal Conversion

2009-06-19T19:18:02Z

AboutSF is looking for volunteers who can help us transfer our existing PHP code into a Drupal format. Volunteers need to be familiar with FTP and able to read and edit HTML code. Knowledge of PHP and Drupal is a plus but not required.

We need this work done after our server conversion on June 30th. If you are qualified and available in early July, contact Nathaniel Williams, AboutSF Coordinator, at natew59@ku.edu. He will be contacting volunteers with more information during the first few days of July.

New Site Additions

2009-06-10T17:19:23Z

In the last two weeks, I've added a few new items to AboutSF.

1) There are three new sample SF courses under our Course Outlines page--a sample high school curriculum, a 19th-century science fiction class, and a sophomore-level college course.

2) We have a new Volunteers Needed page. If you'd like to help create content for AboutSF, visit the site. We've already filled one position. If you have a non-profit project directly related to science fiction and education, let us know. We may be able to post it on the site.

3) I've also added a Videos section to the site. This area contains all the SF educational videos and interviews (Isaac Asimov, Forrest Ackerman, et. al.) that we've posted on YouTube over the past year.

There's more to come, too. - Nate

SFRA President Lisa Yaszek joins AboutSF Advisory Board

2009-05-28T18:20:40Z

In April, AboutSF welcomed Lisa Yaszek, President of Science Fiction Research Association, to our advisory board. We look forward to her input as AboutSF continues to promote SF in education. SFRA was one of AboutSF's three initial supporters, and we appreciate their continued support.

Lisa's new book, Galactic Suburbia: Recovering Women's Science Fiction, comes highly recommended. For more info about it, see http://osupress.blogspot.com/2007/12/yaszek-galactic-suburbia.html.

Fundraising and Grants Status

2009-05-07T20:30:32Z

AboutSF is sending out our fund-raising letters this week. These letters go out to our founding donors and partners. Now seemed a good time to mention some of our recent fund-raising activities on the blog.

We've once again been selected as the recipient of proceeds from the charity auction at ConQuesT in Kansas City on memorial weekend 2009. Thanks go out to our friends at ConQuesT. If you're in the KC area and love SF, don't miss this wonderful convention.

The novels course created by AboutSF volunteers for KU Continuing Education also resulted in some additional funds. The course-creation payment was donated to AboutSF.

Also, this week we heard back from the National Book Foundation "Innovations in Reading" Prize. Sadly, we were not one of the winners of their grant this year. There were over 100 applicants for roughly 5 spots. Still, it was worth the time to try. AboutSF especially thanks David Brin and Adam Frisch for their letters of support to the award committee.

- Nate

AboutSF Novels Class -- Our First Graduate

2009-04-14T20:34:46Z

Our first enrollee has completed the online course on the Science Fiction Novel. The online course was designed last semester by AboutSF volunteer Thomas Seay and is hosted by University of Kansas Continuing Education. The course can be taken for graduate credit as ENGL 690: Studies in Science Fiction Novels. It's part of AboutSF's mission to created new opportunities for SF education. For more information, visit http://www.continuinged.ku.edu/is/list_online.shtml.

Yearly Update - 2008 to Early 2009

2009-03-19T19:46:28Z

We had a busy 2008 at AboutSF. Before 2009 gets too far along, I want to report our accomplishments from the last 12 months. During our third year of operation in behalf of science fiction, we accomplished several important tasks.

•Organized and presented a day of teacher training, Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop, at the SFRA/Campbell Conference and the World Science Fiction Convention (for more, see below).
•Added a new online course specifically focused on science-fiction novels through KU's Continuing Education program. KUCE reports that our two online classes have comparable enrollment levels to other continuing education English classes. In fact, we're developing a similar number of attendees to KU's on-campus summer SF Institute.
•Edited and posted four new videos to our YouTube educational series, two about science-fiction films featuring Forrest Ackerman, and two on science fiction's value, including highlights from the 2005 Campbell Conference.
•Added the Heinlein Prize Trust to our roster of supporters. We have assisted their endeavor to promote Heinlein's work and commercial space travel by hosting World Space Week's "Have Spacesuit-Will Travel" teaching kit on our online Lessons Library and by including several donated Accelerated Reader tests for Heinlein juveniles to our teaching workshop packet.
•Posted new additions to our website, including new scholarly essays, an enhanced section on "Science Fiction for Physics Students," and new reader's guides from recent Tor Books releases, like Cory Doctorow's Little Brother.
•Received our largest donation of SF books and magazines and sent them to several of the libraries who had signed up to receive books.
•Secured a new, temporary office on the KU campus during Wescoe Hall construction.

The year 2008 brought several unique opportunities and challenges. The two Portable Workshops provided over 30 educators with a day of training and a CD-ROM packet of sample syllabi, video clips, sample handouts, Heinlein AR tests, and course proposal materials. Presenters James Van Pelt and Mary Rose-Shaffer provided case studies in SF in the classroom; Lindalee Stuckey, Bonnie Kunzel, Diana Tixier Herald, and Susan Fichtelberg offered text recommendations for a variety of age groups. As I’ve collected and analyzed the feedback forms, it's clear that the attendees left feeling confident about integrating SF into their classrooms.

On the Internet front, AboutSF.com received over 400,000 hits during 2008. We also received a generous year of free web development and hosting from Ben Trafford and the staff at nSightful. We're grateful for their help and will now continue retooling the site in-house with our KU staff. Meanwhile, two of our videos on YouTube have exceeded 10,000 hits. Two volunteers, Sean McConville and Tim Maroney, logged over 24 hours of raw video footage from the Campbell Conference and KU interviews to help edit and create these condensed video projects.

What’s ahead?
In the last eight weeks, we've written new grants and helped several volunteers successfully propose the Portable Workshop at Balticon and Worldcon in 2009 (more coming soon). Implementing two workshops in '08 has made it easier for us to confidently provide materials to individuals willing to donate the time to running the workshop.

Additional goals:
•Adding new online resources, including recently donated lesson plans on Philip K. Dick, early SF, and college-level SF courses.
•Creating a larger video project featuring the Campbell Conference raw footage--a "Best of 2005" film demonstrating how SF writers use science fact.
•Condensing key sections of the Portable Workshop for use in shorter, targeted presentations, such as teacher in-service days.
•Proposing the Portable Workshop at this year's Worldcon in Montreal.

As always, we welcome input--particularly from teachers, scholars, publishers, authors, and SF fans. Contact info@aboutsf.com directly with additional suggestions for areas you'd like to see developed.

SFWA President Russell Davis joins AboutSF Advisory Board

2009-03-12T19:23:14Z

SFWA President Russell Davis has accepted an invitation to join AboutSF's Advisory Board. Please join me in welcoming Russell to AboutSF. SFWA's support helped get AboutSF established, and we look forward to further collaboration and input from Russell and SFWA.

New Academic Articles

2009-01-13T23:04:46Z

We received a donation of six new SF scholarly articles Dr. Aleksandar B. Nedelkovich's seminar course in Serbia. The new essays cover stories by Thomas Disch, Philip Jose Farmer, Daniel Keys, Ursula K. Le Guin, Michael Moorcock and James Tiptree, Jr. They're posted in the Academic Projects section of our Lessons Library.

Video of 2004 Campbell Highlights -- Science and Literature's Ongoing Conversation

2009-01-05T21:05:23Z

This week, I added a new video to our YouTube page. It includes excerpts from the 2004 Campbell Conference. The speaker/respondent format from 2004 (with participants who bridge speculative fiction and scientific research) may be used again in a conference that the Center for the Study for Science Fiction is proposing. Until then, this clip gives a taste of what may be ahead... and it provides many examples of SF's ongoing conversation between literary craft and science fact.

Many thanks go out to Tim Maroney, a KU film student who volunteered to log and edit portions of the conference. Tim and I had the daunting task of editing a full day conference into a 5 to 10 minute promotional clip. After many hours, this is what we produced. An extended version may follow later in '09.

Radio Follow-Up

2008-11-05T23:53:52Z

The Walt Bodine Show interview went great. I had a fun time. Didn't get to say much about AboutSF's mission (the show was about superstition and fear, after all). I did, however, get in plugs for CSSF, Edgar A. Poe, and 2009's ConQuesT SF convention in Kansas City. If you want to hear the whole thing, visit http://www.kcur.org/WaltBodineArchive.html and check out the 10/30/08 show. - Nate

AboutSF on the radio this week

2008-10-28T19:59:08Z

I'll be representing AboutSF this Thursday (10/30) during a radio show about supernatural fiction and the psychology of fear. The Walt Bodine Show airs at 10:00 a.m. CST in greater Kansas City on 89.3 FM. Folks outside of KC can listen live online at http://www.kcur.org. - Nate from AboutSF

New AboutSF videos

2008-10-23T21:07:52Z

We've posted two new film clips to our YouTube site. Come watch Forrest J. Ackerman discuss the history of science fiction films. These videos were shown during the AboutSF Teaching Science Fiction Portable Workshop at Worldcon and the Campbell Conference earlier this year.

Little Brother reader's guide and educator info posted

2008-07-31T21:27:16Z

I've just added two items for Cory Doctorow's young adult book, Little Brother, to our Reader's Guides page.

If you're considering teaching with this book, definitely check out Tor-Forge's site too. They've got cool extras, including Cory Doctorow's video blog with readings from the text.

Teaching Workshop Schedule at Worldcon,

2008-07-29T17:07:07Z

I've posted the confirmed full schedule of events for the day-long event "Teaching Science Fiction: A Portable Workshop" at Denvention-The 66th World Science Fiction Convention on Thursday, August 7, 2008.

If you know a teacher who's attending Worldcon, or someone who'd like to teach SF who lives in Colorado, forward the information along. - Nate

New Site Delays

2008-07-25T15:19:17Z

The new AboutSF.com layout is still in the works. Our host is moving the site to a new server, and that's going to take longer to test.

I've seen the updated site design and it looks really cool! It'll make our site easier to use. The new AboutSF.com will be worth the wait. - Nate

AboutSF Office Move

2008-06-11T02:26:56Z

Last Friday, AboutSF boxed up some of its materials at KU's Center for the Study of Science Fiction. We'll be temporarily moving to an office in the Kansas Student Union. Our new office will be ready in 2009. Thanks to the KU Science Fiction Club (SF@KU) for hosting us while the new office is prepared.

Many thanks go out to Chris Knudtson, Court Farr, Matt Maksimowicz, and Sean McConville for helping to carefully sort and load much of the CSSF's library. These AboutSF volunteers took what would have been a day-long job for one person and completed it in under two hours. Thanks, guys!

New Look Coming Soon

2008-05-13T16:34:58Z

Yesterday, Chris McKitterick and I had a conference call with Ben Trafford from nSightful Group. nSightful will be redoing the look and feel of our website in the coming weeks. We'll still have all the old features of AboutSF, with a few new ones. This will result in a streamlined site with new search capabilities that should be easier to use. Get ready for some great changes. - Nate

Server Move This Weekend

2008-05-09T14:09:57Z

The team at nSightful will be moving our server this weekend. We may be down late Friday night through the weekend. It'll all result in a faster, better AboutSF.com. More info to come. - Nate