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NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY
THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND
THE HONORS PROGRAM PRESENT A CONFERENCE
ON:
WHAT DREAMS MAY COME: MULTIETHNIC TRENDS IN SCIENCE
FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR
April 5-6, 2001
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| CONFERENCE RATIONALE: Traditionally, African Americans and other ethnic
groups were poorly represented -- if they were represented at all -- in
such genres as science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Indeed, it was
not till the 1980’s and the emergence of Octavia E. Butler, that science
fiction could even boast a successful African-American woman writer.
The reasons for the exclusion of minorities from such speculative fields
are numerous, including among others, racial stereotyping and poor educational
opportunities. Within the last decade, however, minorities have begun
to emerge and to make their cultures felt in genre fiction, movies, television,
and the arts. As we enter the new millennium, NSU seeks to celebrate
this growing trend by hosting a conference that brings together scholars
and students both from its own campus and from campuses across the state.
PAPERS AND PANELS SOUGHT: In keeping with the hundreds of conferences in science fiction, fantasy, and horror that are held in this country every year, we seek a diversity of submissions. These include not only scholarly papers, but panels for discussion rather than reading. Listed on back are only a few suggestions for papers and panels. In addition, we welcome other topics concerning science fiction, horror, and fantasy, as well as sub-genres such as science-fiction horror and magical realism. Papers should be approximately 12 pages in length and require about 15 minutes to present (including slides, visual aids, etc.). All papers will be eligible for publication in our annual Conference Papers. Participants are invited to create their own panels and to list the names and addresses of those wishing to serve on them. PLEASE FILL OUT AND MAIL ENCLOSED PROPOSAL FORM. Some Topic Suggestions (both Papers and Panels): *Where No One Has Gone Before – Blacks in SF Films/TV Series *Entertainment of the Future – Where is it Going? *Ethnics in Comics: Will There Ever Be A Black Superman or an Hispanic Wonder Woman? *Generic Ghettoes: A Panel [or paper] on Octavia E. Butler and Samuel R. Delany [the first black female and the first black male science-fiction writers]. *Blaxploitation Horror Films: From Blacula to Tales from the Hood *Academe and the Popular Imagination: From Nathaniel Hawthorne to Stephen King. [This topic could explore why academics have been traditionally skeptical toward ‘popular’ works, preferring Henry James’s American gothic, The Turn of the Screw to Stephen King’s American gothic, The Shining.] *Revisiting Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror Classics of the Past: Bellamy’s Looking Backward, Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Huxley’s Brave New World, et al. *Conjuring and the Supernatural: from Christopher Marlowe to Tony Morrison *What’s a Nice Girl Doing Writing Such Stuff? Women Genre Writers [such as Octavia E. Butler and Tannarive Due]. *Science Fiction: The Alien as Minority or ‘Other’ [examples include the movie, Alien Nation and Huxley’s Brave New World.] *Music/Video/Thriller’s Progeny: Music and Video Horror, SF, and Fantasy
*Does SF/F/H Leave Out Women and Minorities? If so, Why? *How to Write Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror [could be either
a paper focusing on one of these or a panel.]
Please submit papers and panel topics/participants by Friday, February 9, 2000 to Carol Davenport -- Chairperson, Conference Screening Committee, ENFL Dept., Norfolk State University, 700 Park Ave., Norfolk, VA 23504. For more information, contact John Kitterman at (757) 823-2100, at johnkitterman@aol.com. Please send checks made out to “NSU Foundation” to Mrs. Barbara S. Jones, Conference Treasurer, ENFL Dept., Norfolk State University, 700 Park Ave., Norfolk, VA 23504. PROGRAM MEMBERSHIPS (Please send to above address.)
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