Listen here:[audio:hollinger.mp3]
On February 13, the Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto hosted a lecture by Dr. Veronica Hollinger (Cultural Studies, Trent University). The title of Dr. Hollinger’s lecture, “Technologies of Enchantment in Science Fiction,” refers not only to the role played by technology within literary science fiction, but also posits the science fiction story itself as a technology that is capable of keeping us enchanted – even as the work wrestles with issues of human dis/re-enchantment with technological innovation. Dr. Hollinger presents a fascinating overview of the science fiction genre from the early 20th century to the contemporary sub-genre of ‘singularity’ or ‘post-human’ fiction. In marking changes in how the future is represented in science fiction, Dr. Hollinger wonders how this shift in our perception of the future influences how we see ourselves. Listen and enjoy!

From the U of T press release:

Professor Veronica Hollinger (Cultural Studies, Trent University) is the author of numerous publications dealing with the theoretical implications of postmodernism and posthumanism for science fiction as a popular genre, with an emphasis on feminist and cyberpunk texts. She has also co-edited several volumes of essays, including Edging into the Future: Science Fiction and Contemporary Cultural Transformation (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002) and Queer Universes: Sexualities in Science Fiction (Liverpool University Press, 2008).