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Author William J. Burling to speak July 24th on "New Directions in Science Fiction"
Monday, July 14, 2008
William J. Burling, Professor of English at Missouri State University, will be the featured speaker at the July 24th meeting of the Creamery Writers' Workshop held from 7 to 8:30pm in the Creamery Arts Center (across from Hammons Field. He will speak on how the Science Fiction genre of writing has changed markedly since the 1950s and 60s era of Asimov, Heinlien and Clarke. Says Burling, "Basically, Science Fiction has changed in two major ways. First, the “sputnik” era’s interest in robots, artificial intelligence, space ships, and aliens as subjects in themselves has given way to entirely new themes. Contemporary Science Fiction takes for granted and continues to employ the tropes just mentioned, but in very different ways. The emphasis is no longer on the tropes themselves as subjects, however, but rather as metaphors by which to explore thematic possibilities of the here and now." He adds that, "likewise, the generic distinctions between science fiction and fantasy are collapsing. The old rule that science fiction was that which might happen and fantasy that which could never happen has given way to new combinations of the genres." The presentation will explore the development and significance of the shifts in content and form and offer some contemporary examples and will conclude with some suggestions about where science fiction may be headed over the next decade. The author of five books and numerous articles on science fiction, fantasy fiction, and English and American literature, Burling's most recent science fiction book is Mapping the Unimaginable: Kim Stanley Robinson and the Critics, forthcoming from McFarland Publishers in late 2008. Creamery Writers' Workshop is free and open to all writers regardless of age or genre. For more information, contact the Springfield Regional Arts Council, 417-862-ARTS(2787). This program is funded in part by the Missouri Arts Council.