Constructing the Future Symposium 

Cosmia is the UK's first multi-arts festival dedicated to science fiction, fantasy & speculative fiction coming to Huddersfield, UK, October-November 2019. For more information on the festival visithttps://www.cosmiafestival.co.uk.

University of Huddersfield in conjunction with Cosmia Festival

<H3>Constructing the Future: An interdisciplinary Symposium on Utopia and Dystopia</H3>
Utopian and dystopian thinking often inform and influence our journey to what is just beyond the horizon. They are locations of thought and practice that are by their very nature contradictory, and yet they inevitably overlap and converge. 
As modes of critique and enquiry, utopian and dystopian imaginaries guide us through uncertain times. They are pivotal markers of artistic expression and technological development, and central to our understanding of psychological function. In imagining our new worlds we consequently seek to reimagine our contemporary lives. 
Perhaps most obviously associated with literature, and narrative more broadly, utopian and dystopian thinking are integral to many disciplines, from architecture to computing. This one-day interdisciplinary symposium will bring together a range of (inter)disciplinary perspectives in order to investigate how the concepts of both Utopia and Dystopia have shaped the past, structure the present, and determine the future. 
During this one day symposium representatives from the subject areas of Literature, Architecture, Education, Politics, Sociology, and Linguistics will be presenting the following papers:
 Panel 1: ‘The End: Apocalypse, Crisis, and the Natural World’
<UL>
<LI>Eva Antal, ‘“No Apocalypse, Not Now”: Prophetic Last Man Narratives’</LI>
<LI>Lily Brown, ‘Until we leave Eden’: The construction and fragility of edenic spaces post environmental destruction in young adult literature. </LI>
<LI>Paul Graham Raven, ‘Climaginaries: putting the critical utopia to work’</LI>
</UL>
Panel 2: ‘Constructing Social Space: Dystopic Utopias’
<UL>
<LI>Carmelina Martínez, ‘The relationship between history and the future. Crisis and Utopia: Crucible of Realities’</LI>
<LI>Maximilian Curtis, ‘Living in Unlivable Luxury: Utopias of Urban Containment, from Doctor Who’s “Paradise Towers” to Grenfell Tower’</LI>
</UL>
Panel 3: ‘Considering the Human: Language, Technology, & Cyberspace’
<UL>
<LI>Olivia Belton, ‘Public Perceptions of Autonomous Flight’</LI>
<LI>Jun Qiang & Rongkun Liu, ‘A Vision for the Future: Language, Communication and Conflict in The Three-Body Problem’</LI>
</UL>
Panel 4: 'Perspectives on Hope and Utopia: Pedagogy, Ecotopian Activism and Queer Liberation'
<UL>
<LI>Heather Alberro, ‘In the Shadow of Death: On Radical Environmental Activists’ ‘Critical Modalities of Hope’</LI>
<LI>Darren Webb, ‘On That Which Guides Us Through Uncertain Times: Problemetising the Utopian Futurity of Hope’</LI>
<LI>Ibtisam Ahmed, ‘Utopia as Killjoy: Creating Hope from the Margins’</LI>
</UL>
We are pleased to welcome Dr Richard Tutton, University of York, to give the keynote paper, ‘Our Future in Outer Space by Silicon Valley: Utopia or Dystopia?’
 
Questions can be directed to Dr Allegra Hartley via a.j.hartley@hud.ac.uk or Dr Nic Stavris via <A HREF="mailto:nicholas.stavris@hud.ac.uk" TARGET="_blank" REL="nofollow noopener noreferrer">nicholas.stavris@hud.ac.uk</A>. Tickets avialable until 14th October 2019.

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