Science fiction and fantasy authors use their art to explore the human condition and the very nature of humanity. (Academic Panel). __ || __ Ex Machina – Down with The Fairy Tale , by Julie F Hugonny, Georgia Institute of Technology. The film Ex Machina uses all the trappings of the mythical journey in order to show us just how outdated this narrative model is. The film stands as a truly feminist manifesto. __ || __ Polar Regions as A Reflection of The Other in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein And Jules Verne’s Le Sphinx Des Glaces by Andrea M Blatz, University of Texas at Austin. How can the polar setting be used to construct a character? I examine how Mary Shelly and Jules Verne use these frigid spaces as a narrative device to imagine the Other. __ || __ Mind-Reading and Pretending in Villeneuve’s Film Arrival by Elizabeth F Cooke, Creighton University. This paper explores whether we must pretend or even become another person in order to understand him and what this means for our understanding of any alien species. __ || __ Where Do I Begin? Enhancement and Extension of The Self in Popular Culture by Rachel D. Robison-Greene, Utah State University. What makes you a unique, concrete individual? How do you persist as the same individual through time and change? How does emerging technology shape what we think it is to be a person?
This room can be found on the 1st floor, near Rays on the Bay.