Hi, Everyone.
In Latin America there is still a very serious disdain for sf, despite a very healthy readership, a long history, and many very well-known writers. There are many reasons for the stigma. However, the issue can be traced to an academic misunderstanding of sf as the byproduct of popular culture for the masses as well as a distrust on…[Read more]

Sorry for the typo marked and corrected at **.  I never know if correcting a typo is worth an extra post, but I felt embarrassed here because of the company of English professional colleagues.  Glo

Hello, all,

I agree that the stigma against science fiction in the classroom seems to be decreasing but the widespread teaching of science f…[Read more]

Hello, all,

I agree that the stigma against science fiction in the classroom seems to be decreasing but the widespread teaching of science fiction in college lit. classes also is declining.  I may be wrong, but I believe  that the number is down.  The number of science fiction course sections any given year or period of time may be keyed to th…[Read more]

Why is it that every time I post here I get a 504 Gateway Timeout message?

Hmm, I received a 504 error and thought it didn’t post, so I re-submitted, but apparently both posts went through.  I edited the second post a bit for clarity.  I’ve also noticed that a lot of sff writers and readers believe that science fiction and religion don’t mix.  This, of course, is nonsense.  I have a list of religious science fiction sto…[Read more]

Gloria:  That reminds me of Galileo as the poster child of the oppressed scientist when he brought a lot of it on himself by making fun of the Pope, calling him Simplicio in a dialogue.  I’m not saying what Galileo’s exile was right, but experiencing negative effects from tweaking the nose of the most powerful man in Europe is as unsur…[Read more]

Gloria:  That reminds me of Galileo as the poster child of the oppressed scientist when he brought a lot of it on himself by making fun of the Pope, calling him Simplicio in a dialogue.  I’m not saying what Galileo’s exile was right, but experiencing negative effects from tweaking the nose of the most powerful man in Europe is as unsurprising as W…[Read more]

Great topic, and good comments!

I may be incorrect, but I feel as though the stigma against SF in literature departments is gradually decreasing, especially since publications like Carl Freedman’s Critical Theory and Science Fiction and Fredric Jameson’s Archaeologies of the Future.  That said, I certainly agree that we still see the effects of…[Read more]

Hello,

I have the history that explains this bias.  In Victorian London, Henry James took up H. G. Wells and hoped to mentor the younger man, even collaborate on a Mars novel.  When Wells–a Cockney from a lower social strata–chafed at the great man image that James cultivated and (horrors!) parodied James in his novel Boon, James broke off t…[Read more]

Dear Colleagues,

I receive these posts as a member of this discussion group in my capacity as a faculty member of Italian at the University of Pittsburgh.  Since January 2014, I have assumed the directorship of ADFL and in that new capacity I write to announce a workshop connected with the topic Selma and Marion are discussing.  At the ADFL s…[Read more]

Hi Selma,

I’d be interested. What topics did you have in mind? I teach German and include literature at all levels of language instruction.

Thanks,

Marion

Great idea! I am particularly interested in writing for children in China during the 20th century.