In just about a week I’ll be traveling to Ireland for this year’s Worldcon. I’m set to appear on four panels, discussing various things both sci-fi and societal. The latter reflect my past experience with digital rights activism at eg. Electronic Frontier Finland.
My programme is as follows:
Now We Are Witnesses: Doctor Who’s New Historicals
16 Aug 2019, Friday 11:00 – 11:50, Wicklow Room-1 (CCD)
It’s the other revolution of the Chris Chibnall era; he gave us the closest thing to “pure” historical stories that Doctor Who has seen for decades. We will discuss the evolution of Doctor Who’s historical adventures over time, as well as considering why these two episodes worked so well, why Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor was the right Doctor for these stories, and what other adventures lie in the future.
Genevieve Cogman, Mikko Rauhala, Dr Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame (U.S.A.) in England) (M), Graham Sleight
Censorship in SFF and Comics
16 Aug 2019, Friday 17:00 – 17:50, Liffey Room-2 (CCD)
Our genre has long been subject to censorship and control (D&D, monster movies). This has led to suppression or trends towards “vanilla” (safe) content. How do we protect creative expression? How much should we hold to account companies that profit from characters dedicated to justice, inclusion, and diversity while pandering to consumers who are against all of that?
Roz Kaveney, Prof Dave Lewis (ADAPT Centre, School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin) (M), Sienna Saint-Cyr (SinCyr Publishing L.L.C.), Mikko Rauhala
The history of censorship and information control
17 Aug 2019, Saturday 17:00 – 17:50, Wicklow Hall-1 (CCD)
Panellists consider how censorship and technology have influenced the dissemination of information through time and across the world, particularly when that information runs counter to the status quo. Has anything changed with advancements in tech; have the revolutions in information availability been successful? Or is it the same old intellectual property, societal preservation, and corporate control?
Deb Geisler (M), Ada Palmer (University of Chicago), Kelvin Jackson, Mikko Rauhala
Neurodiversity and extraordinary powers in SFF
18 Aug 2019, Sunday 16:00 – 16:50, Wicklow Hall 2B (CCD)
The inclusion of neurodivergent characters in fiction plays an important role in normalisation, but if the depictions are themselves problematic then they can further harmful stereotypes. The panel will discuss representation of neurodiversity in media, where it’s done well and where it’s problematic, and how they would like to see neurodiverse characters written.
Elsa Sjunneson-Henry (M), Terri Ash (Geek Calligraphy), Shweta Adhyam, Mikko Rauhala
See you in Dublin!
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