From the SFRA Executive Committee
From the Vice President
Ida Yoshinaga
Dear members, colleagues, and friends:
This May, the Science Fiction Research Association will host its first-ever Estonia meeting at the University of Tartu. We on the SFRA Executive Committee welcome registrants to two events especially.
Put together by our At-Large Representatives Helane Androne and Gabriela Lee, this year’s professional-development workshop during the conference is for early-career scholars including graduate students, adjuncts, postdocs, and assistant professors:
“Application Anecdotes and Alternative Career Paths in SF/F”
Tuesday, May 7, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. CET; Jakobi 2-226 and via Zoom
Session description: What is the trajectory of a career in science fiction/fantasy? How have scholars navigated the journey from graduate school to the academy and beyond? What are the current appointment and/or collaborative options within the academy? How might we bridge the journey into other adjacent careers? How might we imagine and carve out opportunities for SF/F research within traditional programs and departments? Join us as we unpack this journey with several scholars who have recently secured positions in–and adjacent to–the academy.
This year’s EC-sponsored DEI roundtable, on social-justice issues in our field, was organized by closing keynote Bogi Takács:
“DEI Roundtable: Transitions and Transformations”
Friday, May 10, 1:30-3:00 p.m. CET, Jakobi 2-226 and via Zoom
This is SFRA 2024’s panel discussion on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): everyone is welcome to attend. Together with our panelists, we intend to engage with topics that go beyond the usual introductory-level DEI discussion. As this year’s theme is Transitions, we plan to explore changes in DEI over time. The following topics are just some of the points we aim to touch on: if equity increases or decreases, how can and should structural DEI supports change to adjust better to new situations? How does this apply to organizations like SFRA, conferences, the field in general? How can we cope with changes for the better—or for the worse? As definitions of DEI have been shifting—including attempts to extend the acronym—who might not still be included in them, and who are only nominally included? How can we strategize to work across differences both in our immediate environment and more broadly over the internet, and how can the global nature of our field aid or hinder us in this? Many marginalized people feel a skepticism toward DEI, and this has extended to conference panels and convention events focusing on the topic. We plan to discuss what specific actions can such panels facilitate, and how they can enrich the lives of audiences and participants rather than focusing on providing basic education to outsiders, or an item on the agenda to complete.
Links to these hybrid events will be provided to registrants prior to the conference’s start, and speaker names will be posted shortly on the website and via email.
Thank you Bogi, Gabriela, Helane, Jaak, and Lisanna for enriching our conference experience!
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