From the SFRA Executive Committee
From the Vice President
Chris Pak
Dear members, colleagues, and friends:
Hello all! It’s with great pleasure that I return to writing columns for the SFRA Review, this time not as editor but as vice-president of the organisation. I firstly wanted to thank Ida Yoshinaga for all that she’s managed to accomplish during her tenure as vice-president, and for her support while I’ve begun to settle into this new role—thanks that I’d like to extend to the rest of the executive committee. Opening spaces for the inclusion of more voices and continuing to realise the vision of an international SFRA community are critically important activities, and they become even more so during times of closure such as we’re seeing now. As scholars, artists, performers, creative writers, activists, and committed readers, viewers, listeners and players of science fiction, the SFRA has an important role in fostering the connections between us all, supporting the scholarship and activity of researchers in the field and encouraging new generations of scholars and creatives to think about, work and play with, and make use of sf. To that end, the upcoming SFRA 2025 conference in the US, in Rochester, New York, and its theme, ‘“Trans People are (in) the Future”: Queer and Trans Futurity in Science Fiction,’ represents an important reflection on and intervention into the politics of sf and its role in shaping inclusive futurities.
As vice-president I hope to work with you all to continue to realise the SFRA’s commitment to making the organisation diverse, supportive and inclusive. I will work closely with the existing country representatives to learn more about the diversity of our field and to understand more closely how we can best support international sf scholarship. I would also love to hear from any members who have ideas about how they would like to contribute to this work—please do get in touch via email and please do say hi at conferences and other events, should our paths cross. Of course, if you would like to volunteer as a country representative for a currently unrepresented country, please do get in touch.
The SFRA has been central to connecting me to a welcoming academic community and to broader conversations about sf. It has been an invigorating intellectual space that has challenged me to grow into the academic that I hoped to be. I’m looking forward to continuing these conversations and hope that new scholars and creatives will be inspired by the community that we’ve developed over the years.
SFRA Review 