Events
New Beginnings Explored through Speculative Fiction
Image credit: Annie Goliath, 2024.
How can diverse new beginnings be imagined through speculative fiction? What would a new worldview built on the principles of inclusivity, care, activism or belonging with more-than-human beings look like? In what way can film be a language of new beginnings based on reciprocity and resilience in the face of adversity? These research questions will be explored during a symposium that will include a panel and a workshop. This event is organised by Annie Goliath, Creative and Critical Practice PhD student.
This is a free event, but booking is essential. Find the booking link including full programme details.
Schedule of the day:
Panel Session: 1.30 pm - 3.10 pm in SB121 (GTS lecture theatre)
Refreshments Break Out: 3.10 - 3.30 pm in SB314 (Social Space on level 3)
Workshop Session: 3.30 pm - 5 pm in SB121 (Drama Studio)
Panel Session
Professor Joanna Callaghan will screen her film My Fantastic Voyage (2022) followed by a presentation discussing the process of making it, including its reference to the science fiction film Fantastic Voyage(1966). In her homage to the film, Joanna Callaghan conveys her own journey to better understand her condition after a diagnosis with breast cancer. Kam Meakin will give a presentation related to her PhD project, “E(a)ffective Narratives of the Future: Political Uses of Speculative Fiction in Feminist, Environmental and Anti-racist Activism.” This project is investigating the relationship(s) between contemporary social movements in the UK and feminist, dystopian and utopian worlds depicted in fictional television and film. Riziki Millanzi will give a presentation related to her PhD project, "Black Women and 'Black Girl Magic' in Speculative Fiction: Intersectional Protest and Celebration". This project examines the representation of Black women within a range of Black speculative fiction. Annie Goliath will screen her film The Internal Shell of the Cuttlefish (2024), followed by a presentation about the process of making it in relation to the research questions. This artist's film explores speculative fiction by imagining a form of utopia through an embodied exchange between the human and more-than-human world. This will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A session.
Workshop Session
Annie Goliath will deliver a workshop facilitated by the performer Sophie Page Hall and the composer Black Astronaut. They will work with groups of participants to create speculative forms of utopia. This will be realised through a series of group activities incorporating the co-creation of writing, masks, and movement.