Science Fiction Research Association annual conference at University of Tartu

SFRA (Science Fiction Research Association) Annual Conference will take place at the University of Tartu and hybridly from May 7 to May 11.  

The aim of Science Fiction Research Association annual conference is to provide an overview of developments in the field of science fiction  studies and to allow scholars shared time for knowledge sharing. This year's conference is themed "transitions," and nearly 200 participants from various parts of the world will come together. The conference will address all kinds of transitions as a central thematic, narrative, formal, historical, and philosophical component of science fiction. Activities will take place in the buildings of Lossi 3 and Jakobi 2, and throughout the day, five parallel panels will be held. The keynote speeches of the conference are given by Bogi Takács Perelmutter (University of Kansas) and Meelis Friedenthal (University of Tartu). Special guests’ panels include game writers George Ziets and Olga Moskvina, and globally renown science fiction author, activist and journalist Cory Doctorow.

Under the leadership of the conference's main organizer Jaak Tomberg, the literature festival Prima Vista will also take place as a subprogram of Tartu's Cultural Capital 2024 program, titled "Better and Worse Futures". Thanks to this, several conference participants will also appear in the program of Prima Vista, and the festivities will continue at the literature festival. The conference's evening program includes Elektriteater’s program "Stalking Eastern Europe," which will present seven science fiction films from the last century Eastern Europe, most of which are lesser-known screen works in these lands.

The conference is organised by the UT Institute of Cultural Research, the UT Institute of Foreign Languages and Cultures and the Research Group of Contemporary Estonian Culture. It is supported by grant PRG636 from the Estonian Research Council. The conference partners are the Prima Vista Literary Festival and the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024.

Additional information: conference website and Prima Vista website.