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Yay! WisCon Panels!
Counting Past Two
Thinking in terms of opposites -- man and woman, black and white, good and evil -- is deeply, deeply entrenched in Western discourse. What alternatives are there? Some theorists, like Homi Bhabha, talk about "third spaces" and hybridity. What's that all about?
Taking It To The Next Level
Instead of repeating the same '101' discussions about class, race, (parenting, trans issues), etc., how can we facilitate a more advanced discussion of these issues?
The Tragedy of Change
How often is futuristic morphological change viewed in a tragic light in fiction, as in the cybernetically enhanced person feeling sorrow for the physical feelings they've lost, or the "inhumanity" of disembodied aliens? Why are transsexual humans of today often portrayed tragically in fiction and movies? How about post-menopausal women? People who've lost mobility or ability through illness? Is there a way to look at the future of our bodies that doesn't involve what we've lost, but what we have to gain?
Transsexuality as Trope
Much science fiction and fantasy of recent years deals with changing sex. But it treats it as a trope rather than a process: LARQUE ON THE WING, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, "Changes," the work of John Varley. While there is no denying the usefulness of transsexuality as a trope in discussing the social construction of gednder, what are we missing by eliding transsexuality's nature as a process?
Guess which constituency I'm representing at WisCon this year!
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I have a WisCon membership to sell, unfortunately.
As for how to facilitate getting beyond "101" it occurred to me this weekend that it might help to explicitly provide places for the 101 questions/discussion.
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Your schedule probably wouldn't allow it, but I figured I'd throw it out.
We're driving down and could easily fit a third into our car. We might even have an extra space in our room (free!), although you'd have to share a queen bed with another person - we have a room with two queen (I think) beds. I'd have to check with her first to ensure it's okay.
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What kinda time frame are you looking at. My current plan is to drive down on Thursday, and drive back on Monday.
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We've booked the hotel to check in May 24, 2007 and check out May 28, 2007. That's as far as we've planned so far. :) I'm assuming that we'll drive down on the Thursday (24th) and drive back home on the Monday (28th). Times still TBD. Don't know if you'd be interested in carpooling down with us or if you prefer to have your own car while in Madison.
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I'd be interested in carpooling, but I'm likely to be mildly inconvenient. I'm hoping to do two stops along the way, to share meals with some people: my grandparents in Sarnia, and a good friend in Chicago.
If you guys could tolerate the stops, then we can talk more about this, but otherwise it might be best if I take my car.
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*Waves fist angrily at Wiscon-preventing meeting*
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On TS as Trophe - don't forget The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. You might also want to check out the Claire Daniels series (http://claire_daniels.tripod.com/) by Gypsey Teague (aka
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I got teaching and fangirl. I'll post it in a moment.
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I wonder if it makes them more accepting.
I also wonder why people can't just accept everyone the way they are (inside).