Yay! WisCon Panels!

[bcholmes]

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!

Comments

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Interesting ideas. Did you help make them up?

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.

[rozk.livejournal.com]

That makes it even more frustrating that, as usual, I am too broke and busy to attend...

[herbmcsidhe.livejournal.com]

Interesting set of panels; enough to almost make me willing to WI. :)

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 clemsonchick52) for a slightly different take on the subject.

[deepforestowl.livejournal.com]

hmm....Let me guess...LOL

I got teaching and fangirl. I'll post it in a moment.

[firecat]

I can't wait!

[mvt.livejournal.com]

I wonder if some people react better to sad changes.
I wonder if it makes them more accepting.
I also wonder why people can't just accept everyone the way they are (inside).