Ring roads, subways, telco networks, power plants, and waterworks are where ruling ideologies are made concrete. Values, both conscious and unconscious, are embodied, on display, and at work. Works of speculative fiction frequently place these objects and systems of infrastructure front and center as the techno-scientific developments that shape their imagined worlds. As such, speculative fiction presents an exciting possibility space for exploring the crucial roles that infrastructural innovations could play in human adaptations to the Anthropocene.
This talk by literature and media scholar Andrew Hageman draws on recent developments in literary studies and anthropology to illustrate a practice of infrastructural criticism, with specific focus on contemporary fiction by the Hugo Award–winning writers Liu Cixin and Hao Jingfang.
Light refreshments will be served.
About the Speaker: Andrew Hageman is an associate professor of English at Luther College, where he researches and teaches intersections of technology and ecology. He has published on subjects ranging from Twin Peaks and Björk’s Biophilia to novels by Tom McCarthy and William Gibson, and he recently co-edited the “Global Weirding” issue of the journal Paradoxa.
Location: Need help finding the Centerpoint building? Check out this map. The entrance is on the north side of the building, directly across from the Snakes and Latte café on W 6th Street.
Parking: Paid, covered parking is available in the Centerpoint parking structure on 725 S Ash Avenue. Here’s a map to the entrance. There are also various paid uncovered parking options in walking distance of the building.