MIGRATIONS: THE LAURENTIAN ASSOCIATION FOR SCIENCE FICTION is pleased to invite paper proposals for a conference on science fiction and society. As a genre, science fiction entails implicit or explicit assumptions about social ontology, societal values, norms and traditions, the operation of power, the production, distribution and consumption of goods, the motors of social change, and the nature of social laws. It therefore offers a rich field of inquiry and a valuable heuristic device to social scientists. We welcome any proposals that aim to explore the terrain of science fiction from the perspective of political science, economics, or other social sciences. Given the conference location in Northern Ontario, we are especially (but by no means exclusively) interested in paper proposals that address the “Canadian dimension” of science fiction, internal colonialism, the relationship between frontier and utopia, or the nature of resource extraction societies. The conference organizer will consider selected papers for publication in an edited collection.

Please submit paper proposals of roughly 250 words to drobinson@laurentian.ca by May 15, 2010. Proposals should be accompanied by a brief author bio and full contact information (including email). Please feel free to contact the conference organizers for additional information about the conference.