Farah Mendlesohn on the Royal Society, at the Royal Society
A couple of weeks ago, Professor Farah Mendlesohn, Head of Department in the Department of English, Communication, Film and Media at Angela Ruskin University, spoke at the Royal Society in London. You may know her as the author and editor of many scholarly books on science fiction and fantasy, or as an organizer working on science fiction conventions in the UK and sometimes North America, or from her Livejournal writings.
The august Royal Society has a series of Friday afternoon lectures on the history of science. They're among my favorite podcasts. (A few Itunes versions here. Huge collection of MP3 downloads here.) I started out by picking the ones closest to my own interests, but eventually I listened to nearly every available talk, because you never know what obscure topic might turn out to be fascinating.
So I was pleased to learn that the 4 May talk was to be given by someone I knew:
The Royal Society and Science Fiction
The lone (mad) scientist is a common trope in science fiction, but hidden away is a fascination with secret and semi-secret societies who work for the future of all mankind. This talk will look at the representation of the Royal Society in science fiction and fantasy as fact, fantasy and metaphor.
A video has just been posted, incorporating the soundtrack of Farah's talk along with images of her slides. Watch it here. (Such talks usually turn up audio-only on Itunes, but this one hasn't appeared there yet.)
Special bonus: Eleven minutes in, image of a SMOFcon T-shirt featuring a member of the Royal Society.
The august Royal Society has a series of Friday afternoon lectures on the history of science. They're among my favorite podcasts. (A few Itunes versions here. Huge collection of MP3 downloads here.) I started out by picking the ones closest to my own interests, but eventually I listened to nearly every available talk, because you never know what obscure topic might turn out to be fascinating.
So I was pleased to learn that the 4 May talk was to be given by someone I knew:
The Royal Society and Science Fiction
The lone (mad) scientist is a common trope in science fiction, but hidden away is a fascination with secret and semi-secret societies who work for the future of all mankind. This talk will look at the representation of the Royal Society in science fiction and fantasy as fact, fantasy and metaphor.
A video has just been posted, incorporating the soundtrack of Farah's talk along with images of her slides. Watch it here. (Such talks usually turn up audio-only on Itunes, but this one hasn't appeared there yet.)
Special bonus: Eleven minutes in, image of a SMOFcon T-shirt featuring a member of the Royal Society.