On Monday, September 7, LMC professor Lisa Yaszek spoke about the past, present, and future of diversity in science fiction at DragonCon, the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy convention. Along with other Atlanta-based science fiction scholars and authors, Yaszek explored topics including the complex meanings of scientific and social diversity in genre fiction, the impact of cultural diversity on generic conventions, and the relationship between biological and technological forms of diversity. Drawing on her own research, Yaszek demonstrated how issues of diversity, broadly defined, have been central to discussions about “what is good science fiction?” for well over 100 years.

The primary goal of this panel was to raise awareness about scientific and social diversity in science fiction and to showcase the work that authors, scholars, and fans do in this area. The secondary goal was to showcase the work that professors and students are doing in this area at educational institutions across Atlanta—and especially at Georgia Tech.