The "Science" in Contemporary Global and Indian Science Fiction

by Mr Gautam Bhatia

Thursday 30 Jan 2025, 16:00 → 17:00 Asia/Kolkata

Hybrid https://tifr-res-in.zoom.us/j/99846421387?pwd=NjuSn60s7EK1OWxjYajnrq3LbZFcra.1 (AG66, TIFR Mumbai)

Abstract: This talk will explore how contemporary science fiction writing engages with developments in various domains of science. Historically, there has been a somewhat unhelpful distinction between "hard" science fiction (i.e., that takes the physical sciences seriously) and "soft" science fiction (which is closer to fantasy). This distinction has always been questionable, but it has become specially blurred in recent years, as science fiction novels engage with science in diverse and interesting ways. The talk will take a few recent examples to illustrate this point: such as Ray Nayler's Arthur C. Clarke Award finalist novel, The Mountain in the Sea, which features a race of highly intelligent, sentient octopi, or the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel from 2024, Venomous Lumpsucker, that is a commentary on the economics and geopolitics of climate change. The talk will also explore some of the themes that feature in contemporary Indian science fiction writing. 

 

About speaker: Gautam Bhatia is a science fiction writer, editor, and critic. His most recent novel, THE SENTENCE, is at the intersection of science fiction and the ethics of crime and punishment (specifically, the death penalty). He edits the Hugo-award winning magazine, Strange Horizons. In his day job, he is a constitutional lawyer. 

 

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