Asian Studies program Presents

POSTPONED TO NEXT SEMESTER DUE TO STORM: Asia/ns in American Science Fiction: How Asian Culture Changed the History of American Sci-Fi

POSTPONED TO NEXT SEMESTER due to winter storm warning 12/2.

Asian characters are everywhere in American science fiction today. Evelyn in the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, Jesse in The Last of Us, Glenn in The Walking Dead, and Ricky Park in Jordan Peele’s Nope; the list goes on. Even Disney and Marvel, which historically lacked Asian princes, princesses, or superheroes, now feature a Chinese Canadian protagonist in Turning Red, a Japanese American hero in Big Hero 6, and “a brown girl from Jersey City” as the new superhero in Ms. Marvel. But what are all these Asian characters doing in American science fiction? Why has this genre become such a prominent space for representing “Asianness”?

This lecture traces the history of Asians in American science fiction all the way back to the early twentieth century and examines how depictions of Asia and Asians have evolved over more than a century in the genre. By exploring the genealogy of Orientalism in American SF history, this talk proposes a new framework for understanding the current cultural moment—from the global popularity of K-pop to the rise of Asian and Asian American science fiction writers.

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For more information, call 845-758-6822, or e-mail [email protected].

Time: 5:00 pm EST/GMT-5

Location: Preston Theater

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