University of California Riverside

Science Fiction & Climate Crisis

Join us for the first event in our free lecture series that explores what science fiction might teach us about real-world problems.

Kim Stanley Robinson - Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of over twenty books, including the internationally bestselling Mars trilogy, and more recently Red Moon, New York 2140, and The Ministry for the Future. 

in conversation with

Gerry Canavan - Associate Professor of English (Marquette University), journal editor and author of Octavia E. Butler (University of Illinois Press, 2016), among other works.

Moderated by Sherryl Vint - Professor, UCR (English/Media & Cultural Studies), Director of the Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science Program

One of the distinct characteristics of science fiction is that it can tell stories that exceed normal human time scales, spanning hundreds, if not thousands of years. It often narrates such stories from nonhuman perspectives, drawing attention to how human lives are entangled with and dependent upon ecosystems and other species. These qualities make it an ideal genre for grappling with the reality of climate change: how our past contributed to the climate crisis today and how the near-future might unfold, along one path if we take action or another if we fail to.

This series is sponsored by the Center for Ideas and Society, Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science Program, Palm Desert Center, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UC Riverside.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021 at 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Virtual Event

Event page

Report on event