This workshop, held as part of the Wellcome Trust funded Science Fiction and the Medical Humanities project, asks: What are the uses and abuses of science fiction in the aim of public engagement with medicine? We can assess science fiction as if it were entertainment education, distinguishing between legitimate extrapolation and genre misrepresentation. But are there more productive ways of thinking about how science fiction engages with medical expertise than simply the problematic distinction of ‘appropriate simplification’ versus ‘distortion’? Jenny Kitzinger from the University of Cardiff and David Lawrence from the Costumed Visions of Enhanced Bodies project join us to explore these questions.
The workshop will be held at the University of Glasgow on Friday the 27th of November 2015. If you are interested in getting involved with this workshop (or any other aspect of our project) then email us at [email protected]. Postgraduate and early career researchers may wish to apply to the attendance fund to support their travel expenses. In addition to this workshop we are editing a special journal issue and holding a creative writing competition, both of which are still open for submissions. Keep up to date with us on Twitter (@scifimedhums) and through our Facebook group.