Social Fiction Conference (SFC)
Mini-Series Event!
For more than ten years, the Crown Programs Office and the Crown Provost Office have been hosting a weekend conference for UCSC students and the community to chat about social justice issues through a sci-fi lens. As things change, the Social Fiction Conference has adapted to better connect with students at all levels. For the 2024-2025 school year, we’re switching things up and turning the Social Fiction Conference into a Social Fiction Mini Series. This series will happen quarterly throughout the year, each time focusing on a specific theme.
This year, the theme for the Social Fiction Mini Series is Narratives of the Future. In Fall Quarter 2024, we invited students to join in on the annual Crown Sci-Fi Writing Contest. On December 4th, we celebrated the winners at the annual Sci-Fi Writing Awards Ceremony at the Cultural Center at Merrill.
Looking ahead, the Winter Quarter session will keep the tradition alive by wrapping up Geek Week! Be sure to check back here often, or follow us on Instagram, or add our Crown Programs and Events Calendar to stay in the loop about upcoming events!
Analyzing societal issues in science fiction, fantasy, and gaming
For over a dozen years the Social Fiction Conference (SFC) has highlighted Crown’s first year student co-curricular experience. SFC provides a unique opportunity for analyzing important societal issues in the context of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, gaming and other related genres of entertainment. The conference is a co-curricular program designed to create space for festive activities and reflective conversations about issues of identity, power, privilege, and oppression through various fictional worlds. The conference is a part of Crown College students’ first year Core curriculum experience and delves deeper into Crown’s theme of “Science and Technology in Society and Politics” through the imaginative and diverse perspectives of the Crown, the wider UCSC community and beyond.Â
For more information about SFC and the various event platforms we support, check out our All Things SFC document!
All UCSC students, staff, faculty, and affiliated community members are welcome to propose program sessions and participate!
Present at SFC
The SFC Planning Committee invites a diversity of program submissions! Events can be recorded, live streamed, or a combination of the two formats with active participant engagement opportunities through Q & A sessions, on-line response activity such as trivia, or scavenger hunt related to the presentation topic. Suggested maximum program length is 1 hour. Free tech moderator and support available for a limited number of submissions!
SFC was created by Crown staff and students interested in exploring these themes and sharing their interests and passions.
Examples include:
- Art gallery and other visual media
- Citizen science projects with Social Fiction theme
- Cosplay
- Debates or discussions with Social Fiction theme
- Comics, graphic novels and speculative fiction based events
- Debates or discussions with Social Fiction theme
- Facilitating educational workshops (arts and crafts, computer/tech skills, maker’s space, etc.)
- Fantasy-based events
- Interactive activities (on-line games, escape rooms, workshops, scavenger games, trivia, etc.)
- Instagram stories and/or Instagram TV and/or Instagram Live events
- General Meeting with Social Fiction theme
- Lectures
- Music/theatrical/poetry production
- Podcasts
- Recorded events to screen
- Science Fiction events
- Showcasing original artwork (virtual art gallery software is being explore)
- Screening original video/multimedia projects
- Analysis and discussion on social impacts of pop culture
- Other ideas – amaze and surprise us!
The submission deadline for proposals has now passed.
Contact
For general questions and accommodation requests, email crpo@ucsc.edu.
