Academic stream

The SWANCON 41 team are determined to have an active academic stream at
the convention. We also want to try out a few new formats for the
presentations.

Panel formats

New PhD, Masters and Honours students might like to put up their hand
for the 3 min thesis competition where you get 3 min to pitch your
thesis idea. At the end of the session the audience get to pick the best
presentation and the winner emerges covered in glory, the exact form of
which is still to be determined.

If there are a few academic types who wish to present on a common theme
then perhaps a mini seminar on that theme over a 2 – 2.5 hr period
might be useful. Each presenter gives a shortish presentation (20 min)
with time for discussion after each, before moving on to the next
presentation. Then time for open / general discussion at the end.

For those of you who have weightier matters to discuss, perhaps the 45
min presentation would be more useful with time for questions at the end
of course.

It would also be great to have a few interviews, so if you feel more
comfortable with this type of presentation then let us know, however you
may have to prime us with the right questions to ask.

We would seriously welcome any interactive / audience participation
ideas for the academic stream. Do you need willing guinea pigs for your
research?

It is okay for one person to do more than one type of presentation.

Subject Areas

I was told that it might be best to have a theme for the presentations
to give people guidance. So my very loose themes are:

For the scientists: “If you want to include my science in your fiction
then you have to know this…”
This leaves the field open for you to discuss the cutting edge science /
the basic science / the tools of science / the philosophy of science –
just about anything really!

For the writers and media types: Young adult fiction…
Now is this fiction for young adults… or… is it a specific genre of
fiction that is still maturing? Is there something emerging that you
want to tell us about?

Historians, philosophers, economists, teachers, medical professionals,
sports science and other scholarly scholars…
“What (insert field of expertise here) has to say about speculative
fiction”
(science fiction being a subset of speculative fiction of course!).

Contact Details

If you are interested, and I hope many of you are, then please reply to
Chris Creagh academic-2016@swancon.com.au.

Tell her which type of presentation/s you are interested in doing and on
what topic. Please supply an abstract of between 100 and 200 words for
each presentation so we can make a book of abstracts for the academic
stream.

Regards
Chris Creagh
(Academic program co-ordinator)

Word from programmer

We also welcome presenters of an academic background on any of our
programmed items.
The main program will be released for comment in November and panelists
will the be sought.
Ideas for the main program can be sent to programmer-2016@swancon.com.au,
or submitted in detail via http://goo.gl/zoVbbr
Regards
Frames
(Head Programmer)