The Science Fiction of Octavia Butler

Professor's Corner: The Science Fiction of Octavia Butler / Wed., Jan. 8 at 7:00 pm / Presenter: Dr. AnaLouise Keating / Denton Public Library--South Branch. Session title: Octavia Butler's Science Fiction. Presenter: Dr. AnaLouise Keating, Texas Woman's University. Date and location: Wednesday, January 8, 2014 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. at the Denton South Branch Library. Series: Professor's Corner: A Literary Discussion Group. Session description: Octavia Butler's genre of choice--science fiction--represents an especially inhospitable field for a black woman writer. With very few exceptions, women of any color did not write science fiction, female characters were generally portrayed as sex objects, and even men of color rarely wrote or appeared in science fiction novels or stories. Thus, Butler's entry into this genre represents a significant breakthrough. Her novels contain strong black female protagonists whose wisdom and actions make them agents of change. She deals with complex issues, such as the struggle for power and control; the ways these struggles are inflected by gender, ethnicity, and class; fear of and confrontation with differences; the politics of survival; and the creation of new communities where peoples of many colors, and often different species, interact. These hybrid communities are especially remarkable and illustrate Butler's radical perspective on human identity. This session examines Butler's contributions to science fiction, focusing especially on her award-winning novella, "Bloodchild," which Butler described as her "pregnant man story." Link to a full-text version of "Bloodchild": < https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bx63MSBadfiKeGtiWXZKTGlKdE0/edit>. Cost: This program is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Reading material: Reading in advance of the session is encouraged but not necessary. Coordinator: Fred Kamman, Denton Public Library; Fred.Kamman@cityofdenton.com; 940-349-8752. Producer: Dr. Stephen Souris, Texas Woman's University; SSouris@twu.edu; 940-898-2343. Location of the South Branch Library: 3228 Teasley, Denton, TX 76210. The South Branch Library is just south of the Teasley & Lillian Miller intersection. "This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities."