Past Events
Here you can find details of past events organized by the Centre or by our members, including links to recordings where available.
2020 Events
28 October: Halloween: Folklore Traditions and Global Reach
A thoroughly spooky lecture on the folklore and traditions of Halloween and associated festivals, such as Día de los Muertos, with world-renowned folklorist, author, and broadcaster Dr Juliette Wood (Cardiff University), followed by Q&A.
See here for further details: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2020/10/01/join-us-for-a-talk-on-halloween-folklore-and-traditions/
The event was recorded and can be accessed via our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYwBN0wCWBc&t=4s
- Member's Event: Dr Lizanne Henderson: Fins, Furs and Feathers: Natural and Supernatural Animals of Scotland and the North, 12 October 2020, 10:00-12:00.
Event recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPi8ib3s6do&t=1628s
16 September 2020: Launching the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic
An online event to launch the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow with a lecture by acclaimed fantasy author Ellen Kushner, and a discussion panel on fantasy with Terri Windling, Professor Brian Attebery, and Dr Robert Maslen.
See here for further details: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/index.php/2020/08/24/launching-the-centre-for-fantasy-and-the-fantastic-university-of-glasgow/
The event was recorded and can be accessed via our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LtdlR0imSQ&t=117s
Earlier Events
- Symposium on Fantasy and the Fantastic - Friday May 10th, 2019: https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/critical/newsandevents/eventsarchive/headline_642839_en.html
- Symposium programme: https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_649870_smxx.pdf
- A slide-show with photos from the Symposium: https://youtu.be/9HVLCxKXppQ
- Fantasy at Glasgow: A History - the opening talk of the Symposium by Dr Rob Maslen: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/fantasy-at-glasgow-a-history/
- What does Fantasy do? - a summary of the 1st afternoon workshop of the Symposium: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/what-does-fantasy-do/
- What Should a Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic Do? - a summary of the 2nd afternoon workshop of the Symposium: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/what-should-a-centre-for-fantasy-and-the-fantastic-do/
- Reflective blog posts by participants:
- Fantasy Exists Badly: Creating a Centre for Fantasy in Glasgow, by Marita Arvaniti: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/fantasy-exists-badly-creating-a-centre-for-fantasy-in-glasgow/
- Reflections on the Glasgow Symposium on Fantasy and the Fantastic, by Dr Taylor Driggers: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/reflection-on-the-glasgow-symposium-on-fantasy-and-the-fantastic/
- In Search of Wild Stories, by Ben Holden: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/in-search-of-wild-stories/
- From Zero to Infinity – Creating a Science Fiction Magazine in Scotland, Noel Chidwick: https://fantasy.glasgow.ac.uk/from-zero-to-infinity-creating-a-science-fiction-magazine-in-scotland/
- Fantasy Public Lecture series by Leverhulme Visiting Professor in Fantasy, Brian Attebery (Idaho State University):
- 21 January 2019: Burning Harry Potter and Other Ways of Misreading Fantasy
- 28 January 2019: Young Adult Dystopias and Utopias
- 4 February 2019: Fairy Tales and Masculinity
- 11 February 2019: Science Fictional Parabolas: Collaborative Imagination
- 4 March 2019: Fantasy and the Anthropocene: From Gilgamesh to the Ruins of Ymr
- GIFCon 2019, Keynote Speakers: Brian Attebery (Idaho State University/Leverhulme Visiting Professor in Fantasy, University of Glasogow), Kirsty Logan, Mel Gibson (Northumbria University)
- ‘Reimagining Fantasy’: a Public Conversation in Glasgow University Chapel with Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman and Terri Windling, May 2018.
- ‘Scotland in the Transition: renewable Energy in Scotland’, in the Charles Wilson Theatre, with Patrick Harvie MSP, August 2018.
- ‘Petrocultures 2018: Transition’, a 4-day international conference (over 230 delegates from 15 countries) for the Energy Humanities, at Glasgow University. https://petrocultures2018.wixsite.com/transition
- GIFCon 2018, Keynote Speakers: Dimitra Fimi (Cardiff Met University), Alice Jenkins (University of Glasgow), Will Slocombe (University of Liverpool), Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson, April 2018.
- ‘Night at the Museum: Fantasy Scotland’, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow, November 2017.
- GIFCon 2017, Keynote Speakers: Julie Bertagna, Stefan Ekman, Phil Harris (Senior Narrative Designer at Videogame company Bigpoint), March 2017.
- Public Workshop with Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman, November 2016.
- Mini-Conference: ‘Other Worlds and Story Worlds: New Perspectives on Fiction for Adults and Children’ (co-organised with Evelyn Arizpe and Maureen Farrell, School of Education), Keynote: Julie Bertagna, June 2016.
- Adam Roberts, ‘Science Fiction’s Greatest Question: Are We Alone in the Universe?’, Aye Write! Book Festival, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, March 2016.
- ‘From Page to Opera Stage: The Devil Inside. Reimagining Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Bottle Imp” as a contemporary opera’, January 2016, with Stuart MacRae, Alex Rijdeek and Louise Welsh.
- Visiting Speakers have included the authors Hal Duncan, Kij Johnson, Kirsty Logan, Mark Millar, Claire North/Cat Webb, Christopher Priest, Arianne ‘Tex’ Thompson and Neil Williamson; the editors Jon Oliver (Commissioning Editor, Rebellion Publishing) and Ben Smith (Head of Books, Rebellion Publishing); and the scholars Andrew M. Butler (Canterbury Christ Church University), Edward James (Anglia Ruskin University) and Anna Vaninskaya (University of Edinburgh)