J.G. Ballard & the Sciences
Key Note Speaker: Christopher Priest

Sponsored by Humanities

Hosted by the Anglia Ruskin Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy (CSFF)
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
25^th November 2017.

“Science and technology multiply around us. To an increasing extent they dictate the languages in which we speak and think. Either we use those languages, or we remain mute.” J.G. Ballard

Registration for the event is now open and space is limited. Please click here to register.

From The Drowned World’s early meditations on ecology, to the provocative prosthetics of Crash, through to the psychopathologies at work (or rather play) in Cocaine Nights, Super-Cannes and Kingdom Come, the writings of J.G. Ballard are in constant dialogue with the discourses of science and technology. As a result, his novels and short stories function as vast indexes of scientific innovation and enquiry, immersing the reader in the complex yet often beautiful languages of biology, chemistry, zoology, medicine, botany, neuroscience, bioethics, anatomy, biotechnology and psychology, to name just a few.

Conference Schedule

9-9.30am: Registration (Outside LAB 109).
(For anyone needing coffee, there is a COSTA machine in the main foyer, one floor below)

 9.40-10.45 am: Welcome and Keynote by Christopher Priest.

 Panel 1, 11-12pm: Neurology (60mins):

• ‘Neuronal Ballard’, Sebastian Groes (University of Roehampton)
• ‘Science, Fiction, Art, and Technology in Ballard’s Vermilion Sands’, Bruna Mancini (University of Calabria, Italy)
• The Enormous Room: J.G. Ballard and Sensory Deprivation, James Riley (University of Cambridge)

12-1.15pm: Lunch (You are invited to arrange your own lunch).

Panel 2, 1.15-2.45pm: Psychology & Psychoanalysis (90mins)

• ‘The Magisterial Eye: Psychology and Architecture in Ballard’s High-Rise’, Marcin Tereszewski (University of Wrocław)
• ‘J. G. Ballard and the Psychopathology of YouTube’, Martin Gleghorn (Durham University)
• ‘J.G. Ballard and Science Fiction: Factuality and Imagination’, Sam Francis (Independent Scholar)
• ‘Why are there so many psychiatrists and psychopaths in J. G. Ballard’s short tales and novels?’, Riccardo Dalle Luche (Psychiatric Department Tuscany Nord Ovest)

 Panel 3, 2.45- 3.30pm: Medical Sciences (45mins)

• ‘Prosthetics, War Veterans and Crash’, Kristina Fleuty (VFI, ARU, Chelmsford)
• ‘Infernal Visions: Ballard’s Romantic-Scientific Imagination in The Unlimited Dream Company’, Thomas Knowles (Birmingham City University)

3.30-3.45pm: Coffee and Comfort Break

Panel 4, 3.45-4.30pm: Environmental Sciences: (45 mins)

• ‘Nature against the Human Species: Science in the Apocalyptic Novels’ by James Ballard and Olaf Stapledon, Boyarkina Iren (Rome University)
• ‘Solid-State Fiction: Reflections on the Science of Crystals in the Work of J.G. Ballard’, Moritz Ingwersen (Trent University, Ontario)

Special Session 1, 4.30-5.30pm: How is emotion aestheticized through technology? in The Thousand Dreams of Stellavista, by the RCA Theatre Group, Royal College of Art.

 Special Session 2, 5.30-6.30pm: Fay Ballard in Conversation & Wine Reception

Humanities (ISSN 2076-0787) is an international, peer-reviewed, quick-refereeing scholarly open access journal (free for readers). The central concern of this journal pertains to the core values of the Humanities, i.e., focusing on the ideals of human existence, seen through many different lenses. What makes life valuable, livable, meaningful? How can we understand human existence in its historical, artistic, spiritual, linguistic, communicative, environmental, political, and social dimensions? Both historical and modern perspectives are welcome, as well as interdisciplinary approaches.

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Useful Information

Travel:

Travelling to the Cambridge Campus at Anglia Ruskin University

Please note that J.G. Ballard and the Sciences will take place in: Lord Ashcroft Building (LAB) 109, situated on the East Road Campus (follow link to Cambridge Campus Map).

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO PARKING ON CAMPUS. The closest public car park is at the Grafton Centre.

Accommodation

The nearest and most affordable hotels are:

Premier Inn

Travelodge

Coffee Shops

Espresso Library, 210 East Road (opposite the East Road entrance to ARU) – cross the road at the pedestrian crossing and it’s on the left

Costa Coffee, Mill Road. Head out of the back entrance of ARU onto Mackenzie Street. Walk to where Mackenzie Street meets Mill Road (on the left)

Restaurants and Eateries Close to ARU

The nearest to ARU are:

Merhaba’s. (very good in my experience) is opposite the East Road entrance to ARU – cross the road at the first pedestrian crossing and it’s on the right.

CB2s – East Road. Turn right out of ARU East Road Entrance, cross the small side road, continue towards the main pedestrian crossing, and it’s on the right-hand side.

The Snug Bar – East Road. Walk along East Road in the direction of Tesco’s (on opposite side of road) and cross over the road at the second pedestrian crossing.

The Tram Depot – East Road. Exit ARU East Road Entrance and criss over the road at the first crossing. Turn right along East Road and then an immediate left.

Alternatives:

Mill Road (5 mins walk from ARU): There is also a good range of coffee shops and eateries on Mill Road

Grafton Street (also 5 mins walk from ARU): Along from The Snug Bar.