Ursula K. Le Guin wrote spectacularly fantastic stories that transformed the world of speculative fiction, and her tales challenged traditional notions of gender along the way. She passed away this week at the age of 88.
Friday Buzz host Jonathan Zarov speaks with Alexis Lothian, Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, about Le Guin’s lengthy legacy. Professor Lothian researches and teaches at the intersections of queer theory, cultural studies, digital media, and speculative fiction. Her book Old Futures: Speculative Fiction and Queer Possibility will be out in September 2018 from NYU Press. She has written about Le Guin’s work and just last year she helped organize and direct a symposium on the author’s work, which Le Guin herself attended. Professor Lothian is no stranger to Madison, as she’s attended our own yearly WisCon conference celebrating feminist science fiction. She runs the website Queer Geek Theory.
