Program
The 2025 Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts Schedule is available below and as a PDF.
(SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
Wednesday, August 20
| 8:00am to 5:00pm | Pre-Conference guided trip to the Andrews Research Forest in Central Oregon with Forestry Emeritus Professor Fred Swanson. (Please Note: Space will be limited to 20 participants so the activity is open only to pre-registered attendees. Visit the Pre-Conference Trip page for more information and to register to join.) |
Thursday, August 21
| 10:30am and Onward | Welcome and Registration, Coffee Services |
| 12:30pm to 2:00pm | Memory and Representation in an Era of Large Language Models E. Arellano (Southern Oregon University) Joshua Sarinana (Independent Scholar) Carlee Baker (University of Texas) Alexandra Gunnells (University of Texas) Won Jeon (UC Santa Cruz) |
| Risk and the Technologized Body Treyden Chiaravalloti (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Chelsea Kai Roesch (UC Santa Barbara) |
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| Capitalism and Crisis: New Theoretical Directions Zachary Gan (McMaster University) Ricky D Crano (UC Irvine) |
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| 2:15pm to 3:45pm | The Epistemic Risks and Benefits of Tracing Interdisciplinary Influence Sarah Dillon (virtual, University of Cambridge) Ariane Hanemaayer (Brandon University) Dominic Walker (University of Cambridge) |
| Risking Connection with Artificial Intelligences Collin J. Hawley (George Mason University) Thomas Rickert (Purdue University) Won Jeon (UC Santa Cruz) Michaela Giesenkirchen (virtual, Utah Valley University) |
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| Transcorporeal Subjectivities Alba Tomasula y Garcia (University of Mississippi) Anna-Maria Senuysal (Ohio State University) Sayeong Kim (UC Riverside) |
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| Risk and Responsibility: Feeling Nature as a Precursor to Ethical Action Sochuiwon Priscilla Khapai (CUNY Graduate Center) Steven Denison (Eckerd College) Travis Merchant-Knudsen (North Carolina State University) |
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| Affective Risks in the Performing Arts Lauren Mitchell (Vanderbilt University) Lukas Wood (Loyola Marymount University) Lucas Dietsche (Adams State University) |
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| 4:00pm to 5:30pm | Cultural Hybridity, Technology, Emotion, Art, and Risk Michael Filas (Westfield State University) David Clark (virtual, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) Dennis Summers (Strategic Technologies for Art, Globe, and Environment) |
| Game Studies 1: Definitions Samuel Pizelo (New York University) Matt Horrigan (virtual, Alexander College) Luna Loganayagam (UC Davis) |
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| Animal Studies 1: Pests, Parasites, and Pollution Samantha Brierley (Arizona State University) Karen Leona Anderson (St. Mary’s College of Maryland) Hayden Bytheway (virtual, University of Toronto) Maria Lux (Whitman College) |
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| Risking the Economy: Capitalism and Crisis Melanie Swan (University College London) Daniel Russo (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Alexandra Petrus (USC) |
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| Risk in Contemporary Fiction Case Pharr (Oregon State University) Jay Labinger (Cal Tech) Melissa Wills (UC Davis) Carol Colatrella (Georgia Institute of Technology) |
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| 5:30pm to 6:30pm | Executive Committee Meeting |
| 6:30pm to 8:30pm | Opening Reception |
| 7:00pm to 9:00pm | Join OSU’s Special Collections and Archives Research Center to explore dozens of compelling selections curated from our rich cultural heritage collections around the conference theme of Risk. Ranging from early printed books to modern comics and artists’ books, these captivating materials are viewed through lenses of economic, environmental, exposure, scientific, artistic, and personal risks. See rare items from our collection strengths of history of science, natural resources, nuclear history, alternative medicine, and the history of the Pacific Northwest. |
Friday, August 22
| 8:00am to 9:00am | Outreach & Breakfast, sponsored by SLSA Please note that this event is open only to graduate students and post-doctoral candidates. It is designed to help our most junior colleagues foster networks and build community within the organization. |
| 8:30am and Onward | Registration, Coffee Services |
| 8:30am to 10:00am | Game Studies 2: Art/Games Doug Stark (University of Texas at Arlington) Mayshu (Meixu) Zhan (Stanford) April Riddle (Ohio State University) Yvette Granata (University of Michigan) |
| Animal Studies 2: Human–Animal Entanglements Melissa Littlefield (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) Fabian Winkler (Purdue University) Shannon McMullen (Purdue University) KS Brewer (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) |
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| Performance Studies 1: Unstable Matter: Risk in Performance Danielle Adair (Stanford) Gillian Hemme (Northwestern) Angenette Spalink (Texas A&M) |
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| Ecofascist Aesthetics Lisa Han (Pitzer College) Diana Ruíz (University of Washington) Benjamin Schultz-Figueroa (Seattle University) |
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| Place-Based Risk Studies Shu Wan (SUNY Buffalo) Daniel Gidey (Shoolini University) Josh Scannell (The New School) Anna Davidson (Cornell University) |
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| 10:15am to 11:45am | Performance Studies 2: Precarious Senses Leonardo Cardoso (Texas A&M) Devon Baur (UCLA) Cory LaFevers (Texas A&M) Elizabeth McQueen (UC Davis) Allie Wist (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) |
| Animal Studies 3: Animal Containment and the Open August Hoffman (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) Jane Desmond (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) |
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| Risky Exercises: Aesthetics, Training, Habit Gabriel Trop (UNC-Chapel Hill) Doug Stark (University of Texas at Arlington) Josy Raheem (virtual, Yale) Sonja Bertucci (University of Richmond) |
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| This is me!: Declarations of Self & personhood across modern Northeast Asia Rosaley Gai (Stanford) Michelle Ha (Stanford) Luo Jia (Stanford) Grace Han (Stanford) |
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| Mapping Technological Environments Natasha Lushetich (University of Dundee) Sara Bimo (York University) Zachary Furste (University of Amsterdam) |
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| 11:45am to 12:30pm | Lunch Break |
| 12:30pm to 2:00pm | Media, Aesthetics, Theory, and Risk I Danielle Adair (Stanford) David Cecchetto (York University) Shane Denson (Stanford) |
| Security, Simulation, and Surrogate Witnessing Tory Jeffay (Dartmouth) Patty Keller (Cornell) Jason Ludwig (UC Santa Barbara) Greg Siegel (UC Santa Barbara) |
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| Extraterrestrial Posthumanism: The Search for Life in Astrobiology, Science Fiction and Bio Art Ana Salvan (Independent Scholar) Elizabeth Smith (University of Warwick) Joao Guimaraes (virtual, University of Porto) |
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| Exposure as Keyword: Risks, Materialities, Possibilities Dylan Blackston (New Mexico State University) Kerry Banazek (New Mexico State University) Daniel Gilfillan (Arizona State University) Celina Osuna (University of Texas at El Paso) Kellie Sharp-Hoskins (New Mexico State University) |
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| Risk and Revolution Kim Kattari (Texas A&M University) Liat Berdugo (University of San Francisco) Nicholas Fazio (York University) |
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| 2:15pm to 3:45pm | Fluxakucha 10: Risking Fluxus (part 1 of 3) Hannah B Higgins (University of Illinois Chicago) Lauren Sudbrink (Independent Artist) Chris Reeves (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) Craig Saper (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) Susan Jarosi (Hamilton College) Paul Harris (Loyola Marymount University) |
| Game Studies 3&4: Risk/Jam Edmond Chang (Ohio University) Ashlee Bird (Notre Dame) |
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| Media, Aesthetics, Theory, and Risk II Casey A. Boyle (UT-Austin) Zoe Horn (Western Sydney University) Michael Richardson (University of New South Wales) |
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| Animal Studies 4: Vulnerability Natalie Lozinski-Veach (Arizona State University) Peter Sands (York University) Lucinda Cole (University of Illinois) Jennifer Calkins (Independent Scholar) |
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| Queer Mediations Chris Wildrick (Syracuse University) Joel Humphries (RMIT University) Srishti Chatterjee (Northwestern University) |
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| 4:00pm to 5:15pm | Fluxakucha 10: Risking Fluxus (part 2 of 3) Nicole Woods (Loyola Marymount University) Doug Stark (The University of Texas at Arlington) Anne Collins Goodyear (Bowdoin College) Roger Rothman (Bucknell University) Dennis Summers (Strategic Technologies for Art, Globe, and Environment) Lukas Wood (Loyola Marymount University) Michael Filas (Westfield State University) |
| Game Studies 3&4: Risk/Jam Edmond Chang (Ohio University) Ashlee Bird (Notre Dame) |
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| Affective Practices for Managing an Uncertain Future Ranran Fan (University of North Texas) Dan Paz (UC Davis) Coral Pereda Serras (UC San Diego) |
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| Risks of Interdisciplinarity Roundtable Paul Jaussen (Lawrence Technological University) Marcel O’Gorman (University of Waterloo) Terrence Schenold (Cornish College of the Arts) Zachary Tavlin (School of the Art Institute of Chicago) Raquel Velho (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) |
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| Rethinking Scales of Time Roger Whitson (Washington State University) Sara DiCaglio (Texas A&M University) Paul Harris (Loyola Marymount University) |
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| 5:30pm to 7:00pm | Plenary #1: Risk Panel: Risk Across the Disciplines Tekla Bude (Oregon State University) Ehren Pflugfelder (Oregon State University) Shawn Hazboun (Oregon State University) Yanni Ma (Oregon State University) Xuerong Lu (Oregon State University) |
Saturday, August 23
| 8:30am and Onward | Registration, Coffee Services |
| 8:30am to 10:00am | Animal Studies 5: Animal Capital and Animal Data Rodrigo Martini (University of Georgia) Terike Haapoja (Independent Scholar) Christina Shiea (University of Washington) |
| Black and Indigenous Sciences: Materiality Damian Enyaosah (University of Texas at Dallas) Ximena Gallegos (University of Washington) Nat Mengist (University of Washington) |
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| Contemporary Art and the Aesthetics of Risk Mary Brink (Young Harris College) Stephanie Chadwick (Lamar University) Allen Riley (University of California, Santa Cruz) Georgina Ruff (Willamette University) |
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| Is Post/Critique Worth the Risk? Chris Mays (University of Nevada Reno) Stacey Moran (Arizona State University) Brendan Johnston (UC Davis) |
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| Mediated Bodies / Transnational Bodies Grace Han (Stanford University) Jennie Baker (University of Washington) Kisa Schultz (University of Oregon) Anastasiya Chybireva Fender (University of North Texas) |
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| 10:15am to 11:45am | Game Studies 5: World(s)Building Daniel Lichtman (St. John’s University) Haoran Chang (virtual, York University) Stephanie Kinzinger (Northeastern University) Trevor Redd Smith (UC Irvine) |
| Farm Media: From Agrotechnology to Design Hayley Birss (University of Chicago) Yangqiao Lu (University of Chicago) Adam Nocek (Arizona State University) |
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| Future Faculties of Deep Time Roundtable Sheheryar B. Sheikh (Dalhousie University) Aaron Jaffe (Florida State University) Kate Marshall (Notre Dame) Charles Tung (Seattle University) Mackenzie Tygh (Johns Hopkins University) |
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| Mediating Risk: Between Proliferation and Containment Zach McLane (UC Santa Barbara) Thomas Pringle (USC) Carrie Jiang (UC Santa Barbara) Matthew Ellis (Portland State University) |
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| Animal Studies 6: Literature, Science, and Animal Advocacy in Canada: Practical Zoocriticism Book Panel Susan McHugh (University of New England) Lucinda Cole (University of Illinois) Candice Allmark-Kent (Independent Scholar) Peter Sands (York University) |
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| 12:00pm to 1:15pm | SLSA Member’s Lunch Please note that all SLSA members are invited to attend. There will be brief president’s and financial report in addition to presentations of 2025 Bruns and Schachterle essay prizes, the Kendrick book prize, and the Lifetime Achievement Award. |
| 1:30pm to 2:45pm | Plenary #2: Techno-intimacies: Anxiety-love, Risk, Political economies, Governance Geeta Patel (University of Virginia) |
| 3:00pm to 4:30pm | Fluxakucha 10: Risking Fluxus (part 3 of 3) Emilio Taiveaho Peláez (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Lauren Mitchell (Vanderbilt University) Laurel Jean Fredrickson (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) Meredith Tromble (Feminist Research Institute, UC Davis) Chris Wildrick (Syracuse University) Andrea Buckvold (Independent Scholar) |
| Animal Studies 7: Science & … Candice Allmark-Kent (Independent Scholar) Susan McHugh (University of New England) Arundhati Ghosh (Southern Methodist University) |
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| Risks and Collective Thinking in the Age of the Individual Kendra Atkin (UC Irvine) Carlos Colmenares Gil (Indiana University) Luis Rosa (University of Nebraska Lincoln) Juan Lupi (UC Santa Barbara) |
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| Performance Studies 3: Performing Humans: Post-, Non-, In- and Other Risky Prefixes Damian Enyaosah (University of Texas at Dallas) Daniel Jackson (Stanford) Claudia Kinahan (Northwestern University) Nicola McCafferty (Northwestern University) |
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| Health Risks and the Practice of Care Anisha Uppugonduri (Independent Scholar) Suisui Wang (University of Massachusetts Boston) Soohyun Jeon (Texas A&M University) Coleman Nye (Simon Fraser University) |
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| 4:45pm to 6:15pm | Cones, caution, and the precarity of signals in a time of collapse Matt Bell (Arizona State University) Ron Broglio (Arizona State University) Erika Lynne Hanson (Arizona State University) |
| Risky Bodies: The Representation of Queerness and Disability in Narrative Form Lydia Cooper (Seattle University) Brooke Kowalke (Creighton) Matthew Reznicek (University of Minnesota) |
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| Media History and Political Ecology: Simulation, Planning, and Pedagogy in Postwar America Riley Gold (USC) Henry Osman (Brown University) Suiyi Tang (USC) Rebecca Uliasz (University of Michigan) |
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| Human in the Machine: Risk Management, Concealment, and the Enactment of Instrumentalized Speculation Kris Paulsen (Ohio State University) J. Rhee (Virginia Commonwealth University) Scott Richmond (University of Toronto) |
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| Risky Translation Theories Emilio Taiveaho Peláez (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) Danlu Yang (Oregon State University) Derek Lee (Wake Forest University) |
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| 6:30pm to 7:45pm | Reconsidering Risk and Rationality Michael Beach (University of Washington) Arnaud Mery (virtual, Université de Montréal) Justin Gallant (IDSVA) Lauren Judge (Wilfrid Laurier University) |
| Risk and Futurity: World-Building in Uncertain Times Hannah Hopkins (University of Texas at Austin) Laura Cechanowicz (Arizona State University) Peter Krapp (UC Irvine) |
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| Tracing the Analog in Digital Environments Frances Mckenzie (Virginia Commonwealth University) Yijun Sun (University of Richmond) Runjie Wang (University of Washington) |
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| Modelling the Emergent Marcella Faria (University of São Paulo) Kyle Gonzalez (UC Santa Cruz) Hongwei Zhou (UC Santa Cruz) Rachel Mayeri (Harvey Mudd) |
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| 8:00pm to 10:00pm | Conference Reception In addition to heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar at PRAx, attendees can attend a DJ set by conference artist Rick Silva in a nearby OSU greenhouse or attend a curated exhibition of SLSA-related materials at OSU Library’s Special Collections. |
Sunday, August 24
| 8:30am and Onward | Registration, Coffee Services |
| 8:30am to 10:00am | Game Studies 6: War/Games Zach Yost (University of Chicago) Mikael Sebag (UC Irvine) Zachary Horton (University of Pittsburgh) |
| Narrativizing Risky Climates Alba Tomasula y Garcia (University of Mississippi) Lynn Badia (Colorado State University) |
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| What Does Risk Sound Like? Lauren Knight (virtual, University of Toronto) 秋華 蘇 (Soochow University, Taiwan) Aline Zara (virtual, University of Toronto) |
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| Error Messages Madelene Veber (University of New South Wales) Stephen Ramsay (University of Nebraska Lincoln) Christopher O’Neill (Deakin University) Geoffrey Hondroudakis (University of Melbourne) |
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| 10:15am to 11:45am | Sensing the Digital Emma Waldron (UC Irvine) Ania Malinowska (University of Silesia) Avital Meshi (UC Davis) |
| Risk as an Instrument of Control Shaun Terry (UC Santa Cruz) Kathleen Gekiere (University of Oregon) Wayne Miller (Independent Scholar) |
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| Publication and Content Moderation: A Risk Analysis Lisa Sarish (Oregon State University) Ji Hae Koo (Kookmin University) |