Medical humanities, posthumanism, science fiction literature and film, twentieth and twenty-first century British and American literature and art, especially postwar experimental writing
My research concerns representations of perfectibility and disability, reproduction and kinship, and death and dying in speculative fiction and conceptual writing. My first monograph under review Desiring Endurance in J.G. Ballard is a posthuman examination of the potentialities and obstacles of practicing relational ethics. Investigations into what Ballard terms “private mythologies” in Desiring Endurance inspire my current research project on collective imaginings of vulnerability and mutual aid in new wave science fiction.
By working closely with my Primary Supervisor Prof. Grant Hamilton and Co-supervisors Prof. David Huddart and Prof. Michael O’Sullivan, I’ve initiated and implemented the pilot school programme
"Science Fiction in the Classroom" and
"New Suns", the online writing unit of the programme.
Endorsed by the Curriculum Development Institute of the Education Bureau,
Science Fiction in the Classroom is an interdisciplinary pilot school programme that connects English language, STEM and values education in secondary education in Hong Kong. The scheme aims to foster aesthetic appreciation of science fiction and the English language, make science education more engaging by connecting it with current global issues featured in science fiction, such as climate change and artificial intelligence, and inspire students to develop their critical thinking and language skills, expand their imagination and exercise their creativity. As such, this programme bridges the humanities and the sciences by promoting the use of science fiction as a pivot in cross-curricular learning in secondary education.
In January 2020, we launched
New Suns, the online writing programme of Science Fiction in the Classroom. We are working with 36 S1-5 students nominated by our school partners, including Diocesan Boys’ School, Ying Wa College, and HKUGA College. In April 2020, we launched the New Suns course website
https://newsunswriting.wordpress.com/ that provides our participants and their teachers cross-curricular learning and teaching resources. In May 2020, we organized 2 well-attended Zoom reading groups. In June 2020, we will host 1 online film screening party on twoseven. In July 2020, we will conduct 2 reading groups and 2 writing workshops on Zoom. All online learning and teaching resources, reading groups and writing workshops are created and hosted by our faculty members (Prof. Evelyn Chan, Prof. Grant Hamilton, Prof. Michael O’Sullivan, and Dr. Suzanne Wong), ELS RPG students (Pinky Lui, Stephanie Studzinski, and Ophelia Tung), and myself. In August 2020, we will collaborate with our student participants to produce an anthology of their creative writing and essays. We plan to host a live showcase event in December 2020.
