In addition to my writing and scholarship, I’m also offering some classes with the Ad Astra Institute! All proceeds go towards supporting the institute.
How to Not Do Eugenics with Speculative Biology
Saturday, February 21, 2-4pm EST via Zoom
Aliens and orcs don’t exist, but in certain corners of the internet, that doesn’t stop people from getting angry about how they’re being treated. Where do these accusations come from, and why do they matter? This class will provide a brief history of race science and eugenics to contextualize why certain representations of invented races give people the ick.
As You Know, Bob: What Exposition Can Do For You
Saturday, March 28, 2-4pm EST via Zoom
Exposition has long had a unique place in speculative fiction, where, by definition, the circumstances of the story’s world can be drastically different from the reader’s. But different ways of conveying information about a fictional world can accomplish different things for a story, from encouraging the reader to build out the world in their own head to highlighting character dynamics. This class provides a toolset of exposition techniques and draws on philosophy and sociology to suggest when to use which.
Kristen Koopman 