What does science fiction say about our society?

What do major science fiction stories such as "Star Trek," "The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Avatar" say about our society?

Luther College assistant professor of biology  Eric Baack and Luther assistant professor of English Andy Hageman will lecture on that topic at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday in the Center for Faith and Life Recital Hall on the Luther Campus.  The lecture is open to the public with no charge for admission.
           
Their lecture, "Other from an Other Other," will use popular science fiction texts about encounters between humans and aliens as a basis for a discussion on what these texts say about society as a whole from both a scientific and literary standpoint.

Baack and Hageman's lecture will focus particularly on texts in which humans and aliens are allowed to study and learn from each other, commenting on how these provide material for thinking about new ways of exploring and knowing.

The lecture will also discuss how human-alien encounters are often used to represent both the idea of us and others within human society. For example, aliens can be used to represent either the current public enemy or the disenfranchised within society. How the scientists, government officials and the public treat the aliens they encounter in the texts can be used to track changing attitudes about "the other."
    
Baack holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Carleton College, a master's degree in secondary science education from Lewis and Clark College and a doctoral degree in population biology from the University of California-Davis.  Hageman holds a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College, a master's degree from Western Washington University and a doctoral degree from the University of California-Davis.