“As a specialist in literature, what does the black hole represent to you?”
This was one of the questions that Dr. Sharon Morsink asked me when I met her for the first time on a not-so-chilly afternoon in December of 2017. We sat in SUB, talking about black holes, or at least, what I knew of them (which is to say, other than common knowledge of the subject, not very much). She told me about an exciting online introductory course that she and her team were developing at the time called ASTRO 101: Black Holes. The online course was launched recently, and anyone can register for it here for free! Having taught a course on sci-fi, I was invited to participate in an interview to discuss the representation of black holes in science fiction and popular culture--I was thrilled! The topic of black holes was something new and exciting for me that I ended up reading and watching quite a bit. Considering that black holes are a common trope in sci-fi stories, films, anime and even video games, I was surprised that little critical attention has been paid to this topic. If I had the time and funds to do another PhD, this is an area that I would love to further explore! In the videos featured here, I give my two cents on fictional depictions of black holes and why I think it matters. Hope you find them interesting! (〃ω〃)
DID YOU KNOW...
the U of A has its own observatory?! Public viewing are currently scheduled on Thursday from 12 to 1:00 pm. The day and time change with the seasons, so don’t forget to stay updated! I love viewing the moon in the fall/winter semesters!
Click here to connect to the Department of Physics Astronomical Observatory homepage. Learn more about the online course, ASTRO 101 here. See what other experts have to say about black holes here. Videos by https://onlea.org/