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Gregory Benford Papers
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
This collection contains manuscripts, publications, press clippings, correspondence, and other material regarding Gregory Benford, an American science fiction author and astrophysicist. Included are Benford's academic and literary works, his collection of fanzines, and press clippings on both his academic and literary career.
Visiting Scholar in the Eaton Collection
The UCR Library has been host to Pablo Gomez, visiting scholar from the University of Zaragoza, Spain, throughout Spring Quarter, 2016. Gomez found his way to the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction & Fantasy after an international search for a library that could provide access to the largest possible number of works in these genres. He has found titles in the Eaton Collection that are invaluable for his work and very difficult to find in Europe.
Gomez is researching transnationalism in science fiction cinema for his Ph.D., and his research has identified trends in science fiction that reveal the development of a “transnational social conscience” that has come about largely through globalization. “Science fiction has a social imagination that can deal with our real world by suspending reality or pushing the boundaries of reality.”
Gomez will be returning to Spain in June.
Collections
Collecting Areas
The Special Collections & University Archives department at UC Riverside contains a large number of collections across a wide range of interests. Our holdings amount to over 750 archival collections totaling over 8,000 linear feet of materials that includes documents, correspondence, diaries/journals, maps, A/V recordings, and more.
Collections
African American Life & Culture
Print and electronic resources highlighting the pivotal sociological, literary, and artistic achievements of people of African descent in America.
Chicano/Latino Studies
Resources on Chicano/Latino ethnicity, gender and sexuality, demographics, migration and diaspora communities.
The Human and the Alien: An Exploration of First Contact Stories
Discovering intelligent life in the cosmos has been a long-anticipated moment for humanity and fertile ground for fantastic stories since the dawn of science fiction. Nineteenth-century speculative fiction writers such as Jules Verne and H. G. Wells envisioned discovering life on the Moon or the invasion of Earth by Martians. From these early stories, encounters between humans and alien species (often described as “first contact” stories) have served as a vehicle for the exploration of possible futures and a reflection upon humanity’s place both on Earth and in the cosmos.
Within the context of science fiction, first contact can be thought of as an event in which two intelligent species encounter each other for the first time. Sometimes this encounter is peaceful or friendly and is about establishing communications or sharing knowledge. Other times the first contact scenario begins with a hostile act, like a war or invasion. Many of the themes found in these stories have parallels with historical examples of European explorers and colonizers encountering indigenous peoples in sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, or Oceania.
There are many ways in which humans and aliens could engage in first contact. This exhibit will explore some of the forms that these types of stories can take and what messages they may have for us here on Earth. Each display case focuses on a single theme or type of human-alien encounter with examples pulled from the Eaton Collection. However, it is rare that a book is limited to a single theme, so many of the examples in this exhibit will be present in more than one category.
View the exhibit Monday through Friday in Special Collections & University Archives from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Print Materials
Special Collections holds a number of rare books, journals, pamphlets, individual leaves, and other print materials, many of which are related to and complement our archival collecting areas in Special Collections.
In addition to those print materials, Special Collection also holds strong collections of various print materials in the following areas:
Scholars of Future-Past(s)
On Thursday, June 17, the UCR Library will broadcast the next in its series, Faculty Profiles in Research, Art and Innovation.
The panel discussion, “Scholars of Future-Past(s): Speculative Fictions, Pedagogy, and the Critical Archive,” will explore afrofuturism and expanding the conversation regarding using comics and graphic novels as an effective medium to communicate their research, as well as exploring traditions of speculative thought.
The four panelists are UC Riverside professors from the Science Fiction research cluster at UC Riverside: Nalo Hopkinson, John Jennings, Andre Carrington, and Sherryl Vint. Their conversation will explore the intersections among speculative fiction, science and technology studies (STS), afrofuturism, and traditions of speculative thought, including the panelists’ current research projects.
Join us on June 17 from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. for this panel discussion about how Science Fiction research is helping us come to terms with the past and shape the future. Please RSVP to save your seat, as space is limited.
The Speculative Fictions and Cultures of Science (SFCS) program offers a Designated Emphasis at the PhD level and an undergraduate minor.
Those interested in supporting the series, Faculty Profiles in Research, Art, and Innovation, are encouraged to contact Jernine McBride, the Associate Director of Development for the UCR Library.
Robert L. Forward Papers
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
The Robert L. Forward papers contain official documents, literary works, correspondence, memorabilia, scientific research, and the personal library of Dr. Robert L. Forward, an American physicist and prolific science-fiction author. The bulk of the papers pertain to Dr. Forward's scientific and literary careers, though material regarding personal accomplishments and activities is also included.
Eaton Collection pieces featured in “Mundos Alternos” exhibition
Select pieces from The Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy will be included in an upcoming UCR ARTSblock exhibition.
Mundos Alternos: Art and Science Fiction in the Americas will feature the work of artists from various Latin American countries and Latino artists based in the United States, in addition to eleven pieces from the Eaton, including some acquired from noted scholars of Ciencia Ficcion Moisés Hassón, Itala Schmelz, and Miguel Ángel Fernández Delgado.
“Alternative Futurisms are an important area of collecting for the Eaton,” explained JJ Jacobson, Jay Kay and Doris Klein Librarian for Science Fiction. “So this opportunity to have the public encounter some of our works of Futurismo Latino so richly contextualized by the range and scope of Mundos Alternos is very exciting for us.”
“The library is delighted to be part of Mundos Alternos for many, many reasons, but we are particularly pleased that the focus on Latino American art and culture aligns so well with our campus community,” said Alison Scott, Associate University Librarian for Collections. “It’s also a great pleasure to be part of a collaboration with The Getty Foundation.”
Mundos Alternos is part of a larger endeavor entitled Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA, which has 70 cultural institutions across southern California participating in local exhibitions. Pacific Standard Time is funded by The Getty Foundation and sponsored by Bank of America.
The opening of Mundos Alternos will be held on the evening of Sept. 30 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. It will coincide with the debut of Myth & Mirage: Inland Southern California, Birthplace of the Spanish Colonial Revival, another exhibition that is part of the larger Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA endeavor, presented by the Riverside Art Museum.
For more information about the exhibition opening, see: artsblock.ucr.edu/Exhibition/mundos-alternos
To learn more about the Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative, please visit: pacificstandardtime.org
William Hope Hodgson Papers
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
William Hope Hodgson (1877-1918) was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, photographer, lecturer, sailor, soldier, and bodybuilder. He is best known as the author of the weird fiction novels The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912), and as the creator of the character Carnacki, the Ghost Hunter.
Research material in the collection includes: