About

Greetings on all hailing frequencies!

My name is Anastasia Klimchynskaya, and I’m an academic and a geek. I’m a graduate student in Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania, where I study the intersections of science and literature in the 19th century, and the way their intertwining created the emergence of science fiction. That’s another way of saying that I’m a huge geek, and I really love science fiction.

At the same time, I really love stories. Humans are storytelling creatures, and the way that narrative imbues every aspect of our lives fascinates me. When those two things – literature and science – come together, a fascinating combination occurs. Since stories imbue every aspect of our lives, they are shaped by – and also shape – every aspect of those lives. In this blog, I hope to understand how stories – and particularly, stories in the media – intersect with science, technology, and fandom to create new technologies, new ideas, new ways of being, and new relationships between fans and creators.

In short, this blog exists at the intersection of science fiction, media and technology, and fandom – a trifecta that, to me, is inseparable, and forms a fascinating combination in shaping the world.

I write about a little bit of everything related to the above topics: literary science fiction from the 19th century, the nature of technobabble, the literary theory behind sci-fi, analyses of TV shows, convention reports, and investigations of the relationship between science fiction and science fact, among numerous other topics. I attend academic conferences, go to fan conventions, keep up with the latest TV shows and review them as a freelance writer, and generally follow trends in sci-fi, media, and geekdom. I’ve presented panels and papers on Sherlock Holmes, Star Trek, seriality, Supernatural, transmedia storytelling, and a number of other related topics. I’ve been a teaching assistant for courses on the history of science, and helped organize Philcon – the Philadelphia Science Fiction conference. I’ve also spent a lot of time binge-watching Netflix. In short, my expertise comes from numerous areas – academic, fannish, and everything in between.

I welcome comments, questions, and interesting discussion; comments are always open on my posts, and I can also be reached by e-mail. Feel free to also click around and check out my other writing at other venues.