We address future histories as a mode of discourse and thought rather than a genre in order to capture a wider range of phenomena than what has traditionally been the focus of literary studies of science fiction and other genre studies.

By bracketing the question of how the line separating fictional from putatively non-fictional genres is articulated across cultures and languages we leave the door open for studies of speculative uses of technological and scientific references within a wide range of fields, from novels and plays to jurisprudence and engineering. The volume thus seeks to fill a critical gap that exists with respect to future histories in the Middle East and South Asia (MESA) region while at the same time uncovering engagements with science-fictional modes of discourse in speculative non-fiction that might otherwise be overlooked.

The workshop is aimed at a coedited anthology and as a network exercise. It follows the journal special issue workshop on MESA future histories supported by the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (Istanbul, September 2018).

The workshop is for invited guests only.