Education

  • 1991–98, University of Kansas, Lawrence, PhD, English; dissertation: “Refiguring Historical Time: The Alternate History.”
  • 1989–91, University of Kansas, Lawrence, MA, English; thesis: “Archipelagoes of Stars: The Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith.”
  • 1984–88, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, BA, English; certified to teach high school.

Present employment

2000–present, freelance copyeditor and writer, Jay, ME

  • Electronically prepare and copyedit manuscripts.
  • Typeset manuscripts in SGML/XML, Word Styles, or other systems, using specifications provided by the client.

Books

  • Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse, eds. The Fan Fiction Studies Reader. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2014.
  • Karen Hellekson, Craig Jacobsen, Patrick Sharp, and Lisa Yaszek, eds. Practicing Science Fiction: Critical Essays on Writing, Reading and Teaching the Genre. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.
  • Karen Hellekson and Kristina Busse, eds. Fan Fiction and Fan Communities in the Age of the Internet. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006.
  • Karen Hellekson. The Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith: Archipelagoes of Stars. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001.
  • Karen Hellekson. The Alternate History: Refiguring Historical Time. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2001.

Journals

  • Founding coeditor, with Kristina Busse, Transformative Works and Cultures (2008–22).
  • Coeditor, with Craig Jacobsen, Science Fiction Research Association Review (1998–2000 and 2008–10).

Teaching experience

  • Instructor, fall 2009, University of Maine, Augusta: Prepare and teach an online-only upper-level course about topics in science fiction.
  • Instructor, spring 2003, University of Maine, Farmington: Prepare and teach an upper-level course about science fiction after 1950.
  • Instructor, fall 2002, University of Maine, Augusta: Prepare and teach an upper-level course about science fiction.
  • Graduate teaching assistant, 1991–96, University of Kansas, Lawrence: Prepare and teach freshman- and sophomore-level composition and literature classes; integrate computer-assisted instruction into the classroom; Outstanding Instructor Award, English Department, 1996.

Academic publications

  • “Audio Dramas.” In New Routledge Companion to Science Fiction, edited by Mark Bould, Andrew M. Butler, and Sherryl Vint, 162–71. New York: Routledge, 2024.
  • “Underground Airlines, Entropy, and Dehumanization.” In Alternative Realities: New Challenges for American Literature in the Era of Trump, edited by Dolores Resano, 183–97. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
  • “Fandom History.” In The Routledge Companion to “Star Trek,” edited by Sabrina Mittermeier, Leimar Garcia-Siino, and Stefan Rabitsch, 221–30. New York: Routledge, 2022.
  • “Agency and Contingency in Televisual Alternate History Texts.” In Sideways in Time: Critical Essays on Alternate History Fictions and Counterfactual Narratives, edited by Glyn Morgan and C. Palmer-Patel, 170–85. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2019.
  • “Audio as a New Frontier for Science Fiction.” Invited remarks, special section, “Extrapolation at Sixty.” Extrapolation 60 (2019): 107–8.
  • “The Dual Finale of Ashes to Ashes.” In Finale: Considering the Ends of Television Series: From “Howdy Doody” to “Girls,” edited by Douglas L. Howard and David Bianculli, 14–19. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2018.
  • “Fandom and Fan Culture in the Golden Age and Beyond.” In The Cambridge History of Science Fiction, edited by Gerry Canavan and Eric Carl Link. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
  • “The Fan Experience.” In A Companion to Media Fandom and Fan Studies, edited by Paul Booth, 65–76. New York: Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
  • “Doctor Who Unbound and Alternate History.” In “Doctor Who” and History: Critical Essays on Imagining the Past, edited by Carey Fleiner and Dene October, 118–31. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017.
  • “Making Use Of: The Gift, Commerce, and Fans.” In “In Focus: Feminism and Fandom Revisited,” edited by Kristina Busse. Cinema Journal 54 (2015): 125–31.
  • “Fandom and Fan Culture.” In The Cambridge Companion to American Science Fiction, edited by Eric Carl Link and Gerry Canavan, 153–63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
  • “Paul McGann.” In “The Many Doctors Symposium,” Science Fiction Film and Television 7 (2014): 238–40.
  • “Fan Fiction.” In The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media, edited by Marie-Laure Ryan, Lori Emerson, and Benjamin J. Robertson, 188–90. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014.
  • “Forbrydelsen, The Killing, Duty, and Ethics.” In Remake Television: Reboot, Re-use, Recycle, edited by Carlen Lavigne, 131–40. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield/Lexington Books, 2014.
  • “‘Doctor Who Unbound,’ the Alternate History and the Fannish Text.” In Doctor Who: Fan Phenomena, edited by Paul Booth, 128–35. Chicago: Intellect, 2013.
  • Kristina Busse and Karen Hellekson. “Identity, Ethics, and Fan Privacy.” In Fan Culture, edited by Katherine Larsen and Lynn Zubernis, 38–56. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2012.
  • “Creating a Fandom via YouTube: Verbotene Liebe and Fansubbing.” In New Media Literacies and Participatory Popular Culture across Borders, edited by Bronwyn T. Williams and Amy A. Zenger, 180–92. New York: Routledge, 2012.
  • “Fan Fiction.” In Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction, edited by Leigh Ronald Grossman, 619–21. n.p.: Wildside Press, 2011.
  • “Memory and the 1996 American Remake of Doctor Who.” In American Remakes of British Television: Transformations and Mistranslations, edited by Carlen Lavigne and Heather Marcovitch, 159–72. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2011.
  • “History, the Trace, and Fandom Wank.” In Writing and the Digital Generation: Essays on New Media Rhetoric, edited by Heather Urbanski, 58–69. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010.
  • “A Fannish Field of Value: Online Fan Gift Culture.” In “In Focus: Fandom and Feminism,” edited by Kristina Busse. Cinema Journal 48 (2009): 113–18.
  • “Alternate History.” In The Routledge Companion to Science Fiction, edited by Mark Bould, Andrew M. Butler, Adam Roberts, and Sherryl Vint, 453–57. London: Routledge, 2009.
  • “From Irrelevance to On-Demand: Changing Models of Dissemination.” FlowTV, January 31, 2008. http://flowtv.org/?p=1140
  • “Confronting Enterprise Slash Fan Fiction.” Extrapolation 44 (2003): 69–82. (Bylined under a pseudonym.) Reprinted in Youth Subcultures: Exploring Underground America, edited by Arielle Greenberg, 86–97. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007.
  • “Alternate History and Dislocation in Joanna Russ’s The Female Man.” In Classic and Iconoclastic Alternate History Science Fiction, edited by Edgar Chapman, 209–24. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2003.
  • “Transforming the Subject: Humanity, the Body, and Posthumanism.” SFRA Review 251 (March–April 2001): 3–7.
  • “Toward a Taxonomy of the Alternate History.” Extrapolation 41 (2000): 248–56.
  • Foreword, with James Gunn, to Marleen Barr’s edited volume Future Females, the Next Generation, ix–xi. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
  • “Leaving the Academy.” Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 31 (1998): 1–5.
  • “Doctor Who Fans Rewrite Their Program: Mini-UNIT Minstrels as Creative Consumers of Media.” Popular Culture Review 8 (1997): 97–108.
  • “Poul Anderson’s Time Patrol as Anti–Alternate History.” Extrapolation 37 (1996): 234–44.
  • Summary and analysis of Ward Moore’s Bring the Jubilee. In Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, edited by A. J. Sobczak, 105–6. Pasadena, CA: Salem, 1996.
  • “Ria and Carola: Cordwainer Smith’s Mainstream Fiction.” Japanese- and English-language international magazine Alpha Ralpha Boulevard 10 (1995): 9–14. Japanese translation by Rei Sakaki.
  • “James Gunn Talks about the Science Fiction Institute.” Kiosk 9 (1993): 17–22.
  • “An Interview with Denise Low.” Cottonwood 48 (1993): 70–80, 97–98.
  • “Never Never Underpeople: Cordwainer Smith’s Humanity.” Extrapolation 34 (1993): 123–30.
  • Various book reviews published in the Science Fiction Research Association Review, Publishers Weekly, Science Fiction Studies, and Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts.

Academic presentations

  • “Transformative Works and Cultures” (invited). “Feminist Open Access and Internet Publishing,” History and Theory of New Media Symposium, University of California, Berkeley, online, March 2020.
  • “Underground Airlines, Entropy, and Dehumanization.” Alternative Realities: New Challenges for American Literature in the Era of Trump, UCD Clinton Institute, Dublin, Ireland, December 2019.
  • “Agency and Contingency in Counterpart.” Science Fiction Research Association, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI, June 2019.
  • “Agency and Contingency in Televisual Alternate History Texts.” Invited keynote, Sideways in Time: Alternate History Conference, University of Liverpool in association with Lancaster University, Liverpool, March 2015.
  • “Affirmational and Transformational Doctor Who Fan Videos.” Invited keynote, World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), London, August 2014.
  • “Transformational Fans of Doctor Who.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 35), Orlando, FL, March 2014.
  • “Academics, Ethics, and Private Fan Activities in Public Spaces,” with Kristina Busse. Media in Transition (MiT 8), MIT, Cambridge, MA, May 2013.
  • “Doctor Who Unbound, Alternate History, and the Fannish Text.” Science Fiction Research Association/Eaton Conference, Riverside, CA, April 2013.
  • Interview with scholar guest of honor Constance Penley; and introduction at scholar guest of honor lunchtime talk (invited), International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 34), Orlando, FL, March 2013.
  • “Fan-Created Canon: Doctor Who Recons.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 34), Orlando, FL, March 2012.
  • “Labor, Fandom, and Kerfuffles.” Console-ing Passions, Boston, July 2012.
  • “Fandom Kerfuffles as Expressions of Agency.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 32), Orlando, FL, March 2011.
  • “Memory and the 1996 American Remake of Doctor Who.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 31), Orlando, FL, March 2010.
  • “Intellectual Property, Transformation, and Academic Journals” (invited). Sixth Annual IP/Gender Conference, “Female Fan Culture and Intellectual Property,” American University Washington College of Law, Washington, DC, April 2009.
  • “SF Fan Wikis: Source, Reference, World.” Science Fiction Research Association, Lawrence, KS, July 2008.
  • “Fandom Wank and History.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 29), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 2008.
  • “Fan Fiction and the Gift: Writer, Reader, Text.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 26), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 2005.
  • “Bridging the Gap: Writing Slash for Myself.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 25), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 2004.
  • “Busting the Canon: Enterprise Slash Fan Fiction.” International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA 24), Ft. Lauderdale, FL, March 2003.
  • “C. L. Moore’s ‘No Woman Born’ and the Cyborg.” Maine Women’s Studies Conference, Orono, November 2000.
  • “Teaching Joan Slonczewski’s The Children Star.” Chair of panel audiotaped for transcription and publication in the Science Fiction Research Association Review. Science Fiction Research Association, Cleveland, OH, June 2000.
  • “What Else is Graduate School Good For? Rethinking Graduate Education for Work Outside the Academy.” Midwest Modern Language Association, St. Louis, MO, November 1998.
  • “H. Beam Piper’s Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen: Parallel Worlds and Agency.” Great Plains Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Lincoln, NE, April 1998.
  • “Science Fiction and the Explicit Use of Place.” Panel discussion. Conference on Literature and Composition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, October 1997.
  • “William Gibson and Bruce Sterling’s The Difference Engine: Simulation and Historical Representation.” Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, San Antonio, TX, March 1997.
  • “Brian Aldiss’s The Malacia Tapestry: Science Fiction and Change.” Midwest Modern Language Association, Minneapolis, MN, November 1996.
  • “Élisabeth Vonarburg’s Reluctant Voyagers: The Real Borders the Simulacrum.” Midwest Modern Language Association, Minneapolis, MN, November 1996.
  • “The Man in the High Castle and Temporality.” Science Fiction Research Association, Eau Claire, WI, June 1996.
  • “Forum on Yale University: Graduate Students, Unionization, and Higher Education.” Panel discussion. Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition Special Forum, March 1996.
  • “Creative Consumers of Media: Mini-UNIT Minstrels.” Great Plains Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association, Sioux City, IA, October 1995.
  • “Science Fiction in the Classroom.” Panel discussion. Conference on Literature and Composition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, October 1995.
  • “Bring the Jubilee as First Contact.” Frontiers in the American Imagination, Augustana College, Rock Island, IL, March 1995.
  • “Television and the Truth: LA Law and Rescue 911.” Popular Culture Association, Chicago, IL, April 1994.
  • “Archipelagoes of Stars: Cordwainer Smith’s Literary Journey from ‘The Colonel Came Back from the Nothing-at-All’ to ‘Drunkboat.'” Science Fiction Research Association, Reno, NV, June 1993.
  • “‘We Can Remember It for You Wholesale’ and Total Recall as Dream Narrative.” Popular Culture Association, New Orleans, LA, April 1993.
  • “Never Never Underpeople: Cordwainer Smith’s Humanity.” Graduate Student Colloquium, University of Kansas, Lawrence, November 1992.
  • “Cordwainer Smith’s Science Fiction.” Conference on Literature and Composition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, October 1992.
  • “Rethinking the Science Fiction Canon.” Firing the Canon: Power, Authority, and Dissent in Literature and Film, St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO, March 1992.
  • “Reassessing the Science Fiction Canon.” Conference on Literature and Composition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, October 1991.
  • “Graduate Student Perspectives in Science Fiction Scholarship.” Conference on Literature and Composition, University of Kansas, Lawrence, October 1990.

Dissertation

“Refiguring Historical Time: The Alternate History” analyzes the alternate history, a subgenre of science fiction literature, using historiography and philosophical conceptions of time and narrative. Analysis informed by hermeneutic philosophical concerns posed by Ricoeur, as well as with reference to Ankersmit, White, and Hegel, among others, indicates that the alternate history provides a disruption not only in history but in traditional configurations and conceptions of time—conceptions articulated through narrative. The alternate history provides an ideal opening for exploration of achronological and ahistorical conceptions of time. (Directed by James Gunn.)

Teaching and research interests

  • Alternate history, particularly TV shows/miniseries.
  • Audio dramas and podcasts.
  • Doctor Who, particularly the Eighth Doctor.
  • Fan, media, and popular culture studies.
  • Golden Age science fiction.
  • Noncanonical and genre literature, including science fiction, romance, westerns, and horror.
  • Old-time radio.
  • Science fiction as literature, as artifact, and as genre.
  • Technical and scientific writing and editing.
  • Technology and its relationship to literature.

Service, academic activities, and honors

  • Registrar and membership coordinator, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, 2016–21.
  • Chair, Academic Journal group, Organization for Transformative Works, 2008– .
  • Chair, academic programming, Science Fiction Research Association, Lawrence, KS, 2008.
  • Member, International Association for the Fantastic in the Arts, 2003– .
  • Jury, Sidewise Award (best alternate history), 2003–6, 2014– .
  • Mary Kay Bray Award (best article), for “Transforming the Subject: Humanity, the Body, and Posthumanism” (SFRA Review #251, March/April 2001), 2001.
  • Outstanding Instructor Award, English Department, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 1996.
  • President, Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition (GTAC, affiliated with Kansas Association of Public Employees and the American Federation of Teachers), 1995–97.
  • Member, GTAC Steering Committee, 1995–97.
  • Member, Graduate Student Council Executive Council, 1994–96.
  • Graduate and Professional Association (Graduate Student Council) representative, 1993–95.
  • Kenneth Rockwell Award (for critical writing), 1992.
  • Treasurer, Student Association of Graduate English, 1991–93.
  • Member, Science Fiction Research Association, 1990– .