Join us for an exciting webinar that brings the future to the forefront of classroom discussion through the lens of Chinese and Sinophone science fiction. This 90-minute professional development session will explore how speculative fiction reflects the global challenges of today while inspiring students to think critically and creatively about tomorrow.

Led by experts in Chinese literature and education, this session will highlight how works such as Folding Beijing, The Wandering Earth, The Membranes, and Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops engage themes of social inequality, environmental change, technology, identity, and pedagogy. These texts open space for new conversations about cultural imagination, equity, and the role of teachers in shaping future-oriented learning.

Whether you're a literature teacher, a history educator, or simply looking to integrate global perspectives into your curriculum, this webinar offers valuable insights and resources for using genre fiction in meaningful, age-appropriate ways.

🗓️ Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
⏰ Time: 4:00–5:30 PM (PT)
💻 Format: Zoom Webinar (Lecture + Discussion)
🎓 Open to all K–12 educators
📚 Includes classroom-ready resources and discussion guides

Featured Topics & Texts:

Mainland Sci-Fi Primer

• The Wandering Earth by Liu Cixin
  Explore China's global role in a climate-ravaged future. (Film trailer included)

• Folding Beijing by Hao Jingfang (Main Focus)
  A sharply imagined vision of class segregation, labor systems, and social control in a city that folds itself into time-based zones.

Sinophone Voices

• The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei
  A queer dystopian novella set in a post-climate crisis future, offering unique insights from Taiwan’s literary landscape.

• Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops by You Jin (Main Focus)
  A heartfelt pedagogical story exploring student engagement, language learning, and the creative resilience of teachers.

💬 Interactive Format:
Each segment includes time for Q&A and discussion, allowing participants to reflect on how speculative literature can foster empathy, imagination, and critical inquiry in the classroom.

📌 Don’t miss this opportunity to explore bold new texts and innovative teaching strategies for future-focused education!
 

Register Here

Featured Speaker: Dr. Brian Bernards

Brian Bernards is Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Comparative Literature at the University of Southern California. His research focuses on Sinophone literature, Chinese diasporic literature, and transnational Chinese cinema. He is the author of Writing the South Seas: Imagining the Nanyang in Chinese and Southeast Asian Postcolonial Literature and co-editor of Sinophone Southeast Asia: Senses of Place and Cultural Sustainability.

Dr. Bernards regularly teaches courses on modern Chinese literature, Asian cinema, and speculative fiction at USC, and is deeply engaged in public humanities and curriculum development related to global Chinese cultures.

Learn more about him here.