Russell Blackford's program for TorCon 3 (provisional)

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Title: Should Parents of an Unborn Child have the Right to Refuse Fetal Improvement
Day: Fri 29 August 2003. Time: 1200
Duration: 60
Room: CC: 205B
Description: In the near future, it will be possible to screen the unborn for undesirable traits, and perhaps modify such traits in the womb. Do the parents of an "abnormal" or "maladjusted" child have the right to refuse this modification? What about when the state imposes it?
Panellists: Jeanne Cavelos, Russell Blackford, Nancy Kress, Kristine Smith, Jonathon Sullivan
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ID: 308
Title: Singularity for Dummies
Moderate: N
Day: Fri Time: 1300
Duration: 60
Room: CC: 205B
Description: Certain thinkers look forward to a sudden, radical change in human reality, occurring within a human lifespan, caused by progress in artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and related fields. What are they talking about? Why has it been called the Singularity? And is it, as Bruce Sterling has suggested, the Rapture for geeks?
Panellists: Russell Blackford, Andrew Burt, Simon Smith, Eliezer Yudkowsky
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Title: Book Discussion: The Left Hand Of Darkness
Day: Mon Time: 1200
Duration: 60
Room: CC: 206F
Description: Ursula K. LeGuins novel is one of the most-studied and analyzed novels in our genre. How does Gethan society relate to ours? Is it a critique or a metaphor? Does it have any relevance to our world today? It has often been charged that this novel is actually homophobic or androcentric is it? Or are its critics looking for something to complain about?
Panellists: Russell Blackford, Chris Moriarty, Gerri Balter, Michelle West
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Title: Kurt Vonnegut
Day: Fri 29 August 2003. Time: 1600
Duration: 60
Room: CC: 104B
Description: Kurt Vonnegut would certainly be recognized as one of the most popular living science fiction writers -- if he called his work SF. Where do "The Sirens of Titan", "Slaughterhouse-Five", "Cat's Cradle", "Galapagos", and other items in the Vonnegutian oeuvre fall in the history of science fiction? Do you consider his stuff SF? Why doesn't he?
Panellists: Russell Blackford, David Hartwell, Mark A. Rayner, Andrew Weiner
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Title: Globalization and Anti-Americanism
Day: Sat 30 August 2003. Time: 1000
Duration: 60
Room: CC: 104A
Description: The popular concept of Globalization is commonly of homogenization of many facets of life: choice of music, food, clothing are increasingly become less varied, and seemingly more American. Is anti-AMericanism an outgrowth of the growing tide of Anti-Globalization, or are the two unrelated? As SF is mainly an American phenomenon, could there be a backlash against the genre?
Panellists: Russell Blackford, Harry Harrison, Justine Larbalestier, Paul Levinson, Mike Moscoe
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Title: Russell Blackford (Kaffeeklatsch)
Day: Sat 30 August 2003. Time: 1300
Duration: 60
Room: RY: Alberta
Description: Kaffeeklatche
Panellists: Russell Blackford
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Title: Reading
Day: Mon 1 September 2003. Time: 1330
Duration: 0.50
Room: CC: 203C
Description:
Panellists: Russell Blackford
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