Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay

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Phone +47 22857415
Room PAM 410
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Visiting address Niels Henrik Abels vei 36 P. A. Munchs hus 0371 OSLO
Postal address Postboks 1010 Blindern 0315 Oslo

I work on contemporary future fictions and science fiction from a science and technology perspective. I work on multiple media, including texts, graphic novels, films and tv, video games, and visual arts.

My work *back in the day* has been on the connections between literature, science, and technology, especially in the colonial period. I spent a year (2014-15) post-PhD pursuing a bachelors degree in zoology, which I quit to pursue three years of postdoctoral research on modern medical databases, infrastructures, and classification systems. My plan is to finish that degree someday...

At present, I am Principal Investigator of the European Research Council project "CoFutures" and of the Norwegian Research Council project "Science Fictionality". I am also the first ever recipient of the European Research Council Proof of Concept grant for humanities in Norway, and joint first for the University of Oslo. I established and run the Holodeck (the Games Research Lab), which is the University of Oslo's only lab dedicated to research on video games. I have written numerous essays and articles, as well as written, edited, and translated books on my core area of research. My work has been translated into ten languages. 

I am co-founder and former manager of Theory from the Margins, which has developed into a research collective with over 16,000 members and followers worldwide. I have produced the documentary film Kalpavigyan: A Speculative Journey (2021), which has been screened in 12 film festivals worldwide, won three best documentary awards, and received several other recognitions. Notable awards include grants from the European Research Council (2020), one of the most prestigious research grants in the world, various prestigious grants from the Norwegian Research Council (2018, 2020, 2022), the World Fantasy Award (2020), a top award in the field of speculative fiction, the Johannes H Berg Prize (2019) for fandom activities and SF popularization, the Foundation Essay Prize (2017), and the Strange Horizons Readers' Poll Award (2014). 


FAQ

Office hours: If I am not in meetings or at events, I am usually available 8AM - 4PM Oslo/Norway time. Note 1: Please book an appointment with me over email if you would like to meet. Note 2: I'm not available on email outside office hours.

Supervision: I supervise and mentor research (Postdoc, PhD, MA, BA) in the field of speculative fiction (science fiction and fantasy), transmedial and contemporary narrative theory, culture studies (especially popular culture and theory), video games, futures research, comics studies, design and visual arts (connected to futures and speculative materials), and film studies. Note: Until end-2024, I'm not available for general supervision as I am managing research projects and related supervision only.

How to address me in emails: Please don't call me "sir". Feel free to call me Bodhisattva or use the polite/formal Dr. Chattopadhyay. If in doubt, use the polite form. Here in Norway and generally Nordic contexts, we don't really care and calling people by their first name without asking for their permission first is usually fine. *Note that using first names or not using the polite form is often regarded extremely poorly in many other contexts, since there are gendered, ethnic, and ageist biases in how we choose to address people.1 2 3 4

Getting in touch

SFF Fandom family: I always have time or make time for a chat, so feel free to send an email. Especially so for PhD students and ECRs in the field of science fiction, fantasy, or speculative futures thinking more generally.

Collaborations: I collaborate with and am interested in collaborating with people across a range of disciplines. If you have an idea or project that requires science fiction or futures studies expertise, please feel free to write in!

Lectures / workshops: Depends on my schedule, but usually yes.

Translation and reprint rights: I am generally happy to offer permissions for translations and reprints. Just send me an email. 


ABOUT MY WORK

The main projects I lead are:

 European Research Council H2020-StG project "CoFutures: Pathways to Possible Presents" (2020-24) (connect)

 European Research Council Proof of Concept "CoFutures Literacy" (2023-24) 

 Norwegian Research Council FRIPRO-YRT Project "Science Fictionality" (2020-24) 

 Norwegian Research Council FORSTERK Project "Beyond Barcode" (2022-24) 

My other projects are

Lifetimes: A Natural History of the Present (NFR FRIPRO Toppforsk). (As Co-I)

Anthropogenic Soils (NFR Fellesløft). (As Co-I)

neoMONSTERS (EU H2020 MSCA). (Advisor)

Climate Fiction and Climate Justice in South Asia, with Joey Eschrich and Vandana Singh, an anthology of original fiction and non-fiction interventions in the field of climate change focusing on South Asia.

I am producer of the documentary film Kalpavigyan: A Speculative Journey, the first documentary on Bangla Kalpavigyan and Indian Science Fiction, directed by Arunava Gangopadhyay and co-scripted by us. The film, released in 2021, has been selected and awarded at numerous film festivals worldwide. 

I am co-founder of Theory from the Margins, a research collective based in Oslo which organizes webinars, with over 16000 members and followers worldwide.

***

2018 - : I am Series Editor (with Taryne Jade Taylor) for the Routledge Book Series: Studies in Global Genre Fiction.

‣ 2021 - :  I serve on the editorial advisory board of Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research.

‣ 2022 - : I serve on the advisory board of Bloomsbury Cultural History.

***

2018 - : I am a fellow of the Imaginary College, Center for Science and the Imagination, Arizona State University (https://csi.asu.edu/imaginary-college/ ).

***

I have taught futures and futuring workshops worldwide, and served as a consultant on national and international futures projects. I am also consultant with Project Unsung for the Innovations service at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 

***

I have held fellowships and visiting researcher positions at the Center for Advanced Study at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2018-19), at the Evoke Lab/Calit 2 and the Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine (2015-16), as well as the Science Fiction Foundation, University of Liverpool (2011-12). 

***

Former projects I have been part of include

‣ Academic Research Projects: Synchronizing the World (NFR-SAMKUL), Lifetimes of Epidemics (NFR-SAMKUL, as Co-I).

Artistic Research Projects: The Kalpana: Maps and Prototypes of Science Fictional Presences, an artistic research project on the desert with artists Susanne M. Winterling and Goutam Ghosh (completed).

I served as co-Editor-in-Chief of Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Fiction and Fantasy Research (Finfar, Finland), and as co-editor of the Journal of Science Fiction (MOSF, Washington, DC).

 

Tags: Science Fiction, kalpavigyan, Global Futures, Global Futurisms, Future Studies, Futures, CoFutures, Futures, future studies, futures literacy, postcolonialism, postcolonial studies, climate fiction, game studies, video games, quantum fiction, Anthropocene, Environmental Humanities

Publications

  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Beasts and Burdens: Some Thoughts on the Conditionally Human. In Ween, Gro Birgit & Lundblad, Michael (Ed.), Control: Attempting to Tame the World. Pax Forlag. ISSN 9788253043609. p. 279–285.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). An Excellent and Much Needed History of Indian SF. Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729. 49(2), p. 376–378.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Winterling, Susanne (2022). Science Fictionality and the dependence on other species. In Winterling, Susanne (Eds.), Pandora's Box. Archive Books. ISSN 978-3-948212-65-0.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Language and Communication. In Garcia-Siino, Leimar; Rabitsch, Stefan & Mittermeier, Sabrina (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Star Trek. Routledge. ISSN 9780367366674. p. 366–374.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Speculative Futures of Global South Infrastructures. In Iossifova, Deljana (Eds.), Urban Infrastructuring: Reconfigurations, Transformations and Sustainability in the Global South. Springer. ISSN 978-9811683510. p. 297–308.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Fiktionaliseringen av framtider. 20tal. ISSN 2000-5350. p. 26–31.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Manifestos of Futurisms. Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. ISSN 0306-4964. 50(2), p. 8–23. Full text in Research Archive
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). The Pandemic That Was Always Here, and Afterward: from Futures to CoFutures. Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729. 47(3). Full text in Research Archive
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Mandhwani, Aakriti & Maity, Anwesha (2019). "Indian Genre Fiction: Languages, Literatures, Classifications". In Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Mandhwani, Aakriti & Maity, Anwesha (Ed.), Indian Genre Fiction: Pasts and Future Histories. Routledge. ISSN 9781138559981. p. 1–14.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Tarkovsky’s Solaris. In Levy, Michael & Mendlesohn, Farah (Ed.), Aliens in Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. ISSN 978-1440838323.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Mœbius. In Levy, Michael & Mendlesohn, Farah (Ed.), Aliens in Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. ISSN 978-1440838323.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Bowker, Geoffrey C. (2019). Ant Network Theory. Nature and Culture. ISSN 1558-6073. 5, p. 26–49.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Lem Cells. Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. ISSN 0306-4964. 47(2). Full text in Research Archive
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Rev of “Robot Ecology and the Science Fiction Film by J. P. Telotte. Routledge, 2016.”. Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). The Urban in Posthuman Science Fiction. In Iossifova, Deljana (Eds.), Defining the Urban: Interdisciplinary and Professional Perspectives. Routledge. ISSN 9781472449528.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). Kalpavigyan and Imperial Technoscience: Three Nodes of an Argument. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. ISSN 0897-0521. 28(1). doi: 10.5621/sciefictstud.43.3.0435. Full text in Research Archive
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). Speculative Utopianism in Kalpavigyan: Mythologerm and Women’s Science Fiction. Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. ISSN 0306-4964. 46(2). Full text in Research Archive
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). On The Mythologerm: Kalpavigyan and the Question of Imperial Science. Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729. 43(3), p. 435–458. doi: 10.5621/sciefictstud.43.3.0435.

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  • Taylor, Taryne Jade; Lavender III, Isiah; Dillon, Grace L. & Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2023). The Routledge Handbook of CoFuturisms. Routledge. ISBN 9780367330613. 750 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Meteotopia: Futures of Climate (In)Justice. Future Fiction. ISBN 9788832077483. 216 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Kalicalypse: Subcontinental Science Fiction. Future Fiction. ISBN 9788832077513. 335 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Goutam Ghosh: Three Flowers Measured in a White Evening Star. Kunsthaus Hamburg. 257 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Matti Braun. Snoeck. ISBN 978-3-86442-310-9. 160 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Mandhwani, Aakriti & Maity, Anwesha (2019). Indian Genre Fiction: Pasts and Future Histories. Routledge. ISBN 9781138559981. 212 p.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Alle Grenser er Midlertidige: 10 undersøkelser. Transnational Arts Production. ISBN 9788269024111. 48 p.

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  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Fremtidstenkning. Nytt Norsk Tidsskrift. ISSN 0800-336X. 39(2), p. 269–274.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Futures from the Margins.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). The CoFuturisms Bibliography.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2022). Fictioning the Futures of Climate Change. Fafnir. ISSN 2342-2009. 9(1), p. 7–12.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). xPass: Or an Identity Paper in Three Parts. In Parater, Lauren (Eds.), Project Unsung: UNHCR Innovations. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. p. 48–54.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Kalpavigyan: A Speculative Journey.
  • Wang, Kanyu & Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Fiction and Future.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). “Jagadish Chandra Bose and the anticolonial politics of science fiction.” Podcast by Christin Höne. Journal of Commonwealth Literature Podcast Series. .
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Writing Weird Fiction.” TV Panel Discussion. Coffee Table with Mina Malik-Hussain. Indus News. [TV]. TV.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Decolonizing Futures.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Thorsson, Bergsveinn; Brock, Patrick; Wang, Kanyu & Tveit, Marta (2021). Imagination Workshop.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2021). The Cunning of Genre Violence: Lila Abu-Lughod.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Wang, Kanyu (2021). Chinese Science Fiction Database: Feng Zhang.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2021). Is it possible to decolonize Anthropology: Kamari M Clarke and Ryan C Jobson.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre; Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya & Finbog, Liisa-Ravna (2021). Our History is the Future: Nick Estes.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2021). Stuart Hall: Paul Gilroy and Ruth Wilson Gilmore.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2021). “Neither Settler nor Native: Mahmood Mamdani.” .
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Tveit, Marta (2021). Africanfuturism with Dilman Dila.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Futures from the Global South.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). CoFutures.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Speculative Infrastructures: The Future City and the Anthropocene.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Retrofuturism in the Ruins: Futures after Utopia.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Speculative Soils.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). “Why are Narratives Important?”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). “Fiction and the Future.” .
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2021). Speculative Futures of Global South Infrastructures.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Thorsson, Bergsveinn; Kanyu Wang, Regina & Larose, Tricia Lynn Lois (2021). Speculative Space Futures .
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Speculative Fiction in Indian Literature.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Bowker, Geoffrey C. (2020). Immunity, Community, and ANT Theory.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Decolonize the Future Panel.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Afrofuturism.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Conversation with ERC Grantee and Evaluator.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). “CSI Skill Tree: Alpha Centauri.” .
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2020). I am the People: Partha Chatterjee.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2020). Superior: Angela Saini.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2020). Out of the Dark Night: Achille Mbembe.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Sen, Moumita; Bangstad, Sindre & Batmanghelichi, Kristin Soraya (2020). On Decoloniality: Walter D Mignolo.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2020). Science Fiction for Beginners.
  • Pepe, Teresa; Parslow, Joakim & Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Workshop: Future Histories of the Middle East and South Asia.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Science Fictionality and Speculative Futures.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Future Histories from the Middle East and South Asia: Introduction.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva; Jia, Xia & Yao, Wang (2019). The Common People’s Life in the Near Future.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). CoFutures Comment #2.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). CoFutures Comment #3.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Retrofuturism in the Ruins of History.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Rev. of “Speculative Realism and Science Fiction, by Brian Willems, Edinburgh UP, 2017” . SFRA Review. ISSN 2641-2837.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Rev. of “Lingua Cosmica: Science Fiction from Around the World, edited by Dale Knickerbocker, University of Illinois Press, 2018.” . Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. ISSN 0306-4964. 131.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2019). Review of "Other Worlds and the Narrative Construction of Otherness, edited by E. Adami, F. Bellino, and A. Mengozzi, Mimesis International, 2017." . Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729. 46(1), p. 394–397.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Jordheim, Helge (2019). Multiple Times of Everpresence.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Quantum Fiction and New Forms of Time.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Syncing Futures.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Atemporal Futures in Early Bangla Kalpavigyan.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). 200 Years of Genre.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Frankenstein's Descendants.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). Disorient the Planet-Now! Science Fiction Studies. ISSN 0091-7729. 45(2), p. 377–380.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2018). “Heresies: Science Fictionality and Making of Futures.” Podium.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva & Wiedlocha, Julia (2017). On Stanislaw Lem, with Pawel Frelik, Agnieszka Gajewska and Julia Wiedlocha.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). Epic Heroes on a Postcolonial Planet.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). "Science fiction and the social imagination".
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). NORCON28.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). "Robots and Rights: Automatons, Artificial Intelligences: Where are we headed?”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). "Is Science Fiction still Science Fiction when it is written on Saturn? (or Aliens, Alienation and Science Fiction".
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2017). Rev. of "Magid, Annette M., ed. Apocalyptic Projections: A Study of Past Predictions, Current Trends and Future Intimations as Related to Film and Literature.". Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts. ISSN 0897-0521. 28(1).
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). Ecotopia 2121 by Alan Marshall. Strange Horizons.
  • Stene, Øystein; Haug, Hallvard & Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). Samtale om science fiction-litteratur, trans- og posthumanisme og teater.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). “Pathways to Possible Worlds: Science Fiction and Sustainability”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). Rev. of “The Return of Vaman: A Scientific Novel. Springer Books, 2015.” Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction 123. (2016.)116-119. . Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction. ISSN 0306-4964.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). “Adventures in Orientalist Pharmacognosy: Translating and Synchronizing Botanical Knowledge.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). “Redefining Science in IWE Women’s Literature.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). “The Outcast City.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2016). “Genre-making.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2015). “Designing Utopia.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2015). “Materia Medicas in the Bengal Renaissance.”.
  • Chattopadhyay, Bodhisattva (2015). “Synchronization in the History of Medicine.”.

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Published Apr. 30, 2015 11:51 AM - Last modified May 8, 2023 4:29 PM