Secondary Universe I

Chapter 1: Genesis and Academic Innovation (May 1968)

Secondary Universe I, held May 10-11, 1968 at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, represents a watershed moment in the academic legitimization of science fiction and fantasy studies. Organized by Ivor Rogers, this groundbreaking conference emerged from what was originally conceived as a modest two-hour symposium on “Imagination in the Theatre Arts” but evolved into a comprehensive two-day interdisciplinary exploration of science fiction and fantasy across multiple media and academic disciplines.

The transformation from limited symposium to full conference reflects both the organizers’ recognition of science fiction’s broader cultural significance and the enthusiastic response from academic and fannish communities eager for serious scholarly engagement with genre literature. This expansion demonstrated that science fiction had reached sufficient cultural maturity and intellectual sophistication to sustain sustained academic investigation across multiple fields of inquiry.

The timing of Secondary Universe I coincided with broader cultural shifts of the late 1960s, including increased academic interest in popular culture, expansion of literature departments beyond traditional canons, and growing recognition that science fiction offered unique perspectives on contemporary technological and social transformations. The conference capitalized on these trends while establishing new precedents for academic engagement with genre materials.

Ivor Rogers’ organizational leadership brought together academic credentials with genuine appreciation for science fiction’s cultural significance, creating a model for scholarly engagement that respected both intellectual rigor and fannish enthusiasm. This balanced approach would prove crucial for the conference’s success and its influence on subsequent academic science fiction studies.

Chapter 2: Unprecedented Academic-Fan Convergence

The attendance of over 200 participants, including both academics and fans, marked an unprecedented convergence of scholarly and fannish communities around shared interest in science fiction and fantasy. This demographic mixing created unique opportunities for cultural exchange and mutual education that would influence both academic approaches to science fiction and fannish understanding of scholarly perspectives.

The substantial attendance figures demonstrated significant pent-up demand for serious academic engagement with science fiction, suggesting that both communities had been seeking opportunities for intellectual dialogue that transcended traditional boundaries between academic scholarship and fannish enthusiasm. This convergence validated science fiction’s cultural significance while providing practical demonstration of its capacity to generate serious scholarly interest.

The integration of academic and fannish participants required careful programming and facilitation to ensure productive dialogue across different intellectual traditions and cultural expectations. The successful management of this integration established precedents for future academic science fiction conferences and demonstrated the viability of inclusive approaches to genre scholarship.

The diverse attendance also reflected science fiction’s appeal across multiple demographics and intellectual communities, providing evidence for claims about the genre’s broad cultural relevance and its capacity to address concerns extending far beyond traditional literary or entertainment boundaries.

Chapter 3: Innovative Programming Structure and Interdisciplinary Approach

Secondary Universe I pioneered an interdisciplinary programming structure that acknowledged science fiction’s multimedia nature and its relevance across diverse academic fields. The conference’s organization around multiple formats – theatrical performances, film screenings, keynote addresses, and specialized working groups – demonstrated sophisticated understanding of science fiction’s cultural complexity and scholarly potential.

The Friday evening opening with Ray Bradbury’s plays “To the Chicago Abyss” and “Season of Disbelief” established the conference’s commitment to experiencing science fiction across different media rather than limiting discussion to textual analysis. This performative opening created shared cultural experience that could inform subsequent analytical discussions while demonstrating science fiction’s theatrical possibilities.

The inclusion of Ed Emshwiller’s experimental film “Relativity” followed by the filmmaker’s presentation represented pioneering recognition of science fiction’s visual and cinematic dimensions at a time when academic film studies was still developing as a discipline. This programming choice demonstrated prescient understanding of multimedia approaches to genre studies.

The Saturday programming structure, featuring keynote addresses followed by specialized working groups, balanced comprehensive overviews with detailed exploration of specific topics. This format accommodated both general interest and specialized expertise while encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue and collaborative investigation.

Chapter 4: Literary and Theological Perspectives: Kilby’s Keynote

Clyde S. Kilby’s keynote address on “Morals and Literature” with specific reference to C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien represented sophisticated engagement with fantasy literature’s philosophical and theological dimensions. Kilby’s established scholarship on Lewis provided academic credibility while his focus on moral themes addressed concerns about science fiction and fantasy’s cultural significance and ethical implications.

The choice of Kilby as keynote speaker reflected strategic positioning of the conference within established academic traditions while extending those traditions to encompass previously marginalized genres. His reputation as a serious Lewis scholar lent legitimacy to fantasy studies while his willingness to address science fiction demonstrated the genre’s capacity to attract respected academic attention.

Kilby’s emphasis on moral dimensions of fantastic literature provided framework for understanding science fiction and fantasy as vehicles for serious ethical inquiry rather than mere entertainment or escapism. This approach established precedents for academic engagement that would influence subsequent scholarly approaches to genre literature.

The keynote’s focus on Lewis and Tolkien also reflected the emerging academic recognition of fantasy literature’s artistic achievement and cultural significance, helping to establish critical frameworks that would support continued scholarly attention to both authors and the broader fantasy tradition.

Chapter 5: Specialized Working Groups and Emerging Subfields

The Saturday morning division into specialized working groups – Tolkien studies, science fiction in television and film, and “The New Thing” – demonstrated sophisticated understanding of science fiction and fantasy’s internal diversity and the need for specialized scholarly approaches to different aspects of genre culture and media representation.

The Tolkien working group reflected the emerging academic interest in fantasy literature that would eventually develop into the substantial scholarly field of Tolkien studies. This early recognition of Tolkien’s scholarly significance preceded much broader academic acceptance and demonstrated Secondary Universe I’s prescient identification of important cultural trends.

Gene DeWeese’s presentation on science fiction in television and film addressed media adaptations at a time when such analysis was relatively rare in academic contexts. This attention to multimedia dimensions of science fiction established precedents for media studies approaches that would become increasingly important as television and film became dominant cultural forms.

Samuel R. Delany’s participation in “The New Thing” working group brought together one of science fiction’s most innovative contemporary authors with academic analysis of literary experimentation and cultural change. Delany’s involvement demonstrated the conference’s success in attracting significant creative figures while his focus on experimental approaches addressed science fiction’s ongoing evolution.

Chapter 6: Judith Merril and Genre Inclusivity

Judith Merril’s lunch presentation on science fiction’s increasing inclusivity represented authoritative commentary from one of the field’s most influential editors and critics. Her analysis of science fiction’s expansion to encompass “everything from fairy tales to so-called ‘hard’ science fiction” provided sophisticated understanding of genre boundaries and their ongoing evolution.

Merril’s editorial experience with anthologies and her role in promoting New Wave science fiction qualified her uniquely to address questions about genre definition and cultural significance. Her participation lent credibility to academic engagement with science fiction while her inclusive approach validated diverse approaches to genre study and appreciation.

The focus on inclusivity also reflected broader cultural trends of the 1960s toward expanding literary canons and academic recognition of previously marginalized forms. Merril’s analysis positioned science fiction within these broader movements while maintaining attention to the genre’s distinctive characteristics and cultural functions.

Her presentation’s timing during the lunch break ensured maximum attendance while its focus on genre evolution provided conceptual framework for understanding the diverse materials and approaches featured throughout the conference’s programming.

Chapter 7: Afternoon Sessions and Interdisciplinary Expansion

The afternoon programming’s division into sessions on “SF in Poetry and Music,” “The Twentieth-Century Romance,” and “Science and Literature” demonstrated comprehensive engagement with science fiction’s interdisciplinary connections and cultural influence across multiple fields of inquiry and artistic expression.

The poetry and music session represented pioneering recognition of science fiction’s influence on literary and musical expression beyond prose fiction. This interdisciplinary approach anticipated later developments in science fiction studies that would examine the genre’s cultural influence across multiple artistic media.

Ed Meskys’ last-minute substitution for Bruce Pelz in the “Science and Literature” session illustrated both the conference’s reliance on dedicated participants and the fannish community’s commitment to supporting scholarly engagement with science fiction. This flexibility also demonstrated the overlap between fannish expertise and academic knowledge.

The “Twentieth-Century Romance” session addressed genre relationships and literary historical contexts that would become increasingly important in academic science fiction studies. This attention to broader literary contexts helped establish science fiction studies within existing academic frameworks while maintaining attention to genre specificity.

Chapter 8: Media Studies and Mass Culture Analysis

Phil Klass’s presentation on mass media and science fiction in the late afternoon sessions represented cutting-edge analysis of science fiction’s relationship with emerging media technologies and mass culture. Klass’s expertise as both academic and science fiction author (writing as William Tenn) provided unique perspective on industry practices and cultural influence.

The attention to mass media reflected sophisticated understanding of science fiction’s cultural role beyond literary publication, acknowledging the genre’s influence through television, film, and other popular media forms. This multimedia approach anticipated later developments in media studies and cultural analysis.

The session’s placement in the late afternoon programming ensured substantial attendance while its focus on contemporary media provided relevant analysis of ongoing cultural developments that conference participants could observe and experience in their daily lives.

Klass’s dual identity as academic and creative practitioner also demonstrated the conference’s success in bridging scholarly and creative communities, establishing precedents for ongoing dialogue between academic analysis and industry practice.

Chapter 9: Cultural Impact and Academic Legacy

Secondary Universe I’s success in attracting over 200 participants and generating sufficient enthusiasm to warrant a sequel conference demonstrated the viability of academic science fiction studies and established precedents for ongoing scholarly engagement with genre materials that would influence academic program development for decades.

The conference’s interdisciplinary approach and multimedia programming provided models for comprehensive genre studies that acknowledged science fiction’s cultural complexity while maintaining scholarly rigor. These approaches would influence subsequent academic conference programming and curriculum development in emerging science fiction studies programs.

The successful integration of academic and fannish participants demonstrated that scholarly engagement with science fiction could enhance rather than diminish the genre’s cultural vitality while providing fans with new frameworks for understanding and appreciating their interests and activities.

Secondary Universe I’s influence can be traced through subsequent academic conferences, the development of science fiction studies as an academic discipline, and the ongoing dialogue between scholarly and fannish communities that has enriched both academic understanding and cultural appreciation of science fiction and fantasy.

Chapter 10: Institutional Innovation and Future Development

The transformation of Secondary Universe I from modest symposium to comprehensive conference demonstrated both the organizers’ responsiveness to cultural demand and their recognition of science fiction’s scholarly potential. This adaptive approach established models for academic program development that could respond effectively to emerging cultural interests and scholarly opportunities.

The conference’s success at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, also demonstrated that significant academic innovation could emerge from institutions outside traditional elite academic centers, encouraging broader participation in science fiction studies development and providing models for decentralized scholarly engagement with popular culture.

The decision to organize Secondary Universe II reflected confidence in the academic viability of science fiction studies and commitment to sustained scholarly engagement rather than treating the first conference as an isolated experiment. This continuity helped establish science fiction studies as an ongoing academic enterprise rather than temporary cultural curiosity.

Secondary Universe I’s legacy extends beyond its immediate influence on academic science fiction studies to encompass its demonstration that popular culture materials could sustain serious scholarly investigation while maintaining their cultural vitality and community connections. This balanced approach provided models for academic engagement that respected both intellectual rigor and cultural authenticity.

The conference’s innovative programming, successful community building, and institutional impact established foundations for the continued development of science fiction studies as an academic discipline while demonstrating the broader potential for scholarly engagement with popular culture that would influence academic program development across multiple fields throughout subsequent decades.

Perhaps most significantly, Secondary Universe I proved that academic legitimization of science fiction could enhance rather than diminish the genre’s cultural significance, providing intellectual frameworks that enriched appreciation while respecting the enthusiasm and community values that sustained science fiction culture.

Sources: Conference programs and documentation, contemporary reports in academic and fannish publications, participant accounts and memoirs, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee archives, papers and correspondence of Ivor Rogers, academic journal coverage of early science fiction studies conferences.