Latest Projects

Speculative
Futures

An Australian Research Council funded DECRA grant held by A/Prof Sarah E. Truman. The project (December 2022 - December 2025) focuses on speculative fiction as an interdisciplinary method for thinking about the world and mode of literary engagement in diverse pedagogical settings.

Speculative Futures:

  • foregrounded youth-authored speculative fiction writing in three geographies (Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom) as a method for thinking about the future-present. 70 student stories were published in 'Future Imaginaries' (see below), and are informing academic papers (forthcoming);

  • engaged transdisciplinary scholars who use speculative fiction to think about their own research (see below for edited collection);

  • provided a literature review of speculative fiction on the project's themes based on participants' suggestions (see below).

Research and Teaching with Speculative Fiction (Bloomsbury, 2026)

Research and Teaching with Speculative Fiction features 25 chapters from scholars across disciplines thinking about research using speculative fiction. Each chapter includes discussions of a speculative fiction text, how it relates the scholar’s discipline, and prompts for further thought and teaching.

Edited by Sarah E. Truman
Introduction by Steven Shaviro
Chapters by:

Sikeena Ahmed, Chris Davies, Elizabeth de Freitas, David Fortin, Al Fricker, Kelly Fritsch, Tristan Gleason, Kenia Hale, Max Haiven, Matt Keynes, Yam Lau, Chris Mayes, Sid Mohandas, Danielle Purifoy, Rumen Rachev, Michael Richardson, Michael Salu, David Ben Shannon, Chad Shomura, Phil Crockett Thomas, Ali Rıza Taşkale, Nirmal Vadgama, Ash Watson, Ben Williamson, and Kathryn Yusoff.

Stay tuned for more information.

Researcher on Project

"Sarah E. Truman is an Associate Professor at University of Melbourne whose research focuses on English literary education, cultural studies, and the arts. Dr. Truman is co-director of the Literary Education Lab, and one half of Oblique Curiosities. Dr Truman’s most recent book is Feminist Speculations and the Practice of Research-Creation (Routledge, 2022)."

Sarah E. Truman

University of Melbourne - ARC DECRA Fellow

Other Projects

Latest Live Event

PROJECT LAUNCH: 'READING CLIMATE:' Indigenous Literatures, School English and Sustainability

Thursday, 27th March 2025, 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Conference Room, Level 9,
100 Leicester St, Parkville and online.
Light refreshments will be served
RSVP: deborah.middleton@unimelb.edu.au for
in person attendance or to be sent a zoom link.

Partner Organisations

Stella
Arts Front
Australian Research Council
W
MGSE
UOM