Presented by Valerie Estelle Frankel

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This session will explore the roles that science fiction and fantasy have played for Jews in expressing emotions and conflicts of different eras. Valerie Frankel will begin with a consideration of how Frankenstein, the first science fiction novel, relates to the legend of the golem and how Kafka’s cockroach story offers a metaphor for Jewish alienation. Moving on to American culture, she will look at Bugs Bunny, Muppets, Mel Brooks, Captain America, and Superman. After exploring the Jewish sensibility and creators behind Doctor Who, The Twilight Zone, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, Frankel will conclude with the fantasy literature of the present day, in which an Orthodox superheroine pauses for Shabbat, a girl time travels with a magic tallit, and Jewish vampires take to the screen.

Valerie Estelle Frankel is the author of more than 80 books on pop culture. Many of her books focus on women’s roles in fiction, from her heroine’s journey guides From Girl to Goddess and Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey to books like Superheroines and the Epic Journey and Women in Game of Thrones. She is the editor of the academic series Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy and is the author of Jewish Science Fiction and Fantasy through 1945 (Lexington Books, 2021). Her 2019 children’s book Chelm for the Holidays was a PJ Library selection. Formerly a lecturer at San Jose State University, she now teaches at Mission College and San Jose City College and speaks often at conferences. To learn more about her research, go to www.vefrankel.com.