Lisa Yaszek

Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies

Member Of:
  • School of Literature, Media, and Communication
  • ADVANCE IAC
Office Phone: 404-894-1022
Office Location: Skiles 306
Related Links:

Overview

Personal Pronouns:
she, her, hers

Lisa Yaszek is Regents’ Professor of Science Fiction Studies at Georgia Tech, where she explores science fiction as a global language crossing centuries, continents, and cultures. Her award-winning books include Sisters of Tomorrow: The First Women of Science Fiction (2016); Literary Afrofuturism in the Twenty-First Century (2021); and The Future is Female! Classic Science Fiction Stories by Women series (2018-present). Dr. Yaszek’s ideas about science fiction as a window into culture have been featured in venues including Time Magazine, The Washington Post, and Space.com, and she has been an expert commentator for CBS Sunday Morning, the BBC4, Turner Classic Movies, and the AMC miniseries James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction. A founding member of the Eugie Award for Short Speculative Fiction, in 2024 Dr. Yaszek received the Science Fiction Research Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions to the study of science, technology, and science fiction across media.

Education:
  • Ph.D. English, University of Wisconsin-Madison, August 1999
  • M.A. English, University of Wisconsin-Madison, August 1992
  • B.A. English, Magna cum Laude, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, May 1991
Awards and
Distinctions:
  • LMC Research Reassignment Time Award, 2025
  • Science Fiction Research Association Lifetime Achievement Award, 2024
  • Georgia Tech Excellence in Teaching CIOS Award, 2023
  • Locus Science Fiction Foundation Award Finalist, 2023
  • Rediscovery 2: Science Fiction by Women (1953-57) Book Dedication, 2022
  • Locus Science Fiction Foundation Award Finalist, 2021
  • Class of 1934 Teaching Effectiveness Award, 2020
  • Ivan Allen College Dean’s Distinguished Research Award, 2019
  • Locus Science Fiction Foundation Award Finalist, 2019
  • Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association Susan Koppelman Award for Best Anthology, Multi-authored, or Edited Book in Feminist Studies, 2017
  • Class of 1940 Teaching Effectiveness Award, 2016
  • Ivan Allen College Curricular Innovation Grant, 2015
  • HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education, 2014
  • Science Fiction Research Association Clareson Award for Distinguished Service, 2014
  • Science Fiction Research Association Mary Kay Bray Writing Award, 2014
  • Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Award for Research, Teaching and Service, 2013
  • Class of 1934 Teaching Effectiveness Award, 2012
  • Ivan Allen College Research Grant, 2012
  • Women, Science and Technology Research Partnership Grant, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018
  • Science Fiction Research Association Research Grant, 2011
  • National Science Foundation Science and Society Research Grant, 2007
  • Science Fiction Research Association Pioneer Writing Award, 2005
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Research Stipend, 2004
  • Class of ’69 Teaching Fellowship, 2002-2003
  • Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellowship, 1999-2000
Areas of
Expertise:
  • Afrofuturism
  • Cultural History
  • Literature
  • Narrative Across Media
  • Science And Technology Studies
  • Science Fiction

Interests

Teaching Interests:
Professor Yaszek teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in science, technology, and literature, including the history of science fiction, futurism in art and culture, and global science fiction. Her teaching integrates research and pedagogy, engaging students in critical analysis of scientific and cultural change while mentoring them in original scholarly and creative inquiry.
Research Interests:
Professor Yaszek’s research examines science fiction as a global mode of cultural expression through which communities interpret scientific and technological change. Her scholarship focuses on recovering lost voices in the field and analyzing contemporary speculative works that address issues of innovation, social transformation, and global futures. This work contributes to interdisciplinary conversations in literary studies, science and technology studies, media studies, and global cultural history.
Research Fields:
  • Literary and Cultural Studies
  • Science and Technology Studies
Issues:
  • Environment
  • Gender
  • Inequality and Social Justice
  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Aesthetics
  • Feminism
  • Human/Machine Interaction
  • Indigenous Studies
  • Language and Popular Culture
  • Literary Theory
  • Literature
  • Media
  • Mediatized Culture
  • Perspectives on technology
  • Science and Technology
  • Social Movements

Courses

  • LCC-3202: Studies in Fiction
  • LCC-3214: Science Fiction
  • LCC-3225: Gender Study-Disciplines
  • LCC-3833: Special Topics in STAC
  • LCC-3843: Spec Topic-Communication
  • LCC-3853: Special Topics in Film
  • LCC-4100: Seminar in STAC
  • LCC-4102: Senior Thesis
  • LCC-4699: Undergraduate Research
  • LMC-2200: Intro to Gender Studies
  • LMC-2698: Research Assistantship
  • LMC-3202: Studies in Fiction
  • LMC-3206: Communication & Culture
  • LMC-3212: Women, Lit & Culture
  • LMC-3214: Science Fiction
  • LMC-3225: Gender Study-Disciplines
  • LMC-3516: Lit & Cultural Modernism
  • LMC-3518: Lit/Cult Postmodernism
  • LMC-3853: Special Topics in Film
  • LMC-4000: Senior Seminar in LMC
  • LMC-4100: Seminar in STAC
  • LMC-4699: Undergraduate Research
  • LMC-6215: Issues in Media Studies
  • LMC-6366: Global Science Fiction
  • LMC-6367: Literary & Cultural Theory
  • LMC-6749: Feminist Theory and STS
  • LMC-8803: Special Topics

Publications

Recent Publications

Book - Editors

Other Publications

All Publications

Book - Editors

Other Publications

Updated:  Feb 14th, 2026 at 10:47 AM