TeslaCon is one of the world’s biggest Steampunk conventions. I’ve had the privilege of being a speaker there at prior events, and I’ll be back again this year. Though I’ll be hanging around the convention all weekend, my lectures will be on Friday and Saturday only this time around. Here are the topics:

Museums and Society

Friday 11-12:30
Tower Bridge Room

Museums as we know them today grew out of the tradition of elites keeping “cabinets of curiosities” in their homes, but during the Victorian era there was a push to expose the masses to beauty and culture as a means of elevating them. This talk will look at the false starts and triumphs in the early days of museum history and explore their status in our culture today.

Egyptomania

Saturday 9:30-11am
Royal Albert Hall

As technology improved, the influx of goods to Europe from the rest of the world drastically increased, bringing new cultures to the forefront. Western Europe went through a period of obsession with Egypt and the secrets of the pharaohs, going so far as to hold mummy unwrapping parties in their homes. This movement led to several books, including the first ever mention of a mummy’s curse.

12 Ways to Punk Your Steam: Lessons Learned from 30 Years of Steampunk

Saturday 12:30-2
St Paul’s Room

*Note – This is different than the schedule currently up on the TeslaCon website, but this information is correct

Join Steampunk Journal editor and novelist Phoebe Darqueling for a look at 12 methods people have been using to punk the steam era since the genre got its name, as well as some tips and considerations when employing these methods in your own projects. From incorporating aliens and futuristic tech, to weaving in elements of horror or the supernatural, come and be inspired!

I hope to see you there, but if you can’t make it to the con or to my talks, you can get the info from the two Saturday talks by signing up for my newsletter at the bottom of the screen. I’ll be sending subscribers a FREE ebook with over 150 pages of bibliography and other reference materials after TeslaCon.