EVENT DETAILS

Philip K. Dick in the OC: Virtually Real, Really Virtual

Philip K. Dick in the OC: Virtually Real, Really Virtual
Thursday, April 28, 2016

10:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Humanities Gateway 1030

Philip K. Dick spent the last decade of his life from 1972 to 1982 in Orange County, having fled the Bay Area convinced he was the target of various malevolent forces, ranging from governmental agencies to religious groups. In Orange County, PKD experienced the anonymity of everyday life in suburbia. He also experienced a divine vision that, as he explained in later writings, permitted him to glimpse the “trans-temporal constancy” of the universe. During his decade in Orange County, he produced some of his most enduring and enigmatic works, including novels like A Scanner Darkly and VALIS that reflect a pervasive sense of paranoia and also PKD’s attempts to make sense of his life-altering spiritual experience.

Schedule:

Opening Remarks & Welcome – 10:30am
Jonathan Alexander

10:45am-12:00pm
Interviewing Phil, Charles Platt
PKD in Perspective, Gregg Rickman
PKD on the Couch, Barry Spatz

Lunch Break – 12:00pm-1:00pm

Living with Phil – 1:00pm-2:00pm
Tessa Dick, Grania Davis, Gregory Benford (moderator)

Visualizing Phil (in the High Castle and Otherwise) – 2:00pm-3:00pm
Sherryl Vint, Jonathan Alexander, Antoinette LaFarge

Coffee break – 3:00pm-3:15pm

PKD and Privacy – 3:15pm-4:30pm
David Brin, Gregory Benford

Closing Reception – 4:30pm

The event is sponsored by the UCI Office of the Campus Writing Coordinator. Please RSVP to icruse@uci.edu by April 22, 2016 to confirm your attendance.