Lesson plan

Readercon

Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, typically held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, currently taking place in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction, fantasy, slipstream and speculative fiction in the written form. On the rare occasion that there is a discussion held about non-written science fiction, it will have a tongue-in-cheek title such as "Our biannual media panel". Each convention has at least one guest of honor. Past guests of honor have included authors such as Greer Gilman, Gene Wolfe, Octavia E. Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Karen Joy Fowler, Brian Aldiss, Nalo Hopkinson, Joe Haldeman, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Peter Straub, and China Miéville, and editors such as Ellen Datlow and David G. Hartwell. The convention also makes a point of honoring a deceased author as the Memorial Guest of Honor. In 2009, for instance, the guests of honor were the living writers Elizabeth Hand and Greer Gilman and the memorial guest of honor was Hope Mirrlees. As of 2012, attendance at the convention has been consistently around 850 for several years. From 2005 to 2011, Readercon was the official venue for presentation of the Rhysling Award. It has hosted the Shirley Jackson Awards since their founding in 2007.

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Article summary

Readercon is an annual science fiction convention, typically held every July in the Boston, Massachusetts area, currently taking place in Burlington, Massachusetts. It was founded by Bob Colby and Eric Van in 1987 with the goal of focusing almost exclusively on science fiction, fantasy, slipstream and speculative fiction in the written form. On the rare occasion that there is a discussion held about non-written science fiction, it will have a tongue-in-cheek title such as "Our biannual media panel". Each convention has at least one guest of honor. Past guests of honor have included authors such as Greer Gilman, Gene Wolfe, Octavia E. Butler, Samuel R. Delany, Karen Joy Fowler, Brian Aldiss, Nalo Hopkinson, Joe Haldeman, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Peter Straub, and China Miéville, and editors such as Ellen Datlow and David G. Hartwell. The convention also makes a point of honoring a deceased author as the Memorial Guest of Honor. In 2009, for instance, the guests of honor were the living writers Elizabeth Hand and Greer Gilman and the memorial guest of honor was Hope Mirrlees. As of 2012, attendance at the convention has been consistently around 850 for several years. From 2005 to 2011, Readercon was the official venue for presentation of the Rhysling Award. It has hosted the Shirley Jackson Awards since their founding in 2007.

Key claims

  1. date of foundation: 1987 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1987". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1359467847

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.