Who?

Firstly, someone who hates writing bios, especially those short, boasty ones you have to provide when publishing articles and chapters etc. I really dislike that 'Dr Merrick is a lecturer in blah blah' format, as if giving your job position somehow encapsulates who you are. Still, the familiar format is a hard habit to get out of, but here goes...

For a living, I teach in Internet Studies at Curtin University in Western Australia, and have occasionally run a course on feminist theory. I try and do most of my research (when I have time) in the area my PhD was on: feminism and science fiction. I'm also fascinated by science studies, particularly feminist studies of science and technology, ecofeminism, and sf fandom.

For fun, I like to read as much sf as I possibly can, grow organic vegetables and generally potter around in the garden, and play cards and board games with my family. (Ok, and some computer games too!) I live near Fremantle with my partner, his son, my son, and an ever-increasing bump.

Why?

'Whileawaying' is stolen from a Joanna Russ story 'When it Changed', about a separatist, feminist utopian space/world 'Whileaway'. My intention is to use it as a kind of 'research diary': a space for musings on feminist sf and related topics, and a way of hopefully inspiring and motivating my research. It began during a period of academic study leave, where I was free to concetrate on researching feminism and SF. Hopefully, by the time I am back to teaching and trying to squeeze research into the tiny chinks of time left over, the blogging - and keeping up with feminist sf research - will be a habit.
So the plan is for this to be a space which keeps track of fun and thrilling events in the fem-sf world, charts my thoughts on what I'm reading and muddled musings on related topics such as nature, the two cultures, science studies, and ecofeminism as I try and work through some theory.
And I guess I wouldn't be a good feminist (or blogger) if my 'other' lives didn't pop up from time to time as well :-)