Virginia L. Conn

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Papers

Total Citations

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About

Virginia L. Conn is a scholar whose work bridges Chinese science fiction, gender studies, and the politics of futurity. Her research interrogates how speculative narratives from China construct and contest visions of the future, particularly through the lens of gender, labor, and technology. Conn’s most-cited paper, “Sinofuturism(s)” (2021), co-authored with Gabriele de Seta, critically examines the pervasive cultural and geopolitical claim that “China is the future,” unpacking the diverse aesthetic and ideological currents that shape Sinofuturist imaginaries. This work has become a key reference for scholars exploring non-Western futurisms. In her earlier study, “Affective Labor and Technologies of Gender in Wei Yahua’s ‘Conjugal Happiness in the Arms of Morpheus’” (2017), Conn analyzes how a classic Chinese sci-fi story uses dream technology to explore the emotional and gendered dimensions of labor under state socialism. Though her citation counts are still building—reflecting an emerging career—Conn’s contributions are notable for their theoretical sophistication and their role in expanding the canon of global speculative fiction studies. Her work is essential reading for anyone interested in how Chinese culture reimagines technology, gender, and the future.