From May 22 to 24, Shenzhen University (SZU) hosted the “Cyborg Culture and Poetics Research” Conference, bringing together over 70 leading scholars from more than 40 universities and research institutes to examine the evolving intersections of technology, literature, and urban civilization.

Jointly organized by SZU and the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, the conference was undertaken by the School of Humanities, the Institute of Cultural Studies of Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, the Institute of Comparative Literature and Culture, and the Digital Humanities Research Center at SZU. The event received academic support from prominent journals including Literary Theory Frontier, Cultural Studies, Journal of Digital Humanities and Science Fiction Studies, Journal of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, and Shenzhen Social Sciences.

Centered on the theme of “Cyborg Culture, Future Literature, and Urban Civilization in the AI Era,” the conference aimed to reassess literary value and construct contemporary theoretical frameworks suited to the technological age. The program featured six keynote speeches and five parallel sessions, offering multi-dimensional perspectives on core topics such as posthumanism, algorithmic narrative, and the future of literary studies. A highlight of the event was the awards ceremony for the “Shenzhen Architecture Fantasy: Writing the Future City” science fiction writing competition, which underscored the conference’s commitment to fostering creative engagement with speculative futures.