Reading Groups

In Short: Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" with Shirley Tung

$35

1 Session

Out of stock

Saturday, 11:00 am EDT - 12:30 pm EDT July 19, 2025

Online via Zoom

Are we agents of free will or are our lives governed by fate? If we could see our futures unfurl before us, would we walk the same path or choose a different direction? Would the choice or the act of choosing even matter? Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” prompts us to ponder these philosophical questions.

Set in an alternate present where humanity makes first contact with extraterrestrials called Heptapods, linguist Dr. Louise Banks is selected by the government to study their alien language. Little does Louise know that her encounter with the Heptapods will change her view on the nature of existence forever. Chiang’s short story blends the extraordinary with the everyday to offer a soulful meditation on life, death, love, loss, and the choice to embrace it all.

What to read in advance of the first meeting: Please read Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” in its entirety. A copy of the story will be emailed upon registration.

What to expect from this reading group: This 90-minute session will begin by setting the short story within the context of speculative fiction and alongside its cinematic adaptation, Arrival (2016). (Please note that viewing Arrival is optional.) A group discussion, in which we turn to the text to cite specific examples and respond to questions and comments, will follow.

Reading List:

“Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang

Please note: All virtual classes are recorded. Please click here for information about our recording policy.

Led by

Shirley F. Tung

Shirley F. Tung

Shirley F. Tung is Associate Professor of English at Kansas State University, specializing in the literature and culture of the Restoration and long eighteenth century. She is also a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford’s Centre for Life-Writing. Dr. Tung’s scholarly work, which spans the genres of (auto)biography, epic and lyric poetry, early periodicals and print media, and travel writing, has been published in several top-tier academic journals such as European Romantic Review, Huntington Library Quarterly, and Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies. At Kansas State, she teaches courses that range from medieval to modernist literature as well as classes on film and television. Her teaching has received the awards at the international, national, and collegiate levels from the British and American Societies for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Kansas State’s College of Arts and Sciences, and the Student Association of Graduates in English. Currently, Dr. Tung is completing two books: a micro-biography on John Milton’s time as a pamphleteer during the English Civil War and a braided biography of three influential eighteenth-century women travel writers.

About this series

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Whether you’re looking to catch up on great novels or you’re interested in exploring a new writer or literary period, our reading groups offer high-level literary discussion led by experts in the field.

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