Black to the Future: An Introduction to Afrofuturism
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| Black to the Future: An Introduction to Afrofuturism
Instructor: Bryan Brentus Carter, bcarte33@jhu.edu Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies Intersession 2016 – AS.362.108
Exploring the work of artists, scholars and activists throughout the Black diaspora, this course introduces students to the aesthetic of Afrofuturism, which uses elements of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc.) and non-Western cosmologies to both critique the present-day dilemmas of Black people and mine the historical events of the past for new understandings. Required Texts: Butler, Octavia. 2000 (1993). Parable of the Sower. Second edition. New York: Grand Central Publishing. Imarisha, Walidah and brown, adrienne maree. 2015. Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. Oakland: AK Press. (Available online via JHU library) Additionally, students will need access to active Netflix© and Spotify© subscriptions or alternative streaming video/music services. All other materials are accessible via the course blog blacktothefuture.wordpress.com. Course Requirements and Evaluation: Participation: 50% Presentation: 35% Final Blog Post: 15% The quality of the course ultimately depends upon each student’s preparation prior to class. Accordingly, course attendance and participation are required. Given the terse nature of the course, students with more than one (1) unexcused absence will automatically receive an “unsatisfactory” (U) grade. Students may participate by submitting comments on daily reading, listening, and viewing assignments on the course blog by 8:00pm on the evening prior to each class and by actively participating in class discussions. About the prior, comments may pose new questions related to the materials, introduce related topics of discussions, suggest additions to the covered literature, or critique the material in some substantive way. Rather than a lecture, this is a student-driven, discussion-based course. Accordingly, at the beginning of each class session, a group of students to be determined during our first class will guide the class through a discussion of the day’s material, which the instructor will model on the first day of class. The goal of these presentations is to tie the foundational concepts of Afrofuturism and the specific material for each course session to the current debates and struggles in Black politics and/or to re-consider historical truths about Black life. (For example: How might dystopian futures in Afrofuture literature help readers to think about contemporary notions of capitalism? How might alternative universes help readers to reconsider the trans-Atlantic slave trade?) Students are encouraged to use technology to create multi-media presentations and should be prepared to address questions about the literature throughout their assigned course session. In lieu of final papers, students will write a blog post between 700 and 1,200 words that engages at least one of the scholars, artists, or activists introduced during the course with some aspect of Black politics or culture. Unedited by the instructor, all posts will be shared with course participants via the course blog. Course Assignments: Class #1—Cultural Politics and The Praxis of Afrofuturism
Class #2—Alternative Universes
Class #3—Re-memory/Past Imaginations
Class #4—Dystopian Futures Part 1
Class #5—Dystopian Futures Part 2
Class #6—Visionary Fiction
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