Speculative Futurisms - Einzelansicht

A majority of contemporary science and climate fiction still tries to gloss over the fact that the genre produces heteronormative ‘futures of whiteness’, ultimately rendering whiteness and heteronormativity invisible. Thereby, these works of art project an absence of Black, Indigenous, PoC and queer histories and presences onto an imagined future and hence continue problematic legacies of colonial discourses, among others. This course reads speculative futurisms from Black, Indigenous, PoC and queer authors and artists that disrupt the still prevalent ‘imperial gaze’. Primary materials will include a novella, short stories, multimedia texts, poetry and more.

Please note that this is a reading intensive course. Students should be willing to engage with the aforementioned different text forms. They should be ready to approach the texts with curiosity and open-mindedness in order to challenge and rethink their own assumptions, and to engage with each other in a shared process of learning. Students are asked to complete the weekly readings and participate actively in in-class discussions.

Content note: Many of the texts deal with violence against racialized and gendered bodies in (post-) apocalyptic scenarios of social and environmental in/justice. There will be more specific content notes for particular primary texts and topics.

short paper (ungraded/graded)

term paper (graded)

Please get a copy of Rivers Solmon’s The Deep as soon as possible. All other texts will be provided in class.