David Bowles

Braiding Hope into the Cord of Speculative Fiction 

Tuesday, Dec 16, 2025, 2:45 to 4:15 p.m.

This seminar will explore the origins and characteristics of co-futurisms, focusing on the demographic and ethical optimism they are able to inject into various genres. We will examine how the tools of futurism can be used to craft possible worlds—fantastical pasts, alternative presents, aspirational futures—that hinge on different cultural assumptions, novel “places of enunciation,” and resilient visions not just of survival, but also of thriving. Central to our conversation will be the increasing psychological need for such uplifting stories in a society that increasingly embraces culturally hegemonic oppression that aims to erase certain voices from the official version of past, present, and future. Along the way, we will consider how and why futurist narrative spaces are at variance with historically prominent speculative works, as well as looking at related contrasts, as in hopepunk versus grimdark.

Required Reading (in Reader):

Bowles, David. “Mexican American Futurism.”

https://medium.com/@davidbowles/toward-a-mexican-american-futurism-534b734e441b?sk=a8c65daf3dec4a4bcca7f0d4b5cba0f1