Afrofuturism

Winter 2013

The canon of African American literature continues to be associated with realist genres, even though there exists a history of African American speculative fiction dating back to the nineteenth century. This history has been brought to light by Afrofuturism, a burgeoning artistic and critical movement concerned with the place of science fiction and technology in black culture. On the one hand, this course will focus on the different ways African American writers, filmmakers, visual artists, and musicians have used science fiction to critique present forms of racial difference and imagine alternate futures. On the other hand, we will consider scholarly texts that analyze how information technologies have shaped black culture and politics. Overall, this course will introduce students to key concepts in Afrofuturism in order to examine how the artistic works associated with this movement offer a distinctive form of black cultural knowledge.

Requirements

*Regular attendance

*Essay

*Final multimedia project & presentation

*Weekly blog posts/responses

*In-class participation

*Creating or editing one Wikipedia entry related to the course topic

Grading

Essay, Multimedia Project/Presentation, Blog Posts, and Wikipedia Entry 70%

Participation and Attendance 30%

Rules

*Laptops may only be used for class related activities; otherwise they will be taken away.

*Cell phones and other mobile devices should be turned off during class time

*You are required to bring reading materials to class

*Please familiarize yourself with the “Avoiding Plagiarism” document posted on the Blackboard site.

*Attendance is mandatory. Missing more than one class will result in a lower grade.

Required Texts

Samuel R. Delany, Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand

Nalo Hopkinson, Midnight Robber

Octavia E. Butler, Dawn

Ishmael Reed, Mumbo Jumbo

Sun Ra, The Wisdom of Sun-Ra

All other class materials will be available through the course Blackboard website.

Quarter Schedule

Mon Jan 7^th Course Introduction

Wed Jan 9^th Mark Dery, “Black to the Future,” Alondra Nelson, “Future Texts,” Eshun, More Brilliant Than the Sun (excerpt) & “Further Considerations on Afrofuturism” (Lore Website)

Mon Jan 14^th Film: Last Angel of History (Lore Website)

Wed Jan 16^th Reed, Mumbo Jumbo

Mon Jan 21^st Holiday – No Class

Wed Jan 23^rd Reed, Mumbo Jumbo

Mon Jan 28^th Delany, Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand

Wed Jan 30^th Delany, Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand

Mon Feb 4^th Film: I Am Legend (Lore Website)

Reading: W.E.B. Du Bois, “The Comet” (Lore Website)

Wed Feb 6^th Films: Children of Men and 28 Days Later (Lore Website)

Essay due at 5pm via Lore Website

Mon Feb 11^th Butler, Dawn

Wed Feb 13^th Films: Space Is the Place

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v683427yKejB2KR

Sun Ra, Brother From Another Planet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqZHzpAYVIk

Reading: Sun Ra, The Wisdom of Sun-Ra

Mon Feb 18^th Butler, Dawn

Wed Feb 20^th Music George Clinton, Funkadelic

Film: George Clinton: Tales of Dr Funkenstein

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKfQRU5KKao

Reading: Corbett, “Brothers From Another Planet” and Goodman, Sonic Warfare (excerpt) (Lore Website)

Mon Feb 25^th S. Craig Watkins, The Young and the Digital (selections), Beth Coleman, “Race As Technology,” Anna Everett, “Toward a Theory of the Egalitarian Technosphere.” (Lore Website)

Wed Feb 27^th Hopkinson, Midnight Robber

Mon March 4^th Hopkinson, Midnight Robber

Wed March 6^th Music: Detroit Techno and Its Offshoots

Reading: Nabeel Zuberi, “Black Whole Styles” and (Lore Website)

Film: High Tech Soul the Creation of Techno Music

http://vimeo.com/2342523

Mon March 11^th Presentation of Final Group Projects