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Moderator: Jessica Boakye, UMass Amherst
Erika Dawson-Head, UMass Amherst
Steve Fernandez, UMass Amherst
This session will focus on afro-futurism - what it is; some features; and important examples. A particular focus will be on how Afro-Futurism can be used to conceive of a world in which lingering impacts of chattel slavery, white supremacy, and racism are challenged. Emphasis will be on engineering and technologies developed through an Afro-Futurist lens and the role this can play on engaging BIPOC students in STEM and helping non-BIPOC students become more familiar with Black and African ways of being and knowing.
The session will start with a presentation of features core to Afro-Futurism. Participants will review examples of Afro-Futurist art, music, and literature. Working in small groups, participants will identify ways Afro-Futurism manifests in these examples given and in other works they identify on their own. Participants will work in groups to imagine a future community which embraces some core elements/principles found in Black and/or African cultures and in which impacts of chattel slavery, white supremacy, and racism are overcome. Participants will then work to conceive of how engineering and technology can be used to help bring about such a world. The session will end with a reflection on, and open discussion of how Afro-Futurism can play a role in engaging BIPOC students in STEM and how it can help non-BIPOC students become more familiar with Black and African ways of being and knowing.