AFRS 210 - Afrofuturism

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as MUSI 210) Afrofuturists reconfigure notions of race and identity by appropriating science fiction tropes while speculating potential futures free from any Eurocentric gaze. Their eclectic art casts “past-future” visions where Black people can safely exist and thrive. These alternate realities are birthed in the unique ways Afrofutrists utilize image, text, and sound. Beginning with Afrofuturist progenitor Sun Ra, we go “black to the future” and closely encounter other Afronauts such as Octavia Butler, Janelle Monáe, Nnedi Okorafor, OutKast, Parliament-Funkadelic, Ishmael Reed, and Fatimah Tuggar, among others. Readings include Samuel Delaney, W.E.B. Du Bois, Paul Gilroy, Alondra Nelson, J.G. Rollefson, Alexander Wehiliye, and Ytasha Womack. Tamyka Jordon-Conlin.

Prerequisite(s): One course in Africana studies, Music, or permission of the instructor.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS