21L.032[J] Afrofuturism, Magical Realism, and Other Otherwise Worlds

Prereq: none
Units: 3-0-9 HASS-H, CI-H

Is this the only possible world? Or are there others free of white supremacy, colonialism, capitalism, patriarchy, and ecological devastation? What might it mean not just to imagine these possibilities but to listen for other worlds that already exist alongside our own? In this course, we
will examine how Afrofuturism, magical realism, and other forms of the fantastic in North and Latin America not only envision alternatives to the current order but also identify existing ways of being otherwise in the world. In addition to analyzing texts and films, we will incorporate theoretical insights from black studies, indigenous studies, queer studies, and feminism into ourdiscussions. Some of the authors we will read include Octavia Butler, N.K. Jemisin, Toni Morrison, Samuel Delany, Gabriel García Márquez, and José María Arguedas; films we will watch include Sinners, Nope, Neptune Frost, and Embrace of the Serpent; and pop culture narratives we will study include Janelle Monáe’s Metropolis Suite, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, Disney’s Encanto, and Beyoncé’s Black is King.