Afrofuturism is a blending of many genres, beliefs, and histories. As described by Chicago’s own Ytasha L. Womack, author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture, it is both an artistic aesthetic and a framework for critical theory, bringing in “elements of science fiction, historical fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-Western beliefs."
It would stand to reason, then, that a course on the topic would also be a medley, pulling in literature, music, and other art forms. Such a class would critique and debate Afrofuturism, experience it and make it.
But UChicago’s Autumn Quarter 2023 course, “Afrofuturism(s),” took the blending of elements one step further: The undergraduates in the class explored the topic alongside a group of students from outside the university, from the greater Chicago community.
Read the rest of the story here, at the website for UChicago's Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity.
