Speculative Futures: Fiction, Theory, and Social Justice
Full Tuition: $300 — Scholarship options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select.
Instructor: Berland | Thursdays September 7-October 5 | 6:00-8:00 PM ET | ONLINE
Are science fiction and fantasy just escapism? Or can they have real effects on how we see our present and create our futures? Sure, we often turn to speculative genres to get away from reality. And it’s true that some of these fictions take place in darker and more violent worlds than our own–worlds that privilege aggressive personalities and hierarchical social structures over cooperation. But against these dominant strains of speculative fiction, there are many alternatives that promote the radical potential of imagining otherwise—the post-patriarchal worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin’s imagination, the capacious generosity of Ted Chiang’s alien heptapods, the radical aspirations of the new “hopepunk” genre, and so many more. This course centers texts that strive to locate and seize upon the forms of connection, equity, and compassion we need to move ourselves toward a more just future.
The five-week seminar pairs works of speculative fiction with landmark readings from the fields of Indigenous and Afro-Futurism, Environmental Economics, and Futurology. Together, we will examine how the speculative acts that saturate our contemporary mediascape work to either affirm or dismantle entrenched systems of injustice. Central to our inquiry will be concerns about how regressive discourses surrounding race, class, and gender attempt to dispossess us of our hopes for the future, and how writers, thinkers, and media objects have been working to interrupt these processes. Readings may include works by: Ursula K. LeGuin, Ted Chiang, Octavia Butler, the Uncertain Commons, Cedric Robinson, Saidiya Hartman, Audre Lorde, adrienne maree brown, Grace L. Dillon, and others.
Classes are recorded to allow for students to participate asynchronously. If you want to take a class but cannot make the class time, sign up for the asynchronous audit option to follow along on your own. Recordings are password protected and will only be available for the duration of the class and two weeks after it ends.
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Night School Bar pays instructors and staff a living wage, and your tuition goes toward supporting this practice. Please pick the payment tier that corresponds to your needs, and consider our commitment to fair labor practices when doing so. We will never request or require proof of need, and do not use an income-based sliding scale; we trust you to decide what payment tier is right for you. If you would like additional support deciding or would like to learn more about the practice of using a sliding scale, we recommend this resource from Embracing Equity.
We are currently able to offer three full scholarships per class, and one full scholarship per person per term. If the scholarship tier you need is sold out or you would like to pay tuition on an installment basis, please email us directly, and we will work with you.
If at any point up to 48 hours before your first class session you realize you will be unable to take the class, please email us and we will reallocate your funds to a future class, to another student’s scholarship, or refund it. After that point, we are able to offer 50% refunds.