123421 SE Literary & Cultural Studies Seminar / BA Paper / MA American / North American Lit. Studies (2023W)

This Seminar bridges Indigenous North American art, activism, and literature in the context of what Grace Dillon has termed "Indigenous Futurisms." As in other colonial settings, Indigenous peoples in the Americas have been stereotyped as backwards, "uncivilized" and in opposition to Western models of reason and science. Contemporary Indigenous futurisms radically critique this model by showing how the logic of instrumental reason (Adorno) is in no way superior, but has led to the contemporary crises we are facing - environmental, social, political. The course is conducted in cooperation with Weltmuseum Vienna's exhibit "Science Fiction(s)" and will be conducted partly there. We will also read and discuss Indigenous futurist poetry and draw connections between these forms of creative expression together.

AIMS:
- students understand indigenous futurisms as an activist practice and an artistic and literary discourse
- students can analyze works of art and poetry in this context, building transmedial connections
- students develop their own research projects in this field

METHODS: input (lecture, curatorial, artistic); group and team work at the Museum and in the classroom; presentations by students