170713 UE Afrofuturism - Counter history, politics of resistance, cultural appropriation (2023S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
MIXED
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Mo 06.02.2023 09:00 to Su 19.02.2023 23:55
- Registration is open from Th 23.02.2023 09:00 to Th 02.03.2023 23:55
- Deregistration possible until Fr 31.03.2023 23:55
Details
max. 30 participants
Language: German
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
3.31: Organizational preparation, introduction to the topic, presentation of texts for the first block session.
First session: Introductory lecture on the topic, discussion of the prepared texts in groups, presentation and discussion in the plenum. Review of material (film clips, music videos, literature, performance, etc.), presentation of the topics by the lecturer, development of questions for the treatment of the topics. Division of the groups.
5.13: Meeting with the individuell groups
Second session: Presentation of the group work in the plenum (60 - 90 minutes per group incl. presentation of material, work-sharing or interactive presentation form and subsequent discussion).
Final evaluation, perspectives.
- Friday 31.03. 09:45 - 11:15 Digital
- Saturday 29.04. 13:15 - 18:30 Hörsaal 2H510 UZA II Rotunde
- Sunday 30.04. 09:00 - 16:15 Hörsaal 2H510 UZA II Rotunde
- Saturday 13.05. 09:00 - 16:00 Digital
- Saturday 03.06. 09:15 - 17:30 Seminarraum 3 2H467 UZA II Rotunde
- Sunday 04.06. 09:00 - 13:15 Seminarraum 3 2H467 UZA II Rotunde
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
Regular attendance, preparation of basic texts, material reviews. Taking charge of a section within the group work and presentation.
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Participation in all block dates (exceptions require special clarification). Preparation of a reading map on a basic text, participation in the plenary (40%). Development and presentation of a subsection of the group topic (60%).
Examination topics
Reading of texts, films, music videos and other materials on the seminar topics (most of these are provided on the learning platform, in addition, much is available on the Internet). Independent analysis of media objects.
Reading list
Gunkel, Henriette/lynch, cara (eds.): We Travel the Space Ways. Black Imagination, Fragments, and Diffraction, Bielefeld 2019.
Werthschulte, Christian: Space is the Place. Kursorischer Trip durch den Afrofuturismus, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 68 Jg., 12/2018: Black America, S. 50-54.
Womack, Ytasha: Afrofuturism: the word of black sci-fi and fantasy culture, Chicago 2013
Werthschulte, Christian: Space is the Place. Kursorischer Trip durch den Afrofuturismus, in: Aus Politik und Zeitgeschichte, 68 Jg., 12/2018: Black America, S. 50-54.
Womack, Ytasha: Afrofuturism: the word of black sci-fi and fantasy culture, Chicago 2013
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Th 11.05.2023 11:27
[…] digging into the past to vision the future and address the present […] (kara lynch and Henriette Gunkel in: „We Travel the Space Ways“, 2019)
Objectives: Students acquire basic knowledge of the history of enslavement, Afrodiasporic and African American culture. They analyze media objects and formats from different fields (film, music, visual arts, etc.) against this background and recognize the transformation of recurring topoi during the last five decades. They reflect on their own perspective as a white person or person of color in the context of the debate on cultural appropriation.
Content:The concept of Afrofuturism' has recently experienced a revival and has entered the mainstream with films such as Black Panther (2018). As a field of artistic production in diverse fields (music, film, literature, art), Afrofuturism marks an intersection between race, technology, Afrodiasporic experience, and aesthetic expression. It stands for the potential of speculative narratives in terms of reinterpreting the present and resisting social and political oppression by a majority culture. In this course, the theoretical foundations of Afrofuturism will first be developed by reading cultural theory texts on the concept of the Black Atlantic and the context of Afrodiasporic culture (Paul Gilroy, Kodwo Eshun, Édouard Glissant, and others). Subsequently, different forms of media expression will be examined, such as feature and essay films, music videos, artistic performances and lectures, and websites of activist groups. A focus will be on current appropriations of Afrofuturist themes and topoi by Black feminist and queer artists*, musicians*, and activists*.
Methods: Close reading of texts, films, sound and other media objects. Group work and presentations on the individual topics.