The end of times is a popular device of storytelling, that imagines the future as marked by destruction, upheaval and lack of safety. This course will be focusing on apocalyptic and dystopian narratives by African American women and the issues they highlight, from gender, sexuality and racism to reproductive, social, and environmental justice. Students will be introduced to the concept of (post)-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, Afrofuturism and Posthumanism that relate to contemporary and historical contexts. The goal of this seminar is to engage with the idea of the end of times as a literary device and to discuss society and power hierarchies as well as the discourses related to gender, racial, class and (dis)ability.
In addition to secondary material uploaded on Stud.IP, the following novels must be purchased, read and prepared by the respective session as given in the syllabus:
• Octavia Butler. Parable of the Sower. 1993.
• Jesmyn Ward. Salvage the Bones. 2011.
• N. K. Jemisin. The Fifth Season. 2015