Description
Book SynopsisThe ideas and practices related to afrofuturism have existed for most of the 20th century, especially in the north American African diaspora community. After Mark Dery coined the word afrofuturism in 1993, Alondra Nelson as a member of an online forum, along with other participants, began to explore the initial terrain and intellectual underpinnings of the concept noting that AfroFuturism has emerged as a term of convenience to describe analysis, criticism and cultural production that addresses the intersections between race and technology. Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astroblackness represents a transition from previous ideas related to afrofuturism that were formed in the late 20th century around issues of the digital divide, music and literature. Afrofuturism 2.0 expands and broadens the discussion around the concept to include religion, architecture, communications, visual art, philosophy and reflects its current growth as an emerging global Pan African creative phenomenon.
Trade ReviewAfrofuturism 2.0 proves to be not only an educational experience, but a necessary provocation of questions on Pan-Arab culture, which may be read through various Palestinian states of being – whether present, absent, or imagined.... Taken from a wider perspective, Afrofuturism, as the book seeks to assert, can be moulded into a vibrant, analytical framework for exploring notions and practices of temporality in African cultural production. Indeed, the numerous studies and examples that unfold across the different parts of the book point to the rising instrumentalization of futurist and sci-fi aesthetics as important politically charged practices within contemporary Afrodiasporic culture. * Tohu *
Do your interest lie in the connections between music, art, science and futurity as performed and lived through Black people of the African diaspora? Or, through your engagement with popular culture, have you heard the terms AstroBlackness, Black Speculative Fiction, Afrofuturism, or Black Futurism and have wondered what they mean or what they are? If you have asked yourself these questions and want a deeper understanding than what a good Google search can provide, Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. Jones edited volume Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astro-Blackness is the intellectually and culturally grounded place to begin your study.... Afrofuturism 2.0 should be looked upon as central read for anyone interested in the discourses of Africana diaspora and the future. For communication scholars focused on digital media, fandom, Black Geek/Nerd discourse, speculative fiction, science fiction or other discourses grounded in the Black imaginative— essays in this volume are foundational locations for depth in analysis. It is hard to imagine discussion on the rhetoric of Black Panther, Luke Cage or DC Legends without a functional reading of Afrofuturism 2.0. * Iowa Journal of Communication *
Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. Jones assemble a remarkable collection in Afrofuturism 2.0....Anderson and Jones have taken Afrofuturism in fascinating directions, encouraging scholars to consider how the concept is expressed across media. I strongly recommend this volume to scholars and research libraries, as well as for the college classroom. * Science Fiction Studies *
Table of ContentsIntroduction to Afrofuturism 2.0 Reynaldo Anderson and Charles E. Jones Part I: Quantum Visions of Futuristic Blackness Chapter One: Reading Wangechi Mutu’s Non je ne regrette rien through Kindred Tiffany Barber Chapter Two: Afrofuturism on Web 3.0: Vernacular Cartography and Augmented Space Nettrice Gaskins Chapter Three: The Real Ghost in the Machine: Afrofuturism and the haunting of racial space in I Robot and DETROPIA Ricardo Guthrie Part II: Planetary Vibes, Digital Ciphers, and Hip Hop Sonic Remix Chapter Four: The Armageddon Effect — and Other Afrofuturist Chronopolitics of Alien Nation tobias C. van Veen Chapter Five: Afrofuturism’s Musical Princess Janelle Monáe: Psychadelic Soul Message Music Infused with a Sci-Fi Twist Grace D. Gipson Chapter Six: Hip Hop Holograms: Tupac Shakur, Technological Immortality and Time Travel Ken McCleod Part III: Forecasting Dark Bodies, Africology, and the Narrative Imagination Chapter Seven: Afrofuturism and Religion: Our Old Ship of Zion Andrew Rollins Chapter Eight: Playing a Minority Forecaster in Search of Afrofuturism: Where Am I in this Future, Stewart Brand? Lonny Avi Brooks Chapter Nine: Rewriting the Narrative: Communicology and the Speculative Discourse of Afrofuturism David DeIuliis and Jeff Lohr Chapter Ten: Africana Women’s Science Fiction and Narrative Medicine: Difference, Ethics and Empathy Esther Jones Chapter Eleven: “To be African is to Merge Technology and Magic”: An Interview with Nnedi Okorafor Quianna Whitted About the Contributors
