Register

Cultural Conversation at AARLCC with Dr. Julian Chambliss

Mapping Afrofuturism

Mapping Afrofuturism: Understanding Contemporary Black Speculative Practice with Dr. Julian Chambliss

Mapping Afrofuturism: Understanding Contemporary Black Speculative Practice with Dr. Julian Chambliss. 
 
In this talk, Dr. Julian Chambliss will explore the origins of the term Afrofuturism and how our contemporary scholars, artists, and community activists are using it to advocate for new pathways for a better future. 
 
This is presented in conjunction with the exhibition, “AFROFANTASTIC: The Black Imaginary in Art, Literature, and Technology,” on display at AARLCC through December 2023. 
The concept of Afrofuturism refers to an “intersection of speculative practice and liberation” because “striving toward freedom has required the Black imagination to see new paths and imagine different worlds.” Writers like Octavia Butler have used the genre of science fiction to imagine Black life at the nexus of the past, future, and fantasy. Similarly, artificial intelligence (Ai), although not a new technology, is being used by a new generation of artists to create vivid and fantastical images of Black life in the future. While many Black people are frustrated by the lack of positive representation in contemporary media, Ai technology is being used by Black people around the world to imagine new worlds, spaces, and possibilities for Black life. Employing the tools of art, literature, and technology Black creators are not only able to envision what Black people of the future may look like but are also able to recreate images of our past. 

The “Afrofantastic” exhibition and its supporting programs will explore issues of representation, empowerment, science, science fiction, technology and race. Sponsored by the Windhover Foundation.

Curator: 

Dr. Julian C. Chambliss served as Professor of History in the Department of History at Rollins College from 2004 to 2018. He joined the Department of English at Michigan State University in Fall 2018. As core faculty in Consortium for Critical Diversity in a Digital Age Research (CEDAR) he teaches courses exploring critical making, comics, and culture in the United States. In 2019, Dr. Chambliss joined the MSU Museum as the Val Berryman Curator of History. As a teacher-scholar concerned with community, identity, and power, he designs generative digital projects that use the classroom as a platform for students to act as co-researchers to trace community development, document diverse experiences, and explore culture. He has been recognized for his community engagement work with a Rollins College Cornell Distinguished Service Award (2014-2015) and Florida Campus Compact Service Learning Faculty Award (2011). 
Dr. Chambliss serves as a member of the steering committee for HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory), as a national planner for the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities, a board member for the Society for City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH), and a board member for the Comics Studies Society (CSS). 

Upcoming Events