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The story’s protagonist, Hannibal Johnson, is a black sociologist who uses a “megascope” to look across time and space. He demonstrates his gadget for a honeymooning couple, using it to look from the top of a NYC skyscraper into the fantastic past of Pittsburgh, in which supernatural beings play out an allegory about colonialism and race. It’s a critical piece of the history of Afrofuturism, a lineage that stretches forward to such writers as Samuel Delany and Octavia Butler to Nalo Hopkinson and today’s explosion of African science fiction<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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Full article here:\u00a0Newly Discovered Du Bois Science Fiction<\/a><\/p>\n
Considering the future of race and Anderson’s exercise in nonideal theory and political philosophy, I thought it apropos to include this piece on Du Bois’s newly discovered science fiction writings and Afrofuturism.<\/p>\n
Afrofuturism is a way of imagining future possibilities through a black cultural lens. \u00a0Womack states that it’s the” intersection of imagination, technology, the future and liberation.” (Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture<\/a>\u00a0) It’s both a cultural and artistic aesthetic as well as a form of critical theory \u00a0and social commentary. It destabilizes notions of blackness and ” stretches the imagination far beyond the conventions of our time and the horizons of expectations , and kicks the box of blackness out of the solar system ” (22).<\/p>\n
A lot of you questioned the practicality of the policy applications of Anderson, which are fair critiques. However, I posit \u00a0that changes in society often happen at the level of imagining possibilities, dreaming (Laurence Ralph’s word discusses this and even the words of Dr. King) and being able to envision the world in ways that defy the conventions of the current space and time. \u00a0Throughout the semester we’ve read both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches within the field of sociology and have learned that there often is no single optimal solution, which is what Anderson attempts to get away from. Granted, our course is not one on political philosophy so some of the scholars she’s in conversation with , like Rawls who pioneers ideal theory, were missing from our understanding. Nevertheless a quick synopsis of ideal vs. non-ideal theory states:<\/p>\n
John Rawls conceives of justice as fairness as a work of ideal theory. Ideal theory \u201cassumes strict compliance and works out the principles that characterize a well-ordered society under favorable circumstances.\u201d1<\/sup> Nonideal theory, on the other hand, \u201cis worked out after an ideal conception of justice has been chosen\u201d and addresses what the parties are to do when conditions are not as perfect as they are assumed to be in ideal theory. <\/strong><\/p>\n
(http:\/\/sevenpillarsinstitute.org\/dictionary\/ideal-nonideal-theory)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Non-ideal theory therefore chooses an ideal conception of justice, which Anderson situates in integration, and then advances ways to work on that ideal given imperfect<\/em> circumstances. Having ideals is then not the issue at hand, a society needs ideals, the issue is where do we start to work through the imperfections to strive (even if we never quite achieve) for this ideal conception of justice?<\/p>\n
Afrofuturism definitely responds to this conversation in imagining other worlds and new ideals. It has been critiqued by some as escapism but other scholars have argued that far from escapism, it allows for one to imagine the world as it could be and work towards those imagined possibilities.<\/p>\n
Returning to DuBois, he was a man of empiricism, as we’ve read in Morris’s\u00a0The Scholar Denied <\/em>and Du Bois’s own works, yet he too realized that the space for imagining worlds, possibilities and telling counternarratives about origins and histories, which can then shape futures, was critical.<\/p>\n
I’ll leave you guys with Janelle Monae’s song Many Moons. Monae herself is an artist who’s been described as an Afrofuturist and her songs , aesthetics, video directions certainly intersect imagination, technology, social commentary, \u00a0the future and liberation.<\/p>\n
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https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LHgbzNHVg0c<\/p>\n
Excerpt of the lyrics:<\/p>\n
We’re dancing free but we’re stuck here underground<\/strong>
\nAnd everybody trying to figure they way out<\/strong>
\nHey hey hey, all we ever wanted to say<\/strong>
\nWas chased, erased and then thrown away<\/strong>
\nAnd day to day we live in a daze<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\nWe march all around til’ the sun goes down night children<\/strong>
\nBroken dreams, no sunshine, endless crimes, we long for freedom (for freedom)<\/strong>
\nYou’re free but in your mind, your freedom’s in a bind<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\nOh make it rain, ain’t a thing in the sky to fall<\/strong>
\n(The silver bullet’s in your hand and the war’s heating up)<\/strong>
\nAnd when the truth goes bang the shouts splatter out<\/strong>
\n(Revolutionize your lives and find a way out)<\/strong>
\nAnd when you’re growing down instead of growing up<\/strong>
\n(You gotta ooo ah ah like a panther)<\/strong>
\nTell me are you bold enough to reach for love?<\/strong>
\n(Na na na)<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/p>\n
So strong for so long<\/strong><\/p>\n
All I wanna do is sing my simple song<\/strong>
\nSquare or round, rich or poor<\/strong>
\nAt the end of day and night all we want is more<\/strong>
\nI keep my feet on solid ground and use my wings when storms come around<\/strong>
\nI keep my feet on solid ground for freedom<\/strong>
\nYou’re free but in your mind, your freedom’s in a bind<\/strong><\/p>\nOh make it rain, ain’t a thing in the sky to fall<\/strong>
\n(The silver bullet’s in your hand and the war’s heating up)<\/strong>
\nAnd when the truth goes bang the shouts splatter out<\/strong>
\n(Revolutionize your lives and find a way out)<\/strong>
\nAnd when you’re growing down instead of growing up<\/strong>
\n(You gotta ooo ah ah like a panther)<\/strong>
\nTell me are you bold enough to reach for love?<\/strong>
\n(Na na na)<\/strong><\/p>\nCivil rights, civil war<\/strong>
\nHood rat, crack whore<\/strong>
\nCarefree, nightclub<\/strong>
\nCloset drunk, bathtub<\/strong>
\nOutcast, weirdo<\/strong>
\nStepchild, freak show<\/strong>
\nBlack girl, bad hair<\/strong>
\nBroad nose, cold stare<\/strong>
\nTap shoes, Broadway<\/strong>
\nTuxedo, holiday<\/strong>
\nCreative black, Love song<\/strong>
\nStupid words, erased song<\/strong>
\nGun shots, orange house<\/strong>
\nDead man walking with a dirty mouth<\/strong>
\nSpoiled milk, stale bread<\/strong>
\nWelfare, bubonic plague<\/strong>
\nRecord deal, light bulb<\/strong>
\nKeep back kid now corporate thug<\/strong>
\nBreast cancer, common cold<\/strong>
\nHIV, lost hope<\/strong>
\nOverweight, self esteem<\/strong>
\nMisfit, broken dream<\/strong>
\nFish tank, small bowl<\/strong>
\nClosed mind, dark hold<\/strong>
\nCybergirl, droid control<\/strong>
\nGet away now they trying to steal your soul<\/strong>
\nMicrophone, one stage<\/strong>
\nTomboy, outrage<\/strong>
\nStreet fight, bloody war<\/strong>
\nInstigators, third floor<\/strong>
\nPromiscuous child, broken heart<\/strong>
\nSTD, quarantine<\/strong>
\nHeroin user, coke head<\/strong>
\nFinal chapter, death bed<\/strong>
\nPlastic sweat, metal skin<\/strong>
\nMetallic tears, mannequin<\/strong>
\nCarefree, night club<\/strong>
\nCloset drunk, bathtub<\/strong>
\nWhite house, Jim Crow<\/strong>
\nDirty lies, my regards<\/strong><\/p>\nWhen the world just treats you wrong<\/strong>
\nJust come with me and I’ll take you home<\/strong>
\nNo need to pack a bag<\/strong>
\nWho put your life in the danger zone?<\/strong>
\nYou running dropping like a rolling stone<\/strong>
\nNo time to pack a bag<\/strong>
\nYou just can’t stop your hurt from hanging on<\/strong>
\nThe old man dies and then a baby’s born<\/strong>
\nChan, chan, chan, change your life<\/strong>
\nAnd when the world just treats you wrong<\/strong>
\nJust come with us and you’ll take you home<\/strong>
\nShan, shan shan shan-gri la<\/strong>
\nNa na na na na na na na na na na<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story’s protagonist, Hannibal Johnson, is a black sociologist who uses a “megascope” to look across time and space. He demonstrates his gadget for a honeymooning couple, using it to look from the top of a NYC skyscraper into the fantastic past of Pittsburgh, in which supernatural beings play out an allegory about colonialism and … Continue reading Newly discovered WEB Du Bois science fiction story and the Future of Race<\/span>