Afrofuturisms: Ecology, Humanity, and Francophone Cultural Expressions

Afrofuturism is a literary genre that explores Francophone African literary imaginations and expressions through the lens of technology and science. It reveals a futuristic African future that is rooted in its cultural mythologies, cosmologies, and philosophies. Isaac Joslin identifies the contours and modalities of a speculative, futurist science fiction rooted in the sociocultural and geopolitical context of continental African imaginaries. He outlines the role of language and narrativity in processing traumas, the influence of discursive media, the role of education in affirming collective identity, the market-driven violence that undermines efforts to instill and promote cultural and social autonomy, and proposes an egalitarian and ecological ethos of communal engagement with and respect for the diversity of the human and natural worlds.

Format: Hardback
Length: 324 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2023
Publisher: Ohio University Press

Science fiction, a genre often associated with the Western imagination, has long explored the possibilities of technological progress since the Industrial Revolution. However, certain fantastical elements in African literary expressions lend themselves to science fiction interpretations, both utopian and dystopian. When we detach science from its Western, rationalist, materialist, and positivist underpinnings, we open up a vast imaginative space that transcends the boundaries of our world. This imaginative realm can be found on the moon, beneath the sea, or even in other parts of the universe. Through Afrofuturist readings of select films, novels, short stories, plays, and poems, we can glimpse a similarly emancipatory African future that is firmly rooted in its cultural mythologies, cosmologies, and philosophies.

In his work, Isaac Joslin identifies the contours and modalities of a speculative, futurist science fiction that is deeply rooted in the sociocultural and geopolitical context of continental African imaginaries. This project begins with the foundation of gender identity and cultural plurality as the basis for an inherently multicultural society. Joslin then traces the essential role of language and narrativity in processing the traumas stemming from the violence of colonial and neocolonial interventions in African societies.

Next, Joslin outlines the influential role of discursive media in constructing divisions and creating illusions about societal success, belonging, and exclusion. He also identifies alternative critical existential mythologies that promote commonality and social solidarity. The trajectory of this project continues with a critical analysis of the role of education in affirming collective identity and promoting social cohesion.

Through Afrofuturist lenses, we can see how African literary expressions can contribute to the broader field of science fiction, offering unique perspectives and insights into the future. By exploring the intersection of culture, technology, and imagination, we can create a more inclusive and diverse world that is shaped by the rich tapestry of African heritage.

Weight: 592g
Dimension: 144 x 224 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780896803299