Futures exist in the current moment as potent narratives, drawing on rhetorical, aesthetic, and symbolic strategies for their persuasive power. They shape the trajectory of the present and determine who gets to inhabit the future and under what conditions. This course interrogates the variety of present futures: how they are made, by whom and for whom. Across ten weeks we will examine black radical, queer, feminist, indigenous and dominant futures and the ways they engage with different modes of imagining futures from infrastructure and scenario planning to Afropessimism and counter-apocalypse.

8 x 1hr lectures; 8 x 1.5hr seminars over ten weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in English Literature and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

ENGLIT5121 Futures: Unbundling the Now (PGT)

None

 The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ 1 x 10 min presentation, accompanied by a mini-archival collection - 40% 

■ Seminar Contribution - 10%  

■ Essay (3000 words) - 50% 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ Recorded presentation or one-to-one presentation / discussion/Q&A with staff (where presentation would normally be in class) as alternative to presentation.

■ Written self-evaluation reflecting on seminar contribution or written response to seminar material in advance or after seminar as alternative to seminar contribution. 

■ There are no alternatives to the Essay, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ Map, compare and contrast existing narratives of the future.

■ Engage critically and practically with narratives of the future and their methods and contexts of construction.

■ Interrogate how narratives of the future draw on and shape narrative techniques of realism, speculation, plausibility, and agency.

■ Investigate the impact of narratives of the future on contemporary society and culture with a particular focus on the themes of gender, race, climate, and justice. 

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

■ Identify and critically assess discourses of futurity in popular culture and policy.

■ Situate narratives of futurity within their relevant historical trajectory.

■ Engage critically with important theoretical approaches to the future, including critical race studies, queer theory, infrastructure studies, and critical futures studies.

■ Conduct independent research and develop key academic skills in analysis, writing, editing, and argumentation through written and oral assessment.