CALL FOR PAPERS: AFRO-FUTURISM

Afro-Futurism is an emergent literary and cultural aesthetic
that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy and
magic realism with non-Occidental cosmologies in order to critique not only the
present-day dilemmas of people of color, but also to revise, interrogate, and
re-examine the historical events of the past. Examples of seminal
Afro-Futuristic works include the novels of Samuel R. Delany and Octavia Butler; the
vibrant, frenetic canvases of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the provocative photography
of Rene Cox; as well as the extraterrestrial mythos of Parliament-Funkadelic
and Sun Ra, and the recombinant sonic texts of Paul D. Miller/DJ Spooky. Given
that there has recently been an explosion of contemporary art and literature
that can properly be described as Afro-Futuristic, Callaloo proposes a special
issue on the topic of Afro-Futurism. We invite the submission of creative
work of up to 25 pages in length that illuminates many of the themes common to
Afro-Futurism, as well as critical essays, 15 -25 pages in length, that
address, but are not necessarily limited to, the following topics:


* Race and digital culture

* The role of technology in cultural formations

* Notions of Utopia, Dystopia, and the "post-historical" in Afro-Futuristic
literature

* Non-Occidental cosmologies and their place/use in Afro-Futuristic texts

* Trauma theory and its role in Afro-Futuristic literary and cultural
production

* Afro-Futurism's relation to digital and/or urban music (i.e., drum and
bass, garage, hip-hop, house, jungle, neo-soul, funk, dub, techno, trip hop, etc.)

* Black identity in Western literature, in light of Afro-Futurism's general
interrogation of identity and identity politics

* Afro-Futurism and its relation to previous race-based art movements and
aesthetics (e.g., the Harlem Renaissance, Black Arts Movement, the New Black
Aesthetic, etc.)

* Black Music as a source of Afro-Futuristic discourse and/or liberation

* The black superhero as Afro-Futuristic rebel, and the black comic book as a
"paraliterary" source of contemporary folklore

* Afro-Futurism from the perspective of film studies and/or video culture

* The social and cultural implications of a theory of Afro-Futurism


Note that the deadline for abstracts is January 31, 2004, and that
contributors should send completed essays by AUGUST 1, 2004. Please follow all Callaloo
submission guidelines (MLA formatting is a must), and send all materials
(including full contact information) in triplicate to:


Callaloo Afro-Futurism issue
Department of English
Texas A&M University
4227 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-4227


Direct questions or concerns may be sent to the guest editors: Rone Shavers,
at RShave1@uic.edu, or Charles Joseph, at Blackbliss@aol.com. >>