While at illogicon this weekend, one of the panels I’ve participated in was AfroFuturism, Blerds, and BlackTwitter. We also provided a brief overview of the cinematic history of African-Americans in speculative fiction. Below is the list of references that provide a brief introduction AfroFuturistm, Blerds, and Black Twitter.
Please note, this isn’t a complete list. It’s just a quick guide I compiled for introductory reasons. If you have suggestions or better resources, feel free to email or Tweet me (@nicolegkurtz).
Definitions:
Blerds-black nerds
Afrofuturism-Afrofuturism is a literary and cultural aesthetic that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity, and magic realism with non-Western 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. First coined by Mark Dery in 1993, and explored in the late 1990s through conversations led by scholar Alondra Nelson.
Steamfunk-is defined as a philosophy or style of writing and visual aesthetic that combines the African and / or African American culture and approach to life with that of the steampunk philosophy and/or steampunk fiction and cosplay.
Black Twitter- a cultural identity on the Twitter social network focused on issues of interest to the black community, particularly in the United States.
Articles:
What is Afrofuturism?
What is Afrofuturism?
Nalo Hopkinson on Racial and Gender
http://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2015/12/nalo-hopkinson-on-racial-and-gender.html
The Rise of the Black Nerd in Pop Culture
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/31/showbiz/rise-of-black-nerds/index.html
What is Steamfunk?
http://chroniclesofharriet.com/2012/04/05/what-is-steamfunk-exposing-the-big-steampunk-lie
Steampunk!
http://mvmediaatl.com/steamfunk.html
The Truth about Black Twitter
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/the-truth-about-black-twitter/390120/
Websites:
Black Girl Nerds http://www.blackgirlnerds.com
We Need Diverse Books! http://www.weneeddiversebookgs.org
BlackScienceFiction Society http://www.blacksciencesociety.com
iafronfuturism.com http://www.iafrofuturism.com
The Chronicles of Harriet http://chroniclesofharriet.com
MV Media http://mvmediaatl.com/
Popular Black Speculative Twitter Hashtags and People to Follow
#afrofuturism #diversesff #BlackComics #steamfunk #blackpulp #blacksf #BlackTwitter
@blackgirlnerds @GraveyardSister @GeekSoulBrother