Unit 3: When Is the Future?

Week 9

Tuesday, October 25

• Video Introduction to the Sublime, Hyperobjects, Universal Paperclips, and reframing “When is the future” to “How long is the future?” (10 minutes)
• David Nye, “The Sublime” from American Technological Sublime (1996), pages 1-16
• Laura Hudson, “At The End of the World, It’s Hyperobjects All the Way Down” from Wired (2021) [Alternative PDF version]
• Start playing Universal Paperclips
• Moodle: Riffing on Hyperobjects
• Section: The Sublime, Hyperobjects, and the limits of imagination

Thursday, October 27 (am)

• Jill S. Schneiderman, “The Anthropocene Controversy” from Anthropocene Feminism (2017), pp. 169–195
• Explore Chronozoom (go to Explore Big History to see Chronozoom in action) and the Long Now Foundation site (especially their projects)
• Moodle: Thinking about Universal Paperclips
• Section: Replenishing the imagination

Thursday, October 27 (pm)

• Plenary: Stuplimity, Every Icon, Universal Paperclip, and The Long Now Foundation

Week 10

Tuesday, November 1

• Mexican time and the illustrated codex (The Sigüenza Map; The Gemeli Map; Códice Mendoza [Códice Mendoza])
• Plenary: Mexica (Aztec) theories of time and history

Thursday, November 3 (am)

•  Nick Estes, Our History is the Future (“Prophets” and “Siege”); #NODAPL
• Discussion Section: Indigenous climate activism and climate future

Thursday, November 3 (pm)

• William Sanders, “When This World is All on Fire”; Anamata Future News
• Discussion Section: Climate collapse and indigenous survival

Week 11

Tuesday, November 8

• Susan Schneider, Artificial You, Intro and chapters 1-4
• Plenary: Introduction to the A.I. Apocalypse; mini-lectures and small group discussions

Thursday, November 10 (am)

• Susan Schneider, Artificial You, Intro and chapters 5-7
• Discussion Section: Students discuss The AI apocalypse. Sections will generate questions for the afternoon session.

Thursday, November 10 (pm)

• Susan Schneider, Artificial You, Chapter 8, Conclusion, and Appendix.
• Plenary: Guest lecture and discussion with Susan Schneider.

Week 12

Monday, November 14            

• Post to the Google sheet by 11:59 pm Monday
• Link to Daniel 1 (use drop down menu to find your assigned chapter)
• Link to Revelation 1 (use drop down menu to find your assigned chapter)

Tuesday, November 15

• Read Mark Reasoner, “What Does the Bible Say about the End Times? A Biblical Studies Discussion of Interpretive Methods”
• Plenary: The Future in Religious Imaginations: Apocalypse, Endtimes, Kingdom, Millennialism, Rapture, Revelation

Thursday, November 17 (am)

• Read Sylvester Bliss, Memoirs of William Miller (1853), chap. IV
• Re-read Stanley Fish, “Working on the Chain Gang: Interpretation in Law and Literature”
• Moodle: Post questions for pm session by 1:30 pm
• Section: “The Great Disappointment” (1843-1844)

Thursday, November 17 (pm)

• Damien Keown, “Karma and Rebirth”
• Dpal-sprul O-rgyan-ʼjigs-med-chos-kyi-dbang-po, “The Impermanence of Life” 
• Plenary: Q&A with Dr. Pang (REL) and Dr. Wills on Time, Future, “Religion”

Week 13

Digital Learning Team and Thanksgiving

Week 14

Tuesday, November 29

• Felwine Sarr, “Afrotopos” from Afrotopia (pp. 99-102)
• Abdourahman Waberi, In the United States of Africa (excerpts)
• Moodle Activity
• Sections: The Future of Africa

Thursday, December 1 (am)

• Afro@digital
• Moodle Activity
• Discussion Section: The Future of Africa

Thursday, December 1 (pm)

• Ikiré Jones, Our Future Heritage
• Moodle Activity
• Plenary: The Future of Africa

Week 15

Tuesday, December 6

• Genevieve Fabre, “The Slave Ship Dance,” in Black Imagination and the Middle Passage, eds. Maria Diedrich, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Carl Pedersen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 33–46.
• Mark Dery, “Black to the Future: Interviews with Samuel R. Delany, Greg Tate, and Tricia Rose,” in Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture (1994), 179–223.
• Discussion Section: Sonic Afrofuturism

Thursday, December 8 (am)

• Sun Ra, Space is the Place (1974).
• Kodwo Eshun, “Synthesizing the Omniverse,” in More Brilliant Than the Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction (1998), 154–163.
• Discussion Section: Sonic Afrofuturism

Thursday, December 8 (pm)

• Sonic Futures: The Music of Afrofuturism [Alondra Nelson, George Clinton, Nona Hendryx, and Vernon Reid]
• Listen: Drexciya, “Drifting into a Time of No Future” (1999); Flying Lotus, “Dance of the Pseudo Nymph” (2010); Janelle Monáe, “Electric Lady” (2013); Janelle Monáe, “Q.U.E.E.N.” (feat. Erykah Badu) (2013)
• Plenary: Sonic Afrofuturism’s Futures