Afrocentricity in Afrofuturism: Toward Afrocentric Futurism - Hardcover

by Aaron X. Smith (Editor), Molefi Kete Asante (Foreword by)

Contributions by Taharka Adé, Molefi Kete Asante, Alonge O. Clarkson, John P. Craig, Ifetayo M. Flannery, Kofi Kubatanna, Lehasa Moloi, M. Ndiika Mutere, and Aaron X. Smith

In the twenty-first century, AfroFuturism--a historical and philosophical concept of the future imagined through a Black cultural lens--has been interpreted through a myriad of writers, artists, scientists, and other visionary creatives. In Afrocentricity in AfroFuturism: Toward Afrocentric Futurism, editor Aaron X. Smith curates a collection of interdisciplinary essays that critiques existing scholarship on Black futurity. In contrast to much previous work, these essays ground their explorations in African agency, centering the African within historical and cultural reality. Situating Afrocentricity as the field's foundational root and springboard for an expansive future, contributors detail potential new modes of existence and expression for African people throughout the diaspora.

Divided into two parts--Representations and Transformations--this book examines the tensions created by historical and cultural dislocation of African peoples and consciousness. Contributors cover varied topics such as the intersections of culture and design; techno culture; neuroscience; and the multiplicity of African cultural influences in aesthetics, oratory, visual art, hip hop, and more. Essays range from theoretical analyses to close readings of history and popular culture, from the Haitian Revolution to Sun Ra, Janelle Monáe's Dirty Computer, and Black Panther. Afrocentricity in AfroFuturism offers an expansive vision of AfroFuturism and its ranging significance to contemporary culture and discourse.

Author Biography

Aaron X. Smith is assistant professor at Temple University in the Department of Africology and African American Studies. His work has appeared in such publications as the Journal of Pan African Studies and SAGE Reference Project: The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America.