Afrofuturism and the Law
When and Where
Speakers
Description
Long before the film Black Panther captured the public’s imagination, the cultural critic Mark Dery had coined the term “Afrofuturism” to describe “speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of twentieth-century technoculture.” Since then, the term has been applied to speculative creatives as diverse as the pop artist Janelle Monae, the science fiction writer Octavia Butler, and the visual artist Nick Cave. But only recently have thinkers turned to how Afrofuturism might guide, and shape, law. The participants in this workshop explore the many ways Afrofuturism can inform a range of legal issues, and even chart the way to a better future for us all.
★ This free online workshop will feature contributors to a special issue, guest edited by Bennett Capers (Law, Fordham), in the open-access online journal Critical Analysis of Law: An International & Interdisciplinary Law Review, due out in April of 2022. ► Access the special issue here after publication.
Schedule
12pm-12:15
Introduction (Bennett Capers)
12:15-1:15
Panel 1
12:15 Of Afrofuturism, Of Algorithms (Ngozi Okidegbe)
12:30 Afrofuturism as Reconstitution (Alex Zamalin)
12:45 Discussion & Q&A
1:15-2:15
Panel 2
1:15 Race Against Time: Afrofuturism and Our Liberated Housing Futures (Rasheedah Phillips)
1:30 For Every Rat Killed (Etienne C. Toussaint)
1:45 Discussion & Q&A
This is an online event. It will be live streamed on the Centre for Ethics YouTube Channel at 12pm, Friday, May 13. Channel subscribers will receive a notification at the start of the live stream.
Contributors
- Bennett Capers (Law, Fordham)
- Ngozi Okidegbe (Law Cardozo)
- Alex Zamalin (Political Science & African American Studies, Detroit Mercy)
- Rasheedah Phillips (PolicyLink)
- Etienne C. Toussaint (Law, South Carolina)
Co-sponsors
Center on Race, Law and Justice, Fordham Law School
Critical Analysis of Law: An International & Interdisciplinary Law Review
12:00 PM - 02:15 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
