This reading group has been put together by Nora Castle and promises to be fabulous. Details below.

Readings:

Kyle P. Whyte article, "Indigenous science (fiction) for the Anthropocene: Ancestral dystopias and fantasies of climate change crises." (attached)

Kathryn Yusoff A Billion Black Anthropocenes or None (extract to be attached shortly)

This reading group session will look at the Anthropocene from a non-white perspective. The readings for this week explore the idea that Indigenous and POC populations have already been living through apocalypse(s) instigated by colonial violence and slavery; the near-future dystopia evoked by the Anthropocene is and has been their present(s).

Some question we will be thinking about include: How can acknowledging the perspectives of various Indigenous and POC communities change the way we as academics read the Anthropocene and its popular alternatives, such as the Capitalocene? How do these different perspectives influence the form and content of literature such as the Indigenous science fiction that Kyle P. Whyte discusses in his article, or of Anthropocene-implicated literature more generally? How do they differ from one another, and how can we as scholars avoid lumping them all together? Is it possible to write about these perspectives effectively (and in a non-exploitative way) from an outsider perspective, for example as a white academic? Is it productive academically to think of multiple Anthropocenes?

We hope to see you all there!

Best,

Myka, Christine E and Christine O (and Nora!)