If you’ve been interested in diving deeper into the world of “Black Panther,” a Black History Month event at the Lilburn branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library will give you insight.
Visit the recently relocated facility Saturday, Feb. 15 and listen to Morehouse College's Dr. Tanya N. Clark inform guests about the genre from which the Marvel film arose: Afrofuturism.
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Author and lecturer Mark Dery is credited with coining the term in his 1994 article, "Black to the Future." In it, he defines Afrofuturism as "speculative fiction that treats African-American themes and addresses African-American concerns in the context of 20th-century technoculture — and more generally, African-American signification that appropriates images of technology and a prosthetically enhanced future."
In essence, the genre blends art, music and culture with Afrocentric themes of science fiction and technology. The influence can be seen in many parts of popular culture, including “the music of George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, and rap stylistics of Janelle Monáe and Jidenna,” according to the library event’s description.
Clark will inform guests about the critical thinkers, artists and writers who are leading the way in Afrofuturism — and it’s all free of charge.
The senior assistant professor in the historically black college's English department specializes in 19th and 20th century African American and American literature, African American literary criticism and women's and gender studies. Clark has been the Morehouse English department since 2017 and she recently revised a version of her speculative fiction course, Blacks in Wonderland.
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DETAILS
From Black History to Black Future Month: Afrofuturism and the Arts
1 p.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, February 15
Gwinnett County Public Library Lilburn Branch: 4817 Church Street, Lilburn
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