The Fifth Season

This semester, students were introduced to concepts in Afro and Indigenous Futurisms with a guest lecture from Dr. Taryne Taylor on how the concepts originated and how they can be seen in a variety of works from the speculative fiction genres. We read N.K. Jemisin's The Fifth Season and discussed the significance of geological features in a novel that highlights social stratification within a fantastical setting of earth in tectonic upheaval. Students researched the strategies for social and physical survival, along with the darker themes of filicide and authoritarian regimes portrayed in the novel.