Hope for a Generation: Speculative Fiction as a Tool for Racial Justice and Systems Change

Rooting into systems change theory and practice, Ware offers a dance into the speculative threaded through with analysis of the transformative possibilities of sci fi and cli fi artworks. This article reflects on the liberatory possibilities of hope, speculative fiction and creative practice to mobilize communities to worldbuild a better future. Drawing on the author’s research creation practice and popularized speculative fiction offerings such as Star Trek and author Octavia Butler, he considers his performance work Antarctica as a method to better understand the catalytic opportunities present in artwork rooted in futuristic social justice.

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Publication Details

Journal
TOPIA Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Published
2025-03-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3138/topia-2024-0031
Primary Topic
Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Hope for a Generation: Speculative Fiction as a Tool for Racial Justice and Systems Change

Syrus Marcus Ware
1 links
TOPIA Canadian Journal of Cultural Studies
Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction
article

Hope for a Generation: Speculative Fiction as a Tool for Racial Justice and Systems Change

Syrus Marcus Ware
article en

Abstract

Rooting into systems change theory and practice, Ware offers a dance into the speculative threaded through with analysis of the transformative possibilities of sci fi and cli fi artworks. This article reflects on the liberatory possibilities of hope, speculative fiction and creative practice to mobilize communities to worldbuild a better future. Drawing on the author’s research creation practice and popularized speculative fiction offerings such as Star Trek and author Octavia Butler, he considers his performance work Antarctica as a method to better understand the catalytic opportunities present in artwork rooted in futuristic social justice.

TOPIA Canadian Journal of Cultural StudiesVol. 50
McMaster University (CA)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 86%
Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction
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