[As this new semester gets underway, it does so amidst a particularly fraught moment for teaching & learning the Humanities. So for this week’s Semester Previews series I’ll highlight one thing from each of my courses that embodies the value of the Humanities for us all—leading up to a special weekend post on MLK Day and the Humanities!]
For last
year’s Spring Previews series, I
wrote about my excitement to teach a new (to my syllabus) 21st
century fantasy novel in this course, Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch (2011); for the first time ever I’m teaching Intro to
Sci Fi/Fantasy in back-to-back years, and am just as excited to teach Okorafor’s
book now that I’ve seen how well students respond to it. It’s also a great example
of the
power of representation, of what it means to read a fantasy novel (a genre
that for too long was dominated, at least stereotypically, by Anglo characters
and authors alike) whose main characters are Nigerian and author is Nigerian
American. That’s a crucial value of the Humanities, full stop. But I would add
that Okorafor’s novel likewise illustrates another and just as important stake
of both fantasy storytelling and a class like this—the power of the
imagination. Her main character Sunny learns throughout the book just how much
there is to the world beyond what she knew, and how much becoming part of all
of it is necessary for her and the world’s future alike. I’d say the same for
all of us, and reading and engaging speculative storytelling is one exciting
and effective way to do just that.
Next
preview tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What
do you think?
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