Science Fiction and Multiraciality: From Octavia Butler to Harry Potter
Event Date:
How do science fiction narratives investigate questions about identity, racism, and fear?
Join us for a fun, interactive presentation and dialogue about mixed-race identity in the Harry Potter franchise, the legacy of African-American sci-fi author Octavia Butler, and the role of the imaginary in destabilizing oppression and re-envisioning multiracial community.
We will be debunking myths, talking back to popular sci-fi movies and stories, and exploring new possibilities for racial justice through imagination. We will explore racial elements of popular fictional universes, participate in collective storytelling, and we encourage dressing up as your favorite sci-fi character!
Presenters include: Eric Hamako from University of Massachusetts Amherst on Harry Potter and the Mistaken Myth of the Mixed-Race Messiah, and Walidah Imarisha, Co-Editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements.
2:00-5:00PM
Great Hall, Brooklyn Historical Society
Light refreshments will be served.
Photo credit: Illustration of Octavia Butler's Wild Seed - Copyright Wayne D. Barlowe, 1988.
This event is co-sponsored by the Harry Potter Alliance and MixedRaceStudies.org