Sixth-year PhD Candidate, Samanda Robinson, was recently published in The Routledge Companion to Literature of the U.S. South as a contributing author.

As the publisher states, “The Routledge Companion to Literature of the U.S. South provides a collection of vibrant and multidisciplinary essays by scholars from a wide range of backgrounds working in the field of U.S. southern literary studies.” Robinson’s contributing chapter is entitled “Afrofuturism” and spotlights W.E.B. Du Bois.

Chapter abstract (as taken from the Routledge website): “An outgrowth from traditional speculative and science fiction, Afrofuturism imagines new possibilities for those of the Black diaspora and envisions a world (or worlds) where these individuals navigate future worlds. During the Golden Age of Science Fiction (1930s–1940s), creators of speculative and science fiction attempted to justify their choice in not including multicultural characters: the future would certainly be post-racial, so race should not matter in the genre. Writers of Afrofuturism, on the other hand, embrace the whole intersectional identity of their characters and seek to empower readers through this inclusion.”

Unfortunately, this title is not currently available through Johns Hopkins Library Services. If you are interested, please feel encouraged to reach out to the library to see if they can gain access to Robinson’s chapter.