by Dr. Lena Kroeker
Currently, various visions of African Futures circulate. They follow distinctive variations in their concepts and this presentation aims at shedding light on four of these concepts. I would like to start with a linear developmental model intending to produce a ‘western-style’ modernity. Secondly, I present the concept of the ‘African renaissance’, which circulated in South Africa at the turn of the century and re-emerged more recently under the title of ‘Afrotopia’. Thirdly, I distance ‘Afrotopia’ from ‘Afropolitanism’ – a concept proposing an ‘African-style’ modernity. Last, ‘Afrofuturism’ has become a term in science fiction literature and digital visual arts. Authors and artists from the black diaspora envision a black writing of history and future embracing African artists, who partly try to free themselves from the external label of Afrofuturism.
With this presentation I aim at an analytical clarification of the four concepts despite the fact that they coexist in everyday life in Africa.
Time: 16:15 – 17:45 / Venue: Geographisches Institut der Universität zu Köln, Otto-Fischer-Straße 4, Ü3
