Speculative Fiction From the Global South: From Science Fiction to Futurism in Peruvian Literature
March 29, 2024
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Speculation implies making conjectures about something without sufficient knowledge or facts. In Spanish, however, speculate or “especular” also relates to optics, reflections in a mirror. It refers to attentively if not inquisitively, observing and thinking about the world in other ways. This exercise of the imagination gives rise to speculative fiction, a field of literary and artistic creativity that departs from reality and re-imagines it in multiple ways. Still, there are many ways to approach reality in Latin America. One is through the lens of speculative fiction about the future, which studies tend to correlate with science fiction.
In the 21st century Global South science fiction can distinguish itself in at least two ways: by embracing the creation of visions about many possible futures and by looking at the cultural heritage of historically underrepresented communities in urban and rural areas. Such heritage—which writers and critics relate to their ancestral memory— joins present-day concerns (racism, sexism, corruption, ageism, sexual orientation-based discrimination) to provide thematic repertoires for writing about oppressing realities.
Co-sponsored by the Departments of Hispanic and Italian Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies, the School of Literatures, Cultural Studies, and Linguistics, UIC Institute for the Humanities, and the Center for Latinx Literatures of the Americas.
Date posted
Mar 11, 2024
Date updated
Mar 14, 2024