Finalist for the American Academy of Religion’s Award for Excellence in the Study of Religion, Constructive-Reflexive Studies
“Professor Roger Sneed illuminates the interplay of Black religious thought with science fiction narratives to present a bold case for Afrofuturism as an important channel for Black spirituality. … The result is an expansive new look at the power of science fiction and Afrofuturism to center the diversity of Black spirituality.” —Carrie Lynn Evans, New Books Network
“As a feature of the book’s appeal to broader readerships, it is interesting that Sneed is unabashed in embracing a ‘nerdy’ gravitation toward science fiction. I believe this highlights a clear strong suit of the book, namely its interdisciplinary focus. It is at once Black religious reflection coupled with cultural criticism that deftly comments upon the interplay of race, science fiction, and popular culture.” —Darrius D. Hills, Nova Religio
“This book makes connections where they have not previously existed. As Sneed notes, there is little investigation of the intersection of Black religion (theology, in particular) and Afrofuturism—from either Black religious scholars or scholars of Afrofuturism. The Dreamer and the Dream admirably steps in to remedy that.” —Monica A. Coleman, author of Making a Way Out of No Way: A Womanist Theology
“There has been a lack of attention to Afrofuturism paid by Black religious thought or Black liberation theologies. Sneed’s work is innovative and certainly paves the way for other works to continue in this subgenre.” —Monique Moultrie, author of Passionate and Pious: Religious Media and Black Women’s Sexuality
In The Dreamer and the Dream: Afrofuturism and Black Religious Thought, Roger A. Sneed illuminates the interplay of Black religious thought with science fiction narratives to present a bold case for Afrofuturism as an important channel for Black spirituality. In the process, he challenges the assumed primacy of the Black church as the arbiter of Black religious life. Incorporating analyses of Octavia Butler’s Parable books, Janelle Monáe’s Afrofuturistic saga, Star Trek’s Captain Benjamin Sisko, Marvel’s Black Panther, and Sun Ra and the Nation of Islam, Sneed demonstrates how Afrofuturism has contributed to Black visions of the future. He also investigates how Afrofuturism has influenced religious scholarship that looks to Black cultural production as a means of reimagining Blackness in the light of the sacred. The result is an expansive new look at the power of science fiction and Afrofuturism to center the diversity of Black spirituality.
Roger A. Sneed is Professor and Chair of Religion at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I Foundations
Chapter 1 Race in Science Fiction
Chapter 2 Black Religious Thought and Afrofuturism
Part II Intersections
Chapter 3 Octavia Butler as Architect of Intersectional Afrofuturism
Chapter 4 “It’s Code”: Janelle Monáe, the ArchAndroid, and Queer Afrofuturistic Salvation
Chapter 5 Walking in the Path of the Prophets: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, “Far Beyond the Stars,” and Black Prophetic Visions
Chapter 6 “Wakanda Forever!”: Black Panther, the Divine Feminine, and the Subversion of Toxic Masculinity in the Western Superhero Monomyth
Part III Afrofuturistic Thought Experiments
Chapter 7 Space Is the Place: Sun Ra, the Nation of Islam, Afrofuturism, Eschatology, and Utopia
Chapter 8 “Who Am I? Who Are You?”: Afrofuturism and Black Religious Identity
Conclusion “The Shape of Things to Come”: Future Directions in the Intersection of Afrofuturism and Black Religious Thought
Postscript
Bibliography
Index
