When someone says science fiction and fantasy, the five hundred page tales of robots and dragons possibly come to mind. The classics were written in the 60s and 70s speculating on the future that we’re currently living in but there’s still a future to speculate on ourselves. In this course we’ll travel through time and to far away lands via lectures, readings, illustrations and videos. We’ll explore the birth of both genres and their subgenres, concentrating on story elements that are unique to these genres, such as world-building; Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey of the protagonist; and infusing tales with social commentary and critique.
This class involves weekly readings and discussions (20-40 pages) and short writing prompts. The final week of the course will be focused on workshopping a (5000 word or less) short story that had been crafted throughout the first five weeks. Short story writers and novelists alike are welcome, as are students new to the genre. We will be reading excerpts from Quisloana: a Dominican fantasy anthology, Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae. Lectures will be on work from authors such as N.K. Jemisin, P. Djeli Clark, and Tomi Adeyemi.
Silk Jazmyne is a student of life who loves the artistically strange and narrative in all its forms. She’s a book reviewer and essayist. She’s also a Speculative fiction writer and teaching artist. Her work has appeared both online and in print at Black Girl Nerds, Straylight Magazine, The Gateway Review, Serendipity Literary Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, African Writer Magazine, and Ekphrastic Exhibition in Tandem: Back | Forth. She was born in New York and grew up all over as a Navy brat. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Florida International University.
"Silk Jazmyne did an excellent job of not just teaching us the strict definitions of the genre but also showing how far sci-fi, magical realism, and fantasy can go beyond 'escapism.' Silk Jazmyne's syllabus focused on speculative work of contemporary writers of color who are not only masters of these genres but are also thoughtfully and methodically pushing the boundaries on what these genres mean and what they can do. Her focus on how writing and reading actually felt has helped me reorient the way I think about my fiction. I would take another Porch class from her in a heartbeat."
"Silk Jazmyne is incredibly informed on the diversity within the realm of speculative fiction. I had never written much in the genre, but Silk has inspired me to get out of my creative comfort zone. She also ensured all students felt safe and welcomed to share their writing with their peers. I was introduced to authors and writing styles I otherwise may never have found on my own thanks to the supplemental material Silk provided."
"Silk was very accommodating, knowledgable, and supportive!"
